Hoosier Hysteria
by Harold D. Gingerich
It’s the moment the fans
have been waiting for.
The crowd has stood to honor
America with the playing of the national anthem. Starting player introductions have been made. Coaches
have given their final instructions.
As the players move toward center
court, there is just one more pre-game
ceremony. It’s time for the “Westview
Whistler.”
Rising from his broadcast seat behind the scorer’s table, 1984 Westview
graduate Dan Byler steps into the aisle
to again inspire the Warrior faithful.
The staccato cadence echoes across the
gym accompanied by fans clapping
to the beat. The referee bounces the
basketball several extra times to allow
Byler to finish before making the center toss that will tip off the evening’s
varsity match. Warrior fans love it;
opposing fans endure it; some hate it;
pg 18 · The Hometown Treasure · March ‘13
a few cover their ears; but “the whistle”
has become a part of the pageantry
and tradition of Westview High School
basketball.
Dan, student manager during his
four years at Westview, was not the
originator of the whistle. With a gleam
in his eyes and a mischievous smile he
says, “Being a manager got me into all
the basketball games.” While a freshman he first heard Ray Houghton
whistle and Dan started to practice
in earnest. “It was actually during my
sophomore year in 1982,” Byler says,
“that I started doing it at girls’ games
because several of the players were
classmates.”
In the early days Dan did several
different whistles, but it came down
to “the one.” He doesn’t exactly know
where the song came from, only that
it was military. It turns out the tune
is a variation of the, Army bugler’s
(6:30am) Breakfast Call, dating back
to the Civil War. That must be why the
Warrior faithful shout “Eat ’e ?????)???e???????I????I????I?????t??? ??e?)??????????????)?????????????????????e???)???????? ??????????????????) ????????????????????????????)???????????????????????????????????????????????????????)??????????????q ???????????????e?)????????????????????????t)???????????q??????????e????????)??????????????????????????????)??????????t??????????????????????)?????????????????q?????????u???)???????????????????????????????)?????+?q$??????e??????????????????)?????????????????????????????)?????????????????????????????((