What happens when a fan base and a club centered on attending athletic contests can’t attend them? That was the reality for Otto’s Army during the Covid-19 pandemic. Jonathan Danilich, the president of Otto’s Army, grew up learning loyalty from his family and transitioned that to leading the fan base at his high school and eventually Otto’s Army. While he, Maria Angiolillo and the rest of Otto’s Army were unable to attend games they planned for their return. It all culminated on February 26th, 2022 with a record breaking 8,000 fans in the student section to support the Orange in their 2nd to last home game of the year against the Duke Blue Devils.
“Being back in there was a surreal experience. It really was. Everything I remembered was different. Every Otto’s Army president wants to be able to go in front of the student section and lead 2,000 people and chants and go to events and go to away games and stuff like that. Every president wants to do that. When I got elected, it seemed pretty apparent that that wasn’t going to happen.” – Jonathon Danilich, Otto’s Army President
