By Mike Gincel, Contributing Writer
A Saint Leo tradition for many years, Moonlight Madness signals the start of a brand new basketball season. Usually, the event is filled with special performers and big prizes. This year, the Student Government Union and the Athletics department decided to go for a simpler and more interactive event for fans and teams alike. The result was a Moonlight Madness that many students found more enjoyable than the previous year.
The night started off with the introduction of the two emcees. The first one was Rick Sassone, owner of Rocket Sports and Entertainment and the current radio host for the men’s and women’s basketball games. The other was reigning Fan of the Year, Santi Lopez. Lopez and Sassone had great comedic energy as Lopez did skits dressed up as Head Coach Lance Randall from the men’s team and as men’s player Trent Thomas. Both emcees motivated the crowd to get involved for the men’s and women’s teams.
The women’s team was the first to come out onto the court. Many of the players were eager to thank the crowd for coming out tonight and to continue to motivate and support the team.
“We want to thank the fans for being there for us. We want as many as you’ll to come out and support our team.” Chelsea Connelly, junior, said.
Connelly and many of her teammates echoed the same response. It was about the fans motivating the players. The fans were part of the game as well. This theme stuck with the program for the remainder of the night.
This trend continued when the men’s team came up for introductions. The chemistry with the team was evident as all of them were joking and laughing and having a great time with the crowd. One player wanted everyone to follow him on Twitter, which drew a big laugh from the team.
Head coach Lance Randall spoke about how impressed he was with the turnout last season and was optimistic that this season would be the same even better.
“We had the best student crowd last year, and I hope that this year is the same,” said Randall
After the teams were introduced, a three-point contest was played with three members from the audience and three Saint Leo women’s and men’s basketball players. They had thirty seconds for each person on their two-person team to score as many three-pointers as possible. There were two winners, one woman, and one man. During the contest, there was a tie during the men’s team contest. It led to an exciting dunk-off between players Trent Thomas and Jerrel Harris. Harris ultimately out-dunked Thomas to win the game for his audience teammate.
After that, the greek fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha closed out the night with a skit regarding their members getting ready for their show performance at Moonlight Madness. They did an energetic step routine which the crowd thoroughly enjoyed.
Moonlight Madness did have a few surprises for the crowd. The first was Fritz. Fritz and his team made a music video to the wildly popular song, “Gagnam Style”. They previewed his video, to the crowd’s pleasure. The main video is being uploaded to the Saint Leo website. Fritz was on hand that night to keep the energy up and to help distribute free giveaways, such as glow-in-the-dark balls to the crowd.
The other surprise was the return of the First National Bank’s ROARrewards Jackpot. At every home game, every fan can scan a QR code from their smartphone and be eligible to win a $125 cash jackpot. The winner has to be in attendance that night or the jackpot will roll over to the next week. During Moonlight Madness, they gave away a $100 cash jackpot to one fan that night who scanned the code. That lucky winner was women’s soccer player Alicia Schuering.
“I was so surprised and excited that I won. I didn’t think it would be me,” said Schuering.
Overall, many students afterward that they enjoyed the new focus on Moonlight Madness being more and more about the teams and their fans. It was well received by the crowd and that a simpler and more interactive event was what the fans wanted. The men’s home opener is scheduled for November 9th, at 7 pm. The women’s home opener is scheduled for November 16th at 7 pm. Come out and support your Men’s and Women’s basketball teams as they start their quest for a spot in the NCAA National Tournament.
