Seven Questions On: Doing Fun, Ridiculous, Over-the-Top Things
[In this recurring feature, Shore students answer questions posted by fellow students. See the video for bonus interview footage.]
Alex: Where did this wiffle ball idea come from?
Alex: Where did this wiffle ball idea come from?
Nicholas: I think it originally came about in Eighth Hour. We were all just sitting around slacking off, thinking about what it would be fun to do as a grade, since we’re leaving soon. I don’t know who had the original idea, but I just contacted Ms. McNall and tried to get some gym space, and I talked to Mr. Kennedy to find out if we could get a prize for the winner. And so we had an advisory lunch, and it kind of went from there.
Nicholas: What about the website, Brendan?
Brendan: After we found out that this was going to exist, I contacted Nick and Alex and was like, “Hey, I can make a website for this, because it seemed like a cool thing for people to be able to check to see the brackets and see who’s winning. So I hopped on that wiffle ball bandwagon and I made that bracket, which eventually led to some other things, like the Twitter account that Alex made.
Brendan: Alex, what’s up with the Twitter account?
Alex: I think part of the origin of this is just doing fun, ridiculous, over-the-top things. It started with, let’s go play wiffle ball against another advisory group just one time, and it just kind of grew from there. What would an actual organization be for this? It clearly needs a social media presence along with its own website. We have a weekly newsletter that we’ve sent out every week since it began. We just try to grow our ridiculousness, I guess.
Brendan: Now we have a full “team”: Alex and Nick are the co-commissioners, my title is vice president…
Alex: “Vice President of Social Media Management”
Brendan: All right. And then Mr. Hay’s advisory group is the commissioner’s office. It’s pretty intense.
Alex: The official name of this entire project is the First Ever Annual Invitational Only Shore Advisory Wiffle Ball Tournament. We’re hoping, even though we won’t be here, that this happens again next year, and it will be the “Second, First Ever Annual Invitational Only Shore Advisory Wiffle Ball Tournament.”
Nicholas: It’s been referred to as FEAIOSAWBT, so maybe we can add to that: S-FEAIOSAWBT
Alex: I think adding “second” might be better.
Brendan: FEAIOSAWBT 2.0… Nicholas, what about challenges?
Nicholas: I think mainly getting people organized might be the hardest part. Because there are so many moving parts – getting gym space, the school is always doing something, we had Memorial Day practice and other events. … But I think everybody’s having a really good time. There might be some more surprises that we have in the works…
Brendan: Maybe some awards, who knows? Perhaps some voting.
Alex: All-star balloting.
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Alex: One other thing I thought we should share today was the excellent game we had today, an extra-innings showdown. It was an example of the excitement that this wiffle ball tournament has created between the Hay advisory group and the feared “Wright” fielders, as in Mr. Wright’s ninth grade team. And there might be some arbitration. We’re setting up an arbitrator –
Nicholas: To be judge, jury, and executioner.
Alex: Of course we have to follow after our hero, Roger Goodell; he’s been a real inspiration.
Nicholas: But it’s great to see so many people turning out for one game, even though it wasn’t the final game. But still, it was a big deal to us and clearly to other people, so we were excited to see that, even if they weren’t in the game or on the field, they were still having fun.
Brendan: The extra innings took up one of the recesses, which really shows that everybody wanted to give up their free time, not only their advisory periods, but also their snack recess too. And the entire grade was watching Mr. Hay’s advisory and Mr. Wright’s advisory come together and play a really great game.
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FEAIOSAWBT
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