| |
It all started the night we played in a Big National Tournament sponsored by the NNdoubleN Organization. UM fans went excitedly to The Big Arena toting favorite fanfare only to discover that all those N’s in that name stood for -
NO.
|
| |
NO fanbannas |
|
NO banners |
|
|
NO signs |
|
 |
NO removable camera lenses |
|
| NO - to just about everything we had with us except our socks and underwear. |
|
One of our own was even harassed at the gate about her red pom poms … |
| |
So during the game, in which a favorite player almost singlehandedly defeated the opponent, some of our fans displayed their spirit by holding up clothing that they removed from their own bodies. Go, you clever Terp fans! |
|
| |
But all the while, we wondered ‘how come’. 'How come' the other fans could hold up their favorite player’s name during the entire first game? Let’s see now. They had 5 signs to our uh… NO signs. Booooo! That was a very bad call on the part of security. Thus, a conversation began at The Victory Party about the legality of those 5 signs, each one a letter of a player’s name on an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper. Hmmm, WE could do that…only better. We could do ALL our players names!
|
| |
The next day (Sunday), 3 Fans (aka P, K, and Boo) set out to Kinkos to print the names and to make one button with a player's photo on it for someone to wear to Monday’s game. Not sure why, but as a trial run, instead of printing the player's photo, K printed a sample photo of our coach; only it didn’t print small enough to fit on a button, it printed as an 8 ½ x 11 photo of her face. No way could our coach’s face be discarded, so K printed a few more; and she, P and Boo went to Home Depot to get some free paint sticks to attach to the faces.
They were gone for HOURS, but returned safely to the barbeque…each holding what would turn out to be the object of our obsession. |
|
|
|
This was big. No, this was huge…bigger even than the Great Train Robbery. We would make 200 faces and smuggle them and all the girls’ names into the so called Neutral Arena. An alert was sent to a photographer, a posse was formed, the work began, and the plot thickened as we created the faces and planned the method of getting the faces and names into the Arena. |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
Others tired, but P, K, and Boo worked into the wee hours of the night until they had everything ready for dispersal. |
| |
|
| |
| After the send off at The Expensive Hotel, P, K and Boo tipped off a Video guy, and The G-Man revealed the plot to a trusted friend who could alert the band... |
| |
|
| |
| In baggies of ten each, the faces on a stick were given to various conspirators. Some were daring enough to take as many as three baggies. And in the parking lot of The Big Arena, Terp fans could be seen hiding behind their cars stuffing baggies of faces up their sleeves, in the small of their backs, and, yes, in the seat of their pants. We waddled safely by the Gestapo and into The Arena like babies with full diapers. |
| |
| In Ladies Rooms throughout the Arena, the contraband was transferred into backpacks and tote bags which were easily carried to our seats. We then proceeded cautiously to place the faces and names strategically under the seats in the designated section of the Arena. |
| |
We were nervous in anticipation of our grand display of spirit. The first player’s name was announced and I saw her name go up in the crowd, then the second player was announced and her name went up too. It was working. All of the names were being proudly held high in the air one after another after another. Then the faces were raised as the coach was introduced, and our section was filled with names and faces. The band played, and we all waved our faces on a stick while we sang, ‘Hey, Hey Baby, I Wanna Know-o-o If You’ll Be My Girl’. |
| |
|
|
| MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!? Not quite. |
| |
The security guard was panic stricken and was calling on other members of his team to help get rid of all the signs. Fortunately, The G-Man overheard him and demanded to see the Leader of The NNdoubleN Organization. He challenged their Leader to look in The Rule Book of A Thousand Pages, and find a rule that we had broken. The Leader searched and searched to no avail. Defeated, The Leader agreed that we had broken no rules, and we could keep our signs for the remainder of the game. |
| |
It was sad that we lost the big game and heartbreaking to see some of our favorite players slump over in despair. But given time, they will know that they gave us 4 great years of basketball, a program that we can be very proud of, and an opportunity to carry out one of the greatest capers in fan history. |
| |
Thank you P, K, and Boo. I am still laughing. |
| |
