MARIA STEIN, Ohio — Winning a high school football game is easier with an abundance of team spirit. And one alum from Marion Local certainly embodies it.
What You Need To Know
- The Marion Local Flyers get ready to take on the Kirtland Hornets in the Division VI State Championship Game
- Ross Thobe, also known as ‘Freddie Flyer,’ will pump up the crowd during the big game. Ross also has Down syndrome
- Ross has been Marion Local’s ‘Freddie Flyer’ for 20 football seasons
- He’s excited to cheer on his favorite team in hopes of a state title
As the Flyers prepare to take on the Kirtland Hornets in the state championship game, Ross Thobe is getting his game face on the only way he knows how.
“I just run back and forth, very easy,” said Thobe, a.k.a. ‘Freddie Flyer.’
Thobe channels his alter ego ‘Freddie Flyer’ to cheer on the team.
Ross Thobe, who has Down syndrome, became ‘Freddie Flyer’ his freshmen year for the Marion Local football team. That job meant running up and down the sideline when the team scores a touchdown.
Now 20 years later, he’s still doing it.
“Oh, it is fun. It gets the crowd going,” said Ross Thobe.
It also takes practice… and a lot of it.
“Yeah, I practice a lot,” said Ross Thobe.
During practice, his family watches ‘Freddie Flyer’ in action, working up a sweat.
“He gets pretty focused for the game,” said Nick Thobe, Ross’ father. “Sometimes, he’ll go out in the backyard and run and stretch his legs and prepare just like an athlete would.”
To the team, it makes Ross Thobe one of them.
“The team itself… they all know him,” said Nick Thobe. “They knew him when they were little kids, and now they’re playing on the field. He gets high fives after the game.”
Now Ross is as ready as he’ll ever be to embody his alter ego, as he cheers on his favorite team in what he hopes will end in a state title.
“Go Flyers. Number one,” said Ross Thobe. “We will be the number one team standing.”
The Marion Local Flyers will take on the Kirtland Hornets at 10:30 am Saturday at the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.
