With an idea borrowed from Taylor University, seniors Luke Aaron and Nic Mahaney organized a school-wide Silent Night event at the Friday night varsity basketball game against Pomfret.
On game day, the seniors sent a school-wide email explaining the plan and made an announcement at lunch.
From tip-off until the fifth point was scored, the crowd was to remain silent in their seats. Once Deerfield reached five, everybody was encouraged to go absolutely bonkers.
Controlling hundreds of students at a sports game is a challenge, but the plan worked. “There was a little murmuring here and there, but overall everyone was silent,” explained Aaron. “Then, at the fifth point, we all went nuts.”
All in all, the Silent Night received positive reviews. “It was great for the whole school to come and back the guys up and I think we should do stuff like it more often,” said Cyrus Moghadam ’14.
“I thought it was great execution overall from Luke Aaron, my role model and inspiration,” added Patrick Hadley ’14.
Junior TJ Randall, who played in the game that Friday night, said that having a Silent Night was helpful to the team’s morale. “It got our team more pumped for the game,” he said.
Randall also mentioned the effect that it had on Pomfret. According to him, “Silent Night was a success because the other team didn’t know how to handle it. No one was cheering and then everybody started going crazy. They just thought it was a weak crowd…They were confused.”
Attendance at the game was greater than usual as the Silent Night attracted more than just Deerfield students to the East Gym. Parents, faculty and students all came to show their support.
“Even Tieray Moore, my ‘little,’ a basketball fan by no means, showed up to support the team,” stated Nolan Doyle ’12.
Aaron displayed enthusiasm for the continuation of Silent Night in years to come. “I would love to do it as a tradition,” he said. “Maybe we could carry it on and do it once a year for a Friday night game.”
“I think they should do it again,” agreed Hadley. “I thought it was a great way not only to involve the whole Deerfield community and raise awareness for a game, but also to give the home team a little extra motivation.”