Judging by what I read in Drexel University’s student newspaper “The Triangle” October 18th’s “Midnight Madness” was sure to be a great time. It was to take place at the Daskalakis Athletic Center, and feature free food, and live entertainment. Unfortunately things don’t always live up to their expectations. The event was originally supposed to feature two performers named “Saigon”, and “Kid Capri”. While I’ve never heard of either of these entertainers, I’m a sucker for live music, and I got a little excited. Later that week, much to my dismay, it was announced that instead of the previously announced entertainers there would only be one, and he would be a DJ. While this development did bring the price of attendance down to a reasonable entrance fee of absolutely nothing, I still would rather have had live performers.
I arrived at the event with a few friends and we were surprised at how many people were in attendance. We had arrived five minutes early and already it was difficult to get myself from one place to another due to the massive amount of people flooding the building. As I walked up the first flight of stairs which would bring me to the main gym where the bulk of the event was being held I noticed a long line immediately to my left. At the end of it was a kiosk exploding with bright colors and happy faces. It was apparently a stand set up by the “FUZE” drink company, and they were handing out full size bottles of their product for free. Given the long length of the line the wait for my drink was incredibly short. Unfortunately, they seemed to be out of every flavor that sounded good to me. I was given a bright red bottle that the lady assured me was “The best flavor FUZE makes”. As I screwed off the lid I thought to myself why it was the only flavor they had left if it was the best they made. I took a sniff and the pleasant fruity aroma reassured me a little. I took a sip and my fears were confirmed. It was absolutely horrible. I don’t remember what flavor it was, nor do I know if all FUZE drinks are so disgusting, but one thing is for sure. Stay away from the one in the bright pink label. It tasted somewhat like a mix of Juicy Fruit and sweaty socks.
After taking a moment to wash my mouth out with water from the fountain I headed into the main gym to see what this event was all about. I was immediately bombarded with a rush of lights, colors, and sounds. It took me a second to process this sudden surge of stimuli, but it was certainly lively. I looked around for the food, which is usually the first thing I go after at events like this. I followed my nose which was picking up the delectable smell of pizza with a faint yet piercing hint of Buffalo wings coming from my left. I eventually found the tables containing the food and I was severely underwhelmed. All that was left were a few slices of pizza and a few wings. I can only assume there was a huge feast that took place moments before I arrived, which again was five minutes earlier than the event was intended to start.
Shaking off that not so minor disappointment I looked towards the source of all the commotion, the DJ that replaced two actual musicians. I thought he looked familiar, and was told by my friend that he was “?uestLove”, drummer of the hip-hop band “The Roots.” This meant nothing to me, but later on I realized that I recognized him from his appearance on an episode of “Chapelle’s Show.” At any rate, regardless of how well known this man was, to me he appeared to be doing little other than playing records.
Eventually I found out that the entire event was little more than a way to promote the school’s male and female basketball teams. As someone who detests sports in general, I was far from amused. I watched as they announced each player as they ran out into the court surrounded by fog machines, confetti, and cheers from the crowd. Then they put on a video via a projector and a large screen. It was probably about how awesome basketball is or something, I’m not sure, and I didn’t really care. By this point my patience was wearing pretty thin. Then they had each player compete in a 1 on 1 free throw competition. This was somewhat more interesting, and was probably a blast for someone who enjoys basketball, but personally I was about ready to leave. I asked my friends how much longer they planned on staying, and they wanted to see the whole thing so I told them I was heading home and started for the door.
After leaving I remembered that I had read about there being contests for prizes such as a “Nintendo Wii”, and tickets to the Drexel-Penn basketball games. I considered heading back in to try my luck, but then I realized that I already own a wii, and I hate attending basketball games, so I just headed on home. Overall I’d say the event was extremely disappointing. Interestingly enough however, everyone I talked to the next day had nothing but praise for the event. Perhaps it just wasn’t for people like me, or maybe people have too low of standards. Either way I will not be attending something like Midnight Madness were it to appear again next year.
-Dave Ramirez
