“We are… S.I.”
Vince Tringali

It was the fall of 1968. In the previous academic year, Saint Ignatius High School had joined the West Catholic Athletic League after years of competing in San Francisco’s Academic Athletic Association. Pundits had predicted that it would take S.I. several years to be competitive in the WCAL, as the level of competition was significantly greater than what they had experienced in the City league. Despite this warning, the Wildcats won WCAL championships in both football and basketball in their inaugural season in the new league.

I’m sure Coach Vince Tringali had high hopes for the 1968 Wildcats football squad. They had a number of returning varsity players and promised to be a force to be reckoned with in the league once again. In preparation for the first game of the season, an all-school rally was held in the gymnasium of the old S.I. campus on Stanyan Street. Cheerleaders led cheers and members of the Rally Committee put on skits to entertain the student body. The rally concluded with a passionate speech by Coach Tringali.

If I recall correctly, he spoke for about 15 minutes. I don’t remember anything he said in the main body of his presentation, but the fervor with which he spoke is unforgettable. The conclusion of his speech has echoed through the stands of athletic competitions involving the Wildcats for more than fifty years.

As he neared the end of his speech, Tringali got quiet, and increasingly passionate. Holding the microphone in one hand, he whispered, “S.I.” Then he said it again, “S.I.” It’s difficult to put the emphasis of his tone into words, but he spit out the letters with incredible force. “S.I.”

Then, with even more emphasis, the coach said, “We are… S.I.” He said it slowly. He said it deliberately. Then he said it again, and again, and again, increasing in both volume and intensity each time. “We are…S.I.”

As the cadence of his words set the tone, the cheerleaders joined Coach Tringali in front of the S.I. student body, inviting and encouraging the students to stand and join in the proclamation. Before too long, the entire gym was rocking to the sound of more than a thousand high school boys, led by the intense coach and five cheerleaders, shouting, “We are… S.I.”

Someone with a drum began accompanying the chant: “We are (boom, boom) S.I. (boom, boom). We are (boom, boom) S.I. (boom, boom). We are (boom, boom) S.I. (boom, boom).” The entire student body was worked up into a frenzy of excitement for the upcoming game. I had never experienced anything like it.

I spoke with Bob Sarlatte (S.I. ’68), who played on that 1967 championship team under Coach Tringali’s leadership, outside Java Beach Café on Sloat Boulevard last Friday afternoon. I asked him if that cheer had ever been used during his years as a student at S.I. He acknowledged that it had not, but then said he thought Coach Tringali had something to do with introducing it. So I shared my memory of that September 1968 rally. 

It’s been almost sixty years since that rally, but the pride of S.I. is still expressed at athletic events to this day with Coach Tringali’s memorable words… “We are… S.I.”