The Blue Babble Battalion

The Ateneo de Manila was successful in athletics even before the NCAA began. To help cheer the Ateneo squad on, the Jesuits decided that the Ateneo ought to have some sort of organization in its cheering. The Ateneo then introduced organized cheering to the country by fielding the first-ever cheering squad in the Philippines, which is now known as the Blue Babble Battalion.

The Ateneo claims that its brand of cheering is both unique and rooted in classical antiquity. In the 1959 Ateneo Aegis (the college yearbook), alumnus Art Borjal explained:

It all started about 2,000 years ago along the Via Appia in Rome. The deafening cheers of Roman citizens, lined along the way, thundered in the sky as the returning victorious warriors passed by...The type of cheering that the Ateneo introduced was, in a way, quite different from that of the Romans. When the warriors came home in defeat, the citizens shouted in derision and screamed for the soldiers’ blood. To the Atenean, victory and defeat do not matter much. To cheer for a losing team that had fought fairly and well is as noble, if not nobler, than cheering for a victorious squad

The words of some of the cheers seem incomprehensible or derived from an exotic language. Loud, rapid yells of "fabilioh" and "halikinu" are used intimidate and confuse the enemy gallery. Meanwhile, fighting songs help inspire the team to "roll out a victory"

The new BBB

During one of the Ateneo- Lasalle games in 1986, the Ateneo introduced something new to the cheering world - a combination of male and female cheerdancers. It was the first time the UAAP has seen such. Because of the rising popularity of the UAAP in the 1990's the league started the UAAP cheerdance competition. Late in the century there was a squabble on the Blue Babble accepting female cheerleaders. The Ateneo tradition never had female cheerdancers but at that time the other schools have already caught up on the ateneo since it was one of the last institutions that does not have female cheerleaders. Eventually the Ateneo decided to add female cheerleaders to the Blue Babble Battalion. The group is now composed of cheerleaders, cheer dancers, the band and brass group.

References: Blue Babble Battalion