UW Spirit Spotlight: Brennan Coppola

LARAMIE -- Have you ever wondered what the story is behind the University of Wyoming’s Spirit Squad?

Who are they? Where are they from? What they do?

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The UW Cheerleaders, and Wyoming mascot, Pistol Pete, have a great time supporting UW athletics and showcasing their skills at various sporting events, as well as making appearances throughout the community and all over the great state of Wyoming.

During the football season, 7220sports.com’s DJ Johnson will bring you the segment “Spirit Spotlight," highlighting some of the athletes that make it all happen.

Name: Brennan Coppola

Hometown: Parker, Colorado

School Year: Senior

Major: Accounting & Finance

Spirt Squad Year: Fourth

7220sports: Given the fact that last year was a wash, what did you personally do to stay busy and maintain your level of commitment and motivation?

Brennan: Well, when things started to slow down and we had time off of cheer, I actually started working at Papa Johns and had the opportunity to make a little bit of extra money to help pay the bills. Another thing I did was actually hang out more with my friends since we had extra time to do things like going on random hikes and exploring the area, which I had really never done until this year.

7220sports: What are some of your strengths that you believe make you the best athlete and teammate?

Brennan: One of the strengths that I believe I have is my really strong interpersonal and communication skills. I really know how to switch my communications skills between teammates and trying to ensure I’m communicating in the most effective way. Depending on who you’re talking with, being able to change the way you communicate is really important to help everyone along. I also like to help behind the scenes -- without really saying much -- helping out the coaches in ways that hopefully make their lives easier.

7220sports: How do you manage your athletic responsibilities with your academic workload?

Brennan: Time management is the key thing that I really focus on. I have to balance my time between work, school and cheer. So yeah, time management is the key.

7220sports: What are some of your hobbies or interests outside of cheer?

Brennan: One of the things I like to do is to lift, to just get rid of some stress and unwind. Another thing that I like to do, when I do get downtime, is to read books about how to better myself as a person. I guess I’m kind of boring, too. I like to bowl. I actually bowl a lot.

7220sports: What professional athlete do you look up to as a role model and why?

Brennan: Well, I’m from Colorado so I grew up liking all of the Colorado teams. So I guess I’d say I really like Nikola Jokic from the Denver Nuggets. I really like the way that nothing gets in his way and he’ll get things done no matter what.

7220sports: How important is an athlete's public image?

Brennan: I think it’s pretty important, because my mom always taught me that everyone has eyes on you no matter what -- both personal wise and in athletics. Actually, in high school, I had gotten in a little bit of trouble, so I learned that keeping my nose clean and not having that negative image on myself was very important.

7220sports: The "Beer Song" is a classic Wyoming tradition. What goes through your mind when you hear the band start to play it and the students start to sing?

Brennan: Honestly, the Beer Song is my favorite song that the band has. It just kind of makes me smile. I recently turned 21, so alcohol is kind of a newer thing to me and it’s funny to see all of the drunk fans in the stands singing along. It’s also quite interesting to see how the beer cup snake comes along during the course of a game.

7220sports: We live in a world where social media influences our daily life. In your opinion, what is one pro and one con of social media, as a whole?

Brennan: One con, I think, is that the world isn’t being connected as it used to be. We’re more into our phones instead of having the face-to-face interactions and conversations. Also, that same thing is kind of a pro as well, because social media allows us to stay connected to friends and family that we typically wouldn’t be in contact with, like friends from high school or elementary school. We just get to stay connected to those people.

7220sports: If I gave you two plane tickets to anywhere in the world, where would you go and who would you take?

Brennan: I would take my mom, Jennifer, and we’d go to Tampa Bay, Florida. I’d pick Tampa, because my mom and I have gotten into a fish hobby this last summer and they have some of the biggest fisheries that we could go and see all the exotic fish.

My favorite food is: Steak

My favorite restaurant is: Crowbar & Grill ... their Pad Thai fries are the best

My favorite music artist is: Lil Uzi Vert

Beach or mountains: Beach

Describe Laramie in five words: Cold, slow, windy, One Wyoming

My favorite UW football player is: Josh Allen or Logan Wilson

My favorite thing about football game day is: The atmosphere. It's very unique

The one thing I can't live without: Family

Favorite quote: “Remember who you are.” - The Lion King

For more about Brennan, you can follow him on Instagram @brennan.coppola

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