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December 19, 2014 |
Moose Madness is tonight.
If you have never experienced Moose Madness,
consider giving it a look. It is a high energy,
noisy, fun-filled experience, featuring fun
basketball between Bonners Ferry and Sandpoint,
student competitions that take place during
breaks in the basketball action, and lots of
cheering, bands, and overall madness.
Tickets for the event are sold out. However, the
event will be broadcast in live video tonight,
beginning at 6:00 p.m., on the website
www.boundarycountylive.com
It is anticipated that the entire event will
last about four hours. Feel free to log in at
any time to get a sense of what Moose Madness is
all about, and to see all the continuous
excitement and student enthusiasm that
characterizes Moose Madness.
Moose Madness is actually a week-long event. It
is a good-natured competitive week-long event
between the students of Bonners Ferry High
School and Sandpoint High School. During the
week leading up to the climactic day of the big
basketball night, the students at the school
wear crazy clothes to school (see
the other Moose Madness article on NewsBF
contributed by Katie Colson). They also
participate in fundraising for charitable
causes. The wrestling teams get involved, as the
annual B Cup Bonners Ferry vs Sandpoint
wrestling meet is held during Moose Madness
week.
And keep in mind that behind the scenes, for the
past month or so, the students at both schools
have been working on highly confidential
presentations for their cheerleading teams,
dance teams, and the celebrated Student Stomp.
All this comes together on the final big night
of Moose Madness, which is tonight at Bonners
Ferry High School. On Moose Madness Night, the
Varsity Basketball teams of Bonners Ferry and
Sandpoint play each other. During breaks in the
action, the students of the two schools take
turns presenting their cheerleader teams with
their new Moose Madness routines, their dance
teams, the bands--all of these presentations are
judged and points awarded. Points are also
awarded based on the results of the B Cup
wrestling event, and on the fundraising the
students have accomplished.
But that's not all. During the evening, school
administrators drag out the noise decibel
meters. The students of each school take turns
in a burst of screaming and cheering, trying to
outscream and out-noise the other side. More
points are awarded to the winning side in the
noise competition. Students present their highly
practiced and polished moose calls, again
earning points for their school for the best
calls. School artists present original pictures
of moose, and again points are awarded for those
deemed the best.
Keep in mind that all of this goes on amidst the
cheering and enthusiastic melee--or Madness, we
might say--of the student sections in the gym.
One of the most fun competitions is the Student
Stomp. This is an original stomp/dance that
students and their leaders conceive and
choreograph at each school, involving up to
approximately 100 students, all stomping in
well-timed unison. In the past, these Stomps
have employed students drumming on garbage cans,
on plastic chairs, and slamming paper cups on
the gym floor to create percussive sounds. In
recent years, the Badgers have taken to spelling
out "BFHS" at the end of their Stomp
presentations. Again, the presentation of each
school is judged, the school with the best Stomp
again winning points for their school.
Oh, and by the way, there are basketball games
going on, too.
At the end of the evening, someone has won the
basketball games. But the evening isn't
over--all the points earned from the
competitions are totaled, and the school with
the most points at the end of the evening gets
to take back to their school the highly coveted
Moose Madness trophy, which is a real Moose Rack
(donated some years back by the Idaho Fish and
Game department) painted on one side with the
Bonners Ferry blue and white colors, and on the
other side with Sandpoint's red and white. The
winning school gets to display the trophy at
their school for the next year, until Moose
Madness week comes up again.
This year is Moose Madness VI (to be
presumptious and borrow Roman Numeral numbering
from the Super Bowl system). Over the previous
five years of the event, the basketball games
have been dominated by Sandpoint. The Sandpoint
Boys' team has won their game every year. On the
Girls' side, Bonners Ferry has won the game a
single time. That was during Moose Madness IV
back in 2011.
On the other hand, Bonners Ferry dominates in
the Spirit Award, which is the school that wins
the total of all the competitions and gets to
take home the Moose Madness antlers. Even though
the Badgers have most often won the antlers,
last year they went to Sandpoint. This year the
Badgers are planning to bring them back home.
And, just maybe, this could be the year the
Badgers break through and win a basketball game
at Moose Madness. This year the Sandpoint Girls'
team has a record of 5 wins, and 4 losses
(including already a loss to Timberlake, who is
in Bonners Ferry's Intermountain League), while
the Sandpoint Boys' team has won only a single
game all season, and has since lost five in a
row.
Maybe this will be the Badgers' year. But with
Moose Madness, you just never know!
As we mentioned, tickets for the event are
completely sold out, like they are every year.
However, take the time to log on and tune in for
at least a few minutes to watch the evening's
events on
www.boundarycountylive.com . You will come
away pleasantly surprised with the excitement
that abounds at the event, and the great
sportsmanship and fun events the students put
together for Moose Madness night.
The Girls' Varsity game starts at 6:00 p.m., the
Boys' Varsity game will be at approximately 8:00
p.m. The various student competitions take place
throughout the evening.
Take a look at the game online, see what you
think! |
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