DANVILLE — “Old cheerleaders never die,” is how Bobra Crockett half-jokingly describes her pride in Danville High School.

Although decades have gone by since the last time the 1984 graduate cheered the DHS Vikings on in a full cheerleader uniform, she’s done it from a distance ever since.

Lately, she’s been wearing her DHS sweatshirt with extra pride around the Art Institute of Phoenix, in Phoenix, Ariz., where she’s an assistant professor.

“It’s really exciting. I went to the game in 1976 … the last time they went to state. I remember that game. I remember how exciting that was.

“My senior year, Danville’s football team won the conference and went to the playoff game. That was exciting,” she said.

If the Vikings go to state, she may even be around to see the big game: She’ll be in the area for her wedding over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Beyond being a joyous family occasion, her wedding is also closely tied to the Vikings.

She met her soon-to-be-husband, who played for Urbana, at a long-ago Danville-Urbana game when he was a star Urbana player and she was a Vikings cheerleader.

At the end of the game, the football players and cheerleaders all shook hands, but Rande Hoggard held onto her hand extra tightly.

Instead of letting her hand go, he wanted to know if they could get together after the game.

The two dated the rest of high school, attended the University of Illinois together, and then parted ways.

They met up again on Facebook recently after many years. He recently moved to Arizona.

“He was not happy when Danville beat Urbana a few weeks ago 54 to nothing,” she said.

Beyond the football connection, Crockett loves her hometown, and she’s excited to be part of the energetic support base cheering on this year’s Vikings as they battle toward the state championship.

“I was an only child and my Danville friends were more like my brothers and sisters,” she said.

She’s still very close to many members of her graduating class, and her best friends today are the same ones she hung out with when she grew up here.

“I just really love Danville. I’m very proud to be from there,” she said.

Her hometown pride has also infiltrated her profession.

“I gave my students extra credit if thy changed their Facebook page to say ‘Go Vikings,’” she said.

Some of them were fairly eager.

She’s met a handful of students from Danville at the Art Institute.

One of them flashes her the “217” sign whenever they pass in the hallway.

“I’ve traveled and seen the world; I’ve been around celebrities, but my favorite people are still my best friends from Danville,” she said.

Some people are surprised to hear she’s still so close to people from her past.

“I actually had this conversation with Michael Jordan,” she said.

Crockett used to work for the Chicago Bulls years ago and she mentioned once to Jordan how she was still close to so many people from her youth.

He was surprised.

“The older I get, the more people are genuinely surprised that my best friends are still (the ones from DHS),” she said.

Crockett is meeting up with even more classmates and DHS alumni on a special Facebook page dedicated to Vikings pride.

Another person on the site, Tom Sargeant, also lives far away from Danville in the Atlanta, Ga., area, but is enjoying the Vikings pride long-distance.

Sargeant is a special education aide at a high school.

“It’s a long time coming, that’s for sure,” Sargeant said of the Vikings’ winning streak.

Sargeant is a 1983 DHS grad who attended basically all home football games in his years at DHS because he was a member of the Band of Vikings.

“I’ve always thought a lot of the city of Danville and its people. It’s just wonderful … for the city to get something to cheer about. It’s so deserving,” he said.

The Facebook page began less than two weeks ago and has more than 1,300 people as “Friends” so far.

Sargeant started sending invitations to everyone he knew and the response has been happily unexpected, he said.

Like Crockett, he has a lot of pride and happy memories in Danville and the schools.

Danville is full of the kind of people that are hard to find many other places, he said.

“Just the type of people who live in Danville. … (are) just the most down-to-earth, genuine people you’d ever want to meet. That makes all the difference in the world.”

He said he remembers his teachers from grade school, middle school and high school and how they endeared him to the school system and the community.

He keeps up with many of them, including his seventh grade English teacher, Mark Denman.

The two have lunch whenever Sargeant is back in town for a visit.

He said he told Denman recently that he might just find himself back in town one day.

In the meantime, he’s here in spirit.

“Danville’s got a lot to talk about,” he said. “It’s good to highlight that.”