Earlier today, the final numbers for THON were released: $10.68 MILLION raised to combat pediatric cancer. For the uninformed, THON is the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, a 46 hour dance marathon organized and executed entirely by Penn State students. Since 1977, THON has raised more than $88M in the fight against cancer - every penny raised by college students. Originally a fraternity/sorority fund raiser, it's grown exponentially to include students from all corners of the university.
I had the pleasure of dancing for my fraternity, Phi Gamma Delta, my sophomore year, and it's truly one of the greatest and most special things I've ever done in my life. Being awake and on your feet for 48 hours (we did it hard core back in the day) is not an easy task, but thinking about what kids battling leukemia and other rare forms of cancer have to deal with, and seeing how much joy they get from being "celebrities" at THON is incredibly powerful. This time of year, the memories of THON come flooding back like a tidal wave: me, Sober, Super Dave, and Bo supporting each other, making new friends, trying to pump up our fellow dancers, playing games, and spending time with our assigned family. Sadly, I've never managed to get around to scanning in my old pictures. Perhaps this is the impetus to buy a scanner so I can share memories of THON '95 with the world. We raised $1.16 million, and it seemed like the largest sum of money in the history of time. Seeing it increase ten fold in a the past decade has been incredibly rewarding.
To answer the questions you haven't yet asked, but I'm sure you will:
1. No, you don't dance the entire 48 (now 46) hours. But you do need to be awake and on your feet.
2. You do get bathroom breaks, but they hustle you along. No lingering.
3. Best way to get some relief is to do a handstand, with friends holding your legs so that blood can drain back to the rest of your body.
4. After being awake for 48 hours, I slept for more than 14 hours straight. It's unbelievably taxing on the body, but compared to having cancer, it's a damn walk in the park.
5. Key highlight of THON is running down a series of mats doused in baby powder, then sliding head first to an area where a morale team gives you a quick rub down. If there is a heaven, it will be filled with the sensation of this rub down.
6. You will have sleep deprivation induced hallucinations. I thought there was a giant table across the middle of the floor, and I kept walking way, way out of my way to get around it. People would be talking to me, then disappear in mid-sentence into thin air. Your brain is scrambled during this event.
7. Another key highlight is the line dance, a simple and repetitive choreographed dance number with some music to get you pumped up and some topical events to sing about. You start out doing it every other hour or so, and by the last hour you're doing it every 15 minutes to keep the energy high. I still remember some of the '95 dance, but sadly not all.
8. All dancers are given a unique dancer-only shirt with their number and their name or a motivational message on the back. I still have my shirt, and if our house ever burns down it's one of the first three things I'm grabbing. The name I peer pressured my partner into adopting? "DEEZ NUTZ". What can I say, it was 1995. It was a popular phrase.
What better way to celebrate a great accomplishment than with a great beer? Today we break open a Blue Sunday Sour from New Holland. It shows off a burgundy hue in the glass, and the aroma is of fruit and mild vinegar. Tart and sour, right up front, with the taste of stone fruit and some malt notes. There's a crisp effervescence, and the oak aging lends a dry finish. This is complex and wonderful, with just the right amount of alcohol at 8.7% ABV. This is by means a beer for everyone, but if you EVER see one available in a bar near you, I implore you to at least try it. This beer has officially landed in my coveted Top 25. Blue Sunday Sour was named for the "blue laws" of Michigan which did not allow beer sales on Sundays. It's also a cellar beer, which means we can age this for a few years, sort of like wine. Although, something tells me Marci might drink our entire supply of two cases long before then....
Thing to Think About Today:
Please think of others. Someone out there has it worse than you do, and they can use your help. Whether it's donating money to THON (or anywhere else), donating blood, or volunteering, I encourage you all to think about trying to give back this year. It feels good, and it's the right thing to do. If you need a little motivation, watch this:
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