Rewarding awards
Last night was the awards ceremony for winter athletes, at Gregory Hall. As always, it was very entertaining.
Of course I arrived late (that seems to be the inevitable with my family). Athletes were supposed to be there by 6:45 p.m., and I arrived about five minutes before the ceremony started.
In all honesty, my mom and I had been on campus in front of Gregory Hall at 6:40 p.m., like we were supposed to be, but with no available parking near Gregory Hall as there is at Loomis Lab (where the awards ceremonies are typically held), it took us awhile to find a space to park, pay the meter, and walk (in the cold) to Room 112. Fortunately, though, unlike Loomis, you didn’t feel like you were going to fall forward while walking down to take your seat.
The boys varsity/JV basketball teams were gathered up in a corner (because the cool kids sit in the back), whereas the girls varsity/JV teams were sitting in the first three throws. Parents were scattered out randomly in the middle, and subbie boys and girls clumped together toward the front. As Sally began talking, the varsity/JV girls started to pass around all the coaches gifts and what-not for each player to sign, though I must admit that we weren’t very discreet about it.
The subbie girls team was presented first, followed by the subbie boys team, girls JV, girls varsity, boys JV, and boys varisty. It was fun to get to hear what the coaches had to say about everyone. Of course when you’re up there, no one ever knows exactly where to look. Some people look at their feet, other people look/talk with their friends, and some people choose to scan the crowd multiple times. Personally, I did a combination of the three. I thought that it was better sitting down and being able to hear the other coaches talk about the other athletes.
Coach Beesley was probably the most entertaining. He is notorious for giving everyone a funny nickname, so as he called each of the boys varsity players to recieve their awards he called them each by their quirky little nickname, and along with each person he had a cute little story to tag along. It was especially cute when the athletes gave the coaches big hugs too. When Ruthie Welch lunged toward Merf, I thought Merf might go toppling over!!
Of course the video was great (as always). It’s a wonder as to how the video crew is able to outdo themselves every year. Everyone was tapping their toes to the thumping music playing in the background as scenes (such as Aran’s behind the back pass to Sarah) flashed across the screen. The funniest part was probably the interview with Mr. Murphy, where they poked fun at the wonderful mismatched tiles that make up Uni Gym’s flooring, and the layers of dust that cause you to slip and slide. (Everyone has been in Uni Gym at some time or another, and can relate to all these humorous issues.)
When the video was finished playing and Sally had made her last few comments, there was a mad dash toward the food and drinks. Within a few minutes there was a brownie lying face-up on the floor with a shoeprint in it, and spilled Kool-aid on the table. After I had gotten my share of food, Katie Ryan and I glued ourselves to the wall, not even attempting to break through the crowd of people.
Once escaping the people, I can say that it turned out to be a very entertaining night. The only downside was having to walk back through the frigid cold to get to my car.
— Lizzy Warner