Speech, Speech, Speech!

Looking nervous while speaking at the Senior Athletic Banquet

I got a couple of requests via email from people wanting me to post my speech from the Oxy Senior Athletic Banquet a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, I forgot to ask anyone to take a video when I went up to the podium, so here it is in text form. Enjoy!

Today, I want to tell you about what it means to me to be a Tiger.

A few weeks ago, a couple of my teammates and I drove down to Whittier to watch the last women’s water polo game of the year. It was a Sunday– the day after our season had ended and the day of our annual Tigers baseball luncheon. Because the banquet was scheduled to begin just two hours after the opening whistle of the water polo game, we knew we’d be cutting it close, so we put on our “country club casual” best and sped down there as quickly as we could.

When we got there and walked onto the pool deck, we looked totally out of place: Three guys wearing collared shirts, kakis, and dress shoes standing amidst a swarm of Tiger fans covered head to toe in orange and black face paint, t-shirts, shorts, and knee-high socks must have stuck out like a sore thumb to those standing on the other side. But it wasn’t an issue, because as soon as the Oxy fans saw us, they made us feel right at home, welcoming us to sit with them and even offering to paint our faces with Tiger stripes, whiskers, or whatever else we could think of (I think I looked pretty sweet with my claw marks that I got).

When the game began, we joined in on the Tiger fans’ cheers, jumping up to clap, yell, and stomp our feet on the metal bleachers in a collective rumble of excitement whenever an Oxy player would steal the ball, make a big save, or score a goal. And when we left at halftime with Oxy leading CMS, the fans all waved goodbye, thanked us for coming out, and reminded me to wash off my face paint before walking into the baseball luncheon.

We hurried back to campus to arrive just in time for dinner to be served, walking in right as everyone had returned to their seats with their meals. And as I stood there at the gate to the Anderson Field outfield, seeing all of my coaches, teammates, teammates’ families, and friends all sitting together, sharing a steak dinner on a beautiful California Sunday afternoon, I couldn’t help but think to myself: this is it. This is what it means to be a Tiger.

Now I’ll admit, my qualifications for speaking before you all today are a little shaky. I was never an All-American, never All-SCIAC, never even a permanent starter for my baseball team. But my path to get here was a little different, and I think it helped me to realize what the Oxy athletic experience is all about. It’s all about being a part of a family. I’ll tell you another story.

So my first day of freshman orientation was my first day ever on campus; I had never come to visit, never been to Los Angeles, and never even really seen Oxy on a postcard. But on that first day, I walked into the Sports Information Director’s office, introduced myself to her, and asked if she had any jobs available because I’ve always loved sports and wanted to find a way to involve myself in them on campus. She told me that the college was looking for an announcer to call the soccer and football games that semester, and that if I wanted to do that, she’d be happy to have me aboard. Thinking to myself, ya sure, I like hearing my own voice, I decided to try it out. And a week later I was in the Patterson Field press box announcing the starting lineups for the first Oxy football game of the season.

I’ll admit: It wasn’t my best go-around. I mispronounced a couple of the names and even yelled “touchdown” when Oxy had actually committed a safety, but the whole time, the staff in the booth was there to support me, reminding me of who made a tackle, or how many yards the Tigers needed for a first down, or even what quarter it was and how much time was left.

I’ll never forget the moment after that game when Miss Hoffman came over to me, shook my hand, and told me how good I sounded. I was trembling with fear the entire game and thought I’d totally butchered it and that I would never announce again, but there she was, the Athletic Director of an NCAA institution, complementing me, a random freshman, on what I just thought had been a complete and utter disaster. It was uplifting; I felt supported– like what I did had truly mattered.

Over the next three years of my college career, I would discover that this is the norm with Oxy athletics: that people really do care about you and are there to welcome you and support you, just like in a family.

From Coach Wet spending countless hours in the cages with me trying to fix my swing or Brent catching bullpens with me all fall so I could will myself to become a pitcher

…to Taylor and Mr. Sweet helping me four days a week for two months to rehab my knee after surgery last spring

…to Mike and Allison in sports information getting the equipment and space for Jake Blodgett and I to air a weekly podcast called Tiger Talk this year

…I’ve felt supported by everyone I’ve come in contact with during my time as a Tiger.

And to me, that’s what it’s all about– That’s what being a Tiger means.

It’s not about how many hits I had or how many games my team won.

It’s about the camaraderie, it’s about the friendships, it’s about showing up at a water polo game in dress clothes and being welcomed by the Oxy fans with face paint and a place to stand and cheer. It’s about sitting down for a Sunday steak dinner on the Anderson Field grass with my coaches and friends.

We’ve spent our whole lives training to be athletes, to get to this point. And now, suddenly, it’s over. But one thing that will stick with us always are the relationships we’ve developed throughout our time at Oxy. We’re all Tigers. Now and forever.

Founders Day a Flying Success

 

A man dressed in red, white, and blue rides a penny-farthing on the quad during lunch. Afternoon classes were cancelled so that students could celebrate Founder's Day and Oxy's 125th anniversary.

Last night, as I sat strapped into the giant white ferris wheel on the middle of the quad, paused momentarily at the top while more passengers climbed on board, I couldn’t help but thinking: this is it. All around me, students and faculty danced and mingled in packs before the impromptu stage at the base of the stairs where the cover band Rock Candy played Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks,” Neon Trees’ “Animal,” and other popular songs. A group of girls paused to take pictures, while a couple of Oxy librarians near them each put on glowstick necklaces. Truly, it was the perfect ending to a perfect Founders Day– one that saw the student body emerge from classrooms, dorms, and study spaces to enjoy what was quite literally a giant fairgrounds on the Occidental campus, complete with games, cotton candy, and all. (Also, Oxy baseball clinched its first winning season in 22 years earlier in the day, so for me and Jake, it was all smiles throughout the evening).

It was a magical experience that I’m sure everyone involved will be talking about for decades. And more importantly, it brought everyone together, even just for one day, to celebrate a place that has done so much for so many of us over the years.

So hats off to Oxy for planning such a great event, and thank you to everyone who helped make it so awesome.

Oxy’s 125 Celebration, a set on Flickr.

Mascot Matchups: Seafood Buffet

Where the Pacific ocean ends, the occident continues. Oxy by a few

Well, not a bad week last week with my first picks of the polo season going 1-1, but apparently cougars somehow have a natural talent on jet skis as Oxy fell to APU. This week I will only have one matchup, but two predictions due to the Occidental Tigers playing the University of the Pacific Tigers in the second game of their double header. Writing a fictitious battle about two tigers just makes no sense. However, picking Occidental over Pacific makes perfect sense, which is why I am going to say:

Oxy 10+ UP 9-

On to the real matter at hand: Oxy’s first game against Vanguard.

Occidental Tigers  vs. Vanguard Lions

Our battle of the day will take place in a seafood restaurant. Frightened patrons, waiters, and chefs run frantically trying to escape the building as our two feline nemeses begin brawling. Tables are smashed and shrimp cocktail flies through the air. The tiger knocks the lion into the lobster tank, cracking it and causing its watery crustaceous contents to flood the dining room. Outraged at being drenched the lion lunges at the tiger, ferociously clawing at his striped opponent. Taken off guard, the Tiger catches a claw to the face and reels backward into the kitchen hitting his head hard on the stove. The Tiger now on his back looks up to a very hungry lion waiting to finish him off. But just as the lion was about to deliver the finishing blow a spice jar falls from a shelf onto the lion. But not just any spice, pepper. Anyone who has seen The Hangover knows that tigers love pepper, and hate cinammon. The smell of the pepper has the same effect as spinach on Popeye the sailor. Within seconds the Tiger has the lion knocked out cold on the kitchen floor.

Oxy 12ish, Vanguard 6 give or take a few

 

 

Conflict of Interest: Tyler Eyrich

Well, as many of you know, both Jake and I play baseball here at Oxy. As such, there is clearly a conflict of interest for us to report on it. So, as a way to avoid such awkwardness and maintain what little credibility we might have as bloggers/reporters, we’ve come up with a new– and perhaps even more awkward–Tiger Talk special segment called “Conflict of Interest.” Each week, I will interview one of my teammates about random things related to baseball. This week’s trial-and-error run with senior starting pitcher Tyler Eyrich proved to be less exciting than we’d hoped. But hey, that’s generally how things go here at Tiger Talk. So without further ado, here’s week one of “Conflict of Interest”:

A Cold Start for Women’s Lacrosse

The Occidental women's lacrosse team plays against Redlands in the 2012 SCIAC conference opener.

For many students at Oxy, lacrosse seems like somewhat of a foreign game– one imported from the east coast or otherwise played by prep school kids who assumedly have tired of regatta, fencing, and squash. But, as many on campus also forget, our college in fact fields two lacrosse teams: one women’s, and one men’s.

Last night, the former– which is the only of the two that competes in the NCAA (the men’s team is still a club)– officially opened their season against their SCIAC foe, the University of Redlands Bulldogs. The night was perfect for the occasion: dark and cold, just as I imagine it would be back east. Similarly, the score turned out to be just as grim for the lady Tigers, who fell by a final score of 13-7.

While I missed the first half because of class, I (and maybe only eleven other people at that point) was able to catch the final ten minutes of the second and saw Oxy put on quite a show. Down by nine when I arrived, the Tigers did a great job of containing Redlands’ offense and keeping the ball in their possession. Haley Gandsey, who plays both attack and defense for Occidental, scored twice in seven minutes, while Beebe Finch-Sanders netted her first goal as a Tiger with just under eight minutes to play.

Talking to some of the other fans who were attendance, it sounds like Redlands’ defense was just too much to handle for Oxy in the early going. Still, from what I saw, this team can score, and they showed great poise and competitiveness in the game’s final minutes. With the momentum they should be carrying after playing so well so late against one of the conference’s better teams, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Tigers upset defending SCIAC champion CMS on Wednesday.

I will check back with an update then–hopefully this time from a warmer, more packed Patterson Field.

New Mascot Matchups

Water Polo starts this weekend with two games at Taylor Pool on Saturday, and I have painstakingly researched the games and have picked the outcomes.

Oxy vs. Azusa Pacific University

If a tiger fights a cougar the tiger will win without question, but what about a tiger fighting a cougar in a jet-ski jousting battle? The answer of which animal will be thrown from its mount first may not be obvious to you at first, but if you really think about it there’s only one logical outcome. Let’s start the showdown after these two cats have mysteriously ended up on jet-skis in the middle of the ocean. Neither animal has an opposable thumb, so using the vehicle’s throttle will be the biggest challenge. The smaller shiftier cougar will quickly think to use it’s tail to begin to drive giving her the early advantage. Out of natural instinct of seeing a cougar operated jet-ski barreling towards her at 50 mph the tigress will throw up a paw which will then come down on the throttle making both felines mobile. Now, I don’t know how many of you have ever driven a jet-ski, but it’s not that easy. Especially, if you are doing it backwards using a tail to operate the gas. The cougar will be forced to turn around to see if it is near impact with the tiger. With its tail controlling only one side of the handlebars the cougar will pull the jet-ski into a hard right turn. The surprise of the sudden change in direction will cause the cougar to tighten its grip on the throttle speeding up the vehicle even more. Scared that it will fall if it loosens its grip on the bar tail the cougar refuses to attempt using the brake. Thus the cougar is now stuck in a spiral of rapidly increasing in speed. At a certain point she will get dizzy, lose her grip, and fall into the water, giving the tiger the victory. Meanwhile, the Tiger has gotten distracted by a school of fish heading out to sea, and can be seen riding off into the sunset anticipating a seafood buffet.

Oxy 14, APU Less than 14

Oxy vs. Cal State San Bernardino

The Tigers vs. the Coyotes, a chance to re-invent the age old rivalry of cats and dogs. Clearly this calls for a Pirate ship battle between two epic cartoon characters: Wile E. Coyote and Tigger. This should be an even matchup as Wile E. has more firepower with his access to Acme weaponry, but Tigger has the speed on his side with his bouncing ability. As the battle begins Tigger quickly loads several cannons, then springs from one to the next as he lights the fuses and cannon balls fly at Wile E.’s vessel. Wile E. is taking his standard approach of meticulously creating a weapon of mass destruction. He ties cannons together, straps rockets to these, attaches extending boxing gloves and dynamite, and finally links the whole mess to a single fuse. Tigger keeps bombarding Wile E.’s ship, as Wile E. strikes a match and holds it to the fuse. The coyote leaps behind the ships mast and covers his ears waiting for the inevitable explosion. Tigger sees the predicament he is in, and hops below deck. Several seconds go by and nothing happens. Wile E. turns around at his destructive creation and sees that the fuse has indeed burned all the way to the end. He carefully walks over and taps the device… Nothing… He taps it again… Nothing… he kicks it….Nothing. Now irate Wile E. begins jumping up and down on the mass of weapons when…KABOOM. The creation explodes in huge fireball. As the smoke begins to clear we can see a charred and disappointed Wile E. sinking into the water with his ship. Tigger wins, Tigers win.

Oxy More than 9, CSUSB Somewhere around 5