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The gym was packed. The crowd was loud as they watched the athletes take their positions on the court at Alumni Hall. Over 1,000 fans were cheering on their Stags, when all of a sudden the players stopped, gyrated their hips and ripped off their shirts. What? This doesn’t sound like a normal athletic event. That’s because it isn’t. It was the first ever Fairfield University athletic talent show that took place last year.
“It was something that really captured everybody’s imagination,” senior athletic director Alison Sexton said.
The second annual Fairfield Athletic Talent Show will be held Saturday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. at Alumni Hall.
“It’s one of those things that if people are willing to come together, it will happen,” Steve Flanagan said.
What’s The Talent Show?
The talent show, in which all of the athletes take part, is a unique fundraiser sponsored by the University’s Student Athletic Advisory Committee or SAAC. Last year, all of the $1,500 that was raised was donated to the Grace Evanko Foundation.
Sexton, the advisor of SAAC said, “Our goal really was to…do something that we can see an immediate impact [with]… [So that] we can really see what it is as opposed to a large organization.”
The charity was influenced by Grace, a second grader who is suffering from an inoperable brain tumor. SAAC found out about her story through one of their co-presidents: Kelley Brady, who is also a goalkeeper for the women’s lacrosse team. She was talking to her physical therapist when he mentioned a little girl who was in his son’s class.
“It was an incredible opportunity. I think we learned a lot from Grace and Grace was able to have fun with us… [And] not only learn from the student athletes but to have some fun watching the talent show,” Brady said.
SAAC (a committee comprised of two members on each varsity team) fell in love with the idea and picked up the cause. Now they just needed to choose an event– but not an ordinary one.
How SAAC Originally Formed the Idea
“They were looking for something different, kind of a bigger project. I was looking for something that would challenge them a little bit more. I think that the leadership that we had at the time and have now was ready for something like that,” Sexton said.
They heard of other schools that have hosted a similar event in the past such as UCONN and the University of Michigan and decided to bring the idea to Fairfield. However, not everyone associated with Fairfield thought that it would work out.
“With any initial idea there are some critics…I think last year’s talent show really showed ‘Hey, every team can do this- it’s not that scary, it’s fun,’” Brady said.
“I didn’t think people would buy into it. I looked at my team, told them the first time and everybody kind of laughed it off,” Flanagan, a co-president of SAAC said.
But as time went on, the athletes started to think more and more about the idea.
“It was something that kind of snowballed. Originally it was a couple of teams that are typically very involved around campus…and those teams kind of spread word to the other teams like ‘Hey, this is going to be cool, let’s get in on it.’ [It was like a] get big or go home type of thing,” Flanagan said.
And before long, each team had signed up for the event. They all came up with their own unique act, which ranged from an eating competition, to a circus performance, to a skit that featured the men’s soccer New Zealand goalkeeper, Michael O’Keeffe, strutting his stuff while wearing a golden blonde wig and a shiny gold dress with padding inside to emphasize his assets.
Goals for 2012
This year, the committee sees the show running pretty much the same way, but with a different cause. Fairfield will be raising money for Emily Tredwell, a little girl who has been adopted by the Women’s Soccer team. Emily was born with a disease in which one leg was significantly shorter than the other. After trying to find a specialist in the field, her family found a doctor who was willing to help but he resides in Florida. The expenses for the family have started to increase and SAAC has agreed to take up her cause.
“The charity is going to be similar…another young girl and her family who will become Stag fans and hopefully we can help support her and her family,” Sexton said.
This is not the first time that Fairfield University has helped the Tredwell family. In fact, this season the women’s soccer team hosted a fundraiser during one of their regular season games against Stony Brook, in which all the money received went straight to her family.
Emily has a special connection towards the Women’s Soccer squad. Their head coach, Jim O’Brien, was the coach at Stony Brook when Emily’s father worked at the university. The two developed a friendship and when O’Brien heard about Emily he knew that he needed to help.
“Jim has been a very good friend for a long time and for him to step up in an effort to help me and my family says a lot about who he is,” Emily’s father, Tim said in a press release on fairfieldstags.com. “He’s a pretty good coach, but he’s a far better person.”
SAAC now hopes to raise $2,000 to help with Emily’s medical costs (that’s $500 more than they raised last year). With this now the second year of this annual event, the committee has sensed that the show is becoming more accepted in the University community since it can connect the students to the athletes by seeing each team in a different light.
Benefits of the Event
“I think at times at Fairfield there is disconnect between the student athletes and the students. And something like the talent show where there is just harmless fun…[and] seeing that we are doing it for community service definitely makes for a stronger connection,” Flanagan said.
It not only helps raise money for a great cause but it also unites in several different ways: from team bonding to the connection between the students and the athletes, and of course the players and the charity, it brings people closer together. Practicing each routine and having to perform in front of a packed Alumni Hall while everyone on stage sweats with nervousness is an example of this bond.
“I can’t imagine the fun they probably had putting together their skits and their dance routines,” Sexton said.
“Our team is pretty tight as it is but it was another way to get everybody to bond. At first, we had a couple of guys who were real shy to buy into the whole dancing thing, but … we got a championship, so it paid off,” Flanagan said, as his cross country team won the inaugural trophy.
But perhaps the most important bond formed on this special night comes with the charity. Last year’s subject, Grace Evanko, and Fairfield have developed a deep connection: especially with the Women’s Lacrosse team.
Grace still participates in some team activities such as carving pumpkins during a Halloween party, or walking through their haunted house locker room during the pre-season. She also holds a special place in Kelley Brady’s heart as the senior continues to keep in contact with Grace as Brady babysits for her regularly.
“It’s great,” she said. “Grace loves to hear what’s going on at Fairfield, how the different teams are doing….we just love her.”
Last year’s event was successful in so many ways. Allison Sexton and the rest of SAAC hope that this year can be even better.
“I hope I see a packed house. I hope I see a lot of enthusiasm. I hope I see some great acts,” she said.
As for the student leaders, they are looking forward to increased creativity from each team which make the event even more enjoyable to watch.
“We hope to make this an annual event that will become a Fairfield tradition,” Brady said. “I think the acts in the talent show are going to be bigger and better than you have ever seen. Last year everyone was a little worried about what they were going to do. But this year I think people are ready to take their talent to the next level and show all the students at Fairfield University what they’ve really got.”
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