Molly Canyes ‘15, Staff Writer
On Friday October 18th, Merrimack College hosted its second annual Midnight Madness, a pep rally held to rev up the Warrior Community for the upcoming sports season. All winter sport teams were recognized at this event, however, the men and women’s basketball teams collectively stole the attention from the crowd. The women’s basketball team made it clear they are not just your average ball players by showing their dance skills in a performance choreographed by junior Tayla Fernandez. Various contests took place such as a 3-point shoot out competition, Junkyard relay race, and slam dunk contest. Mary-Kate Greene ’16 commented on how obvious the men’s and women’s basketball teams bond was displayed through the night’s activities.
The crowd was influenced to show their school sprit with an iTunes gift card given as a prize to the student who came best dressed as Merrimack’s super fan. The Merrimack Community was treated to free T-shirts, rally towels and pizza while they enjoyed the late night festivities in the Volpe Athletic Complex.
The dunk competition was a big hit at midnight madness. Every student who went to the event received a scorecard and it was up to the students to decide who he or she thought was the winner. Anthony Barry ’16, Tawayne, Anderson Jr. ’17, and Gelvis Solano ’16 competed in basketball dunking. Nominees got creative with their strategy to dunk in the contest, since most couldn’t actually get the ball in the hoop. Their dunks were so creative that they could be something one would see at an upper level dunk competition. The crowd really interacted with the players and got the students moving with excitement.
The Pep Band pumped up the crowd in the lobby with some of their more modern songs such as Bad Romance by Lady Gaga and Single Ladies by Beyonce. “The Pep Bands performance was a great way of getting everyone excited before the night’s festivities fell into full swing.” said Allie Farina ’16.
While the women’s basketball team did their best to get down and jiggy with it, the Dance Team stole everyones eyes and hearts as they moved swiftly and beautifully during their latest routine.
The Merrimack College Planning Board got festive with the theme of the night, creating two fun interactive photo booths for students to gather in with their friends. One of the backdrops featured a basketball hoop that you could pose in front of with a ball pretending to take a shot. This was a great way to capture some memories of the event in a way smart phones could not, the backdrops tied the fun and madness of the evening all together.
Students compete in a most spirited Warrior fan costume contest
As Merrimack students, we are fortunate to have an event such as Midnight Madness offered to us. It’s a way to showcase our school spirit while bonding with our peers and professors. Hopefully Midnight Madness doesn’t stop here; the tradition must live on for future Merrimack students and athletes to experience what it truly is like to be a Warrior.
