On Oct. 25, 2010 at California Baptist University, the “Crazies” made their presence known during the annual tradition of Midnight Madness, back with a new twist.
Returning crazies decided earlier in the year that the familiar yellow crazies was to be replaced with the new “Lancer Gold” crazies shirt.
There were also new twists to familiar old chants.
The event officially started at 10 p.m., with a pre-party at 9 p.m. Chick-Fil-a provided free chicken sandwiches for 750 of the earliest students.
Students arrived early to ensure a seat for the event.
CBU sophomore Carl Walker said, “We should have left earlier.”
There were other students who believed they arrived early enough for the event but came in time to find a long line. They were eventually turned away at the door because the gym reached its capacity.
“To me, it was not a big deal. I was just glad to spend some time with my friends in line. Some people are angry, but they are overreacting,” Alex Evers, a junior, said.
Others were not so forgiving.
“I was really looking forward to going in to be a part of the madness, but it turned out the madness outside was the biggest disappointment of all. Is at out there for an hour and a half, watched everyone trample in like Wal-Mart on black Friday and saw them end the line for the group right in front of me. The whole thing was chaos,” junior Tiffany Fontaine said.
The first 750 students received tickets used for raffle drawings during the event and to redeem Midnight Madness shirts at the end of the night.
Attendees were also treated by a performance from CBU students Mike Tereul, Joey Garcia, Caleb Smith and Graduate Assistant Jay Stovall.
The reception to the performance was overwhelmingly positive. Students were excited to hear their fellow classmates rap and the performers were excited by the crowd’s response.
“It was really cool to make a song and actually have people like it. Me, Jay, Caleb and Joey just like rapping, so when it actually gets a positive response, it’s really a blessing!” Mike Tereul said.
Inside the gym, the festivities continued.
Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams and their respective coaches, were introduced to the student body. New this year was the introduction of the Crazy 8, a group of CBU’s finest and craziest fans. The Crazy 8 taught traditional cheers to new students and brought a new twist to the “Left, Right!” chant by ending it with a line from a song rather than the familiar “Goodbye!”
The Crazy 8 also introduced the Crazies scarves. While any CBU student can get a hold of a Crazies shirt, only the craziest and loudest fans can have the privilege to earn a scarf for themselves.
Another yearly tradition is the 3-point shoot off between the men’s and women’s basketball teams. The women won the contest, which resulted in free Chick-Fil-a for all the women in attendance. The men were able to showcase their skills in their dunk contest.
The Campus Activities Board sponsored raffle giveaways. Many students were drawn to the event by the potential chance to win free books for a semester, Yule tickets, or even a brand new iPad. The giveaways seemed to make the crowd go crazy.
“I thought it was one of the sickest events CBU has put on and I can’t wait to see what they do next year,” Tereul said.
Midnight Madness brought back many memories for returning students and introduced freshmen to some CBU traditions. The “Crazies” seem to be ready to bring the madness this basketball season.
