I am the former "rebel03".....still come in and around these parts 3-4 times a week. I graduated in '04 and played on the '02 and '03 championship teams. I was involved in the heyday of the "Horde"! Man, those were great days......
Couple thoughts
On the name change- I am not "happy" about it, but we also live in a completely world. It was not uncommon in the 90s for people to have the confederate flag at school flying from their cars. That was nipped in the butt in the 90s, and was outlawed. Admin said if that were to happen anymore, the student would be expelled, no questions asked. I believe one student fell to this punishment, and this was no longer a problem. As you have read, the term came from a famous pope who rebelled against church leaders for the greater good. But, again, we are in different times now. I have requested to be a part of the alumni side to be on the committee to find a new nickname. You have to take the good out of the bad and move on.
Current state of the program- My brother played quarterback in the early 90s for the Rebels and made the leap to go coach with Coach Rodenburg. TW is back in the saddle doing some part time coaching with the offensive line. Brian Lauck is back, one of the best Rebel alums turned coach in the history of the school. Numerous other alumni have come out of the woodwork to follow Rodenburg, including Jason Werner as well as others. Rodenburg literally did not bring one person with him to be an assistant. His background in Cincy Catholic football knew that someone that is a great leader will get the pack to follow him, and it is clear that the pack came to help him out. This is the first time I have been excited to watch them play in a long time. The iron fist is back, and ready to get into gear. The kids are buying in, and have a solid nucleus back. If anyone can do this, it will be Coach Rodenburg and the alumni there to help him out. It is an exciting time, and I am happy for the program as a whole.
There is a long way to go to get back to where they were, and maybe they never will, but I have hope that the right people are at least in place to get them where they need to go. My son is a 4th grader at Saint Barnabas, I want him to grow up on Friday nights before high school watching what I was able to watch in the 90s. It is a great thing when done right!