Did You Raise $12M Today? WE DID!

Day #435 Odyssey Imperial IPA / Sly Fox Brewing Company, Phoenixville, PA
Previously from this brewery: My reviews of Chester County Bitter, Phoenix Pale Ale, and Grisette, and Marci's take on Ichor and Chester County Bitter

I'm typing this post on a quiet Sunday afternoon, with a dog curled up next to me on the chair.  While things are quiet in the house, quite a different atmosphere can be found in State College today, as the Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, affectionately known to the world as THON, has officially wrapped up for another year.  I assure you, things were louder than a jet engine in the Bryce Jordan Center when the total raised was announced: an absolutely staggering $12.37 MILLION.  This money is raised entirely by college students to fight pediatric cancer (having raised over $100M through the years) and I could not be more proud to be a Penn State grad right now.

I gave my recap of my experience dancing in THON in this review last year, so I won't repeat all of it here.  However, I will once again say that dancing at THON was one of the absolute highlights of my entire existence, and I can't imagine what my life would be like without that experience.  It helped me realize the pure joy you can experience when helping others, and I've tried to carry that feeling forward ever since.

To celebrate, let's review a beer - the Odyssey Imperial IPA from Sly Fox.  This beer pours a clear, honeyed sort of copper color, and your nose immediately finds a fresh pine and citrus aroma.  When you take a sip, you get a blast of grapefruit and pine, with a good dry bitterness throughout.  You don't have to look too hard to find some caramel malt in there balancing things out, but make no mistake this beer is for the hop lovers of the world.  If you see one, I highly recommend you drink one.

Off kilter.  Sorry.

For those who didn't know, Sly Fox is a frequent supporter of Penn State; last fall, they made a very generous donation to support a scholarship fundraiser at the Penn State Great Valley campus.  Great beer, great people.

Thing to Think About Today:
I usually like to end with something humorous or witty here, making some obscure connection to the brewery or beer name with some pop culture silliness.  But today, I think I'll just leave you with this link to THON's website:

http://thon.org/

Whether you choose to support this initiative (I do), or whether there are other causes that stir your passions, I implore you think about how you can contribute your time, talent, or treasure to those less fortunate than you.  Whatever you give, wherever you give, however you give, I guarantee you'll be making the world a better place.

Sunday: Beer, Memories, and Punching Cancer in the Face

Beer #71 Blue Sunday Sour / New Holland Brewing Company, Holland, MI

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:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYDodY_CWUA