This year marked the fifth year of the Golden Goat game, whereby many different school’s basketball audiences compete for best spirit, as the players compete for the trophy. Although this was the first year Hellgate lost the spirit competition, now that the frenzy has calmed down, we can look at some of the reactions, predictions, and expectations for the game.
Lyla Richmond, a freshman, claimed before the game when asked who would win that “Hellgate 100%, let’s go!” a feeling emulated by many others in the room. The mood in the pre-party room was full of nervous anxiety as people ate Little Caesars pizza, and drank water. Almost everyone in the room was in appropriate costumes, mostly with school provided props, yet there were a fair share of homemade costumes as well.
One sophomore thought that although the winner was “most likely Hellgate”, Hellgate could have done better attracting a wider community involved in spirit, as well as making the assembly more inclusive for all grades, as “half of the time it feels like it is reserved for the popular seniors.”
In relation to the Sentinel and Hellgate themes, there is much disagreement, although most people interviewed by the Lance preferred Hellgate’s theme. “Sentinel could have been a lot more creative”, However, some felt that the Sentinel theme felt more suave. It was described by various respondents as “cool and chic” or at the very least that they tried. Still almost all respondents interviewed claimed Hellgate theme was better. Kieran, a junior, felt that “Sentinel is supposed to be spies, but everyone I saw out there was wearing either black leggings, or jeans, so I think they are doing a terrible job”.
While all respondents seemed very confident that Hellgate would win, there was one freshman who said, “Hopefully it’s Hellgate, I think it’s going to be Hellgate, I’m not sure if they are going to give it to us for like five years in a row though.”
His predictions turned out to be right, as in the end it was announced that with a minimal difference in scores, Hellgate had lost the spirit battle. The mood in Hellgate afterwards, and after the Goat Game feels somber, with many still feeling that we actually won. In fact after the game the corridors were full of people claiming it was “rigged”, and that Sentinal just one based on pity points. A sophomore claimed, “While I do think it was in some ways rigged, I do think the reason Sentinel women was because of their halftime show, and a little bit of pity.”
Still, Loken Manham, the official student body treasurer, refuted these claims, making it clear to the Lance that the game was in no way rigged. So, as we prepare for our next game (and the return of Gerty), we should think not only about how we can prepare, but whether we can still win. Next time we participate in goat we will not have the disadvantage of having won for four previous years, and without any judge bias, can we win and reclaim the Goat?
