This previous weekend, Homecoming was upon us and in true Husky tradition, it was time to make this one more memorable than those before. Since this is my first year here, I had no idea about what to expect from homecoming traditions and I must say, I was more than pleasantly surprised. There were three key events hosted this weekend, which started with the cardboard boat race. On reading the words “boat race,” one can assume that it’s going to be a competitive, enjoyable boat race along the Portage. Then you see the word cardboard and surprise sets in. The words “cardboard” and “boat race” do not belong in the same sentence, is what crosses our mind. Therefore, I decided to visit this event myself, and by golly was I astounded. People had actually made boats out of cardboard, which were floating, carrying people and were possible to steer and row. With a large crowd cheering them on and some awesome bit of commentary, the participants put on quite a wild spectacle.
There were quite a lot of incidents, including a couple of boats ramming into each other and capsizing together, while one team caused a nice little T-bone to get out on the beach first to win the race. There were neck-to-neck competitions in some rounds as well, which got the crowd fired up beyond belief. The homecoming court were the judges for the show and I could see they were riled up at the performances of the teams as well. Blizzard also made an appearance, and as always, he was in a jolly mood enjoying the competition, high-fiving and fist-bumping everyone along the beach. Ultimately, with nicely designed boats, intense competition and innovative costumes, this was a pretty cool event and definitely a nice kick-start to homecoming. The next homecoming event was the tailgate party. The pre-game tailgate party was at the parking lot right beside Sherman Field and you could sense the excitement of the “home team support” the moment you walked into the food tent. With burgers and hot dogs being enjoyed with beer or lemonade, games like Jenga being played, cheering when the Huskies walked by and booing when the Saginaw Valley State University team did, it was a pumped up atmosphere. Blizzard was at his delightful best, high-fiving everyone around and trying to shock people by standing behind them. It was a great and friendly environment all around, with people in anticipation of the game. Following the tailgate party was the football game.
During the halftime, the new homecoming king and queen were crowned. Get your hands together for the new king and queen, King Alec Holm and Queen Caitlin Swim. Congratulations to the both of you! After the coronation, Holm said, “It was an honor to represent the school as Homecoming King. I was surprised that I was even nominated. I would like to thank the Pep Band, these great guys, for nominating me and to all of those who supported me.” The Pep Band played an amazing recreation of the Game of Thrones theme with the cheerleaders performing on the music, which obviously ended with the cheerleading team playing dead at the end of the performance. (Thanks G.R.R. Martin, you managed to “kill” characters not involved in your series as well.) Swim, who was sponsored by Alpha Gamma Delta, said, “I was taken aback when my name was announced. This thing never happened in high school and for it to happen here, it is quite an honor.” Both of them were in a jovial mood when they said this, and we hope the best for them.
