Oh what a year it has been. From my perspective, it has been a busy year on 24th Street. Creighton has grown another year older, yet looks relatively newer, and no I’m not referring to the freshmen. Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?
Fr. Lannon entered his inaugural year as president this past fall. He has presided with a sort of effortless grace not missing a step from the annual Mass of the Holy Spirit to Christmas at Creighton to what I’m sure will be yet another perfectly executed graduation ceremony in just a few weeks.
I have met Fr. Lannon twice. Once when he came to visit the staff of the Creightonian and the other at the Heider Hall Christmas Party that he hosted in his — let’s call it what it is — penthouse. I considered my place in Heider to be pretty awesome for most of first semester, but after seeing Fr. Lannon’s crib, I’m feeling like I’m living in squalor. Note to freshmen: the best part of Heider isn’t the corner rooms; it is Fr. Lannon’s Christmas Party.
Fr. Lannon was not the only new addition to campus. Brandeis got a much needed face lift. I no longer feel like inmate number 09876 when I eat there. Despite what people say about the food quality being more of the same, I’m all about presentation. I judge books by their cover all of the time, so the fact Brandeis looks better is good enough for me.
Creighton also welcomed a new fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, and a new sorority, Alpha Phi, to campus this year and said goodbye, temporarily, to Pi Kappa Alpha.
But I must say the crown jewel of newcomers (sorry Fr. Lannon) is Red Mango. I’m not in the least bit embarrassed to admit “froyo” is now in my vernacular. This delectable delicacy found on 13th Street attracts Creighton students porch lights attract moths. I mean I get it. The euphoric blending of different flavors that result in me often getting my fruit servings for the week based on the type of “froyo” I pick. Some say that doesn’t count, but I plead ignorance. I’m not pre-med and I do the same thing with Skittles.
As good as Red Mango is, it doesn’t get any attention in the national spotlight because this year that was reserved for the men’s soccer team (from here on out it will be referred to as fútbol because there’s nothing it can be confused with here at Creighton, am I right?) and the men’s and women’s basketball teams. The fútbol team peaked this year at a number two national ranking at one point and even made an appearance in the College Cup before losing a heartbreaker in the second overtime period. I’ll be honest, that was the first time I have ever tuned into ESPN3 on a Friday night and although the outcome wasn’t what anybody wanted, I wasn’t disappointed. It was a good season.
The men’s basketball team wasn’t too shabby either. A few nationally televised home games, an incidence of premature court storming, a Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title, an NCAA Tournament bid, a few games called by Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg and an All-American. My only question for this “All-American” is what’s the deal with the t-shirt under the jersey?
The women’s basketball team also won a Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title and received an NCAA Tournament bid. It was pretty cool switching back and forth between the men’s second round game against North Carolina and the women’s game going on at the same time on ESPN. I was proud to bleed blue that afternoon.
It was also a busy year to be a celebrity. Let’s see, Bieber was rumored to be having a baby, Beyonce actually had a baby, Kim K. got a divorce, (yep, she was married, if you want to count it) and Adele took home six Grammy Awards. I’m not entirely convinced that a one-night stand was not the inspiration for all of those songs, but that is neither here nor there. Other than that, it was a relatively quiet year at the Oscars, if you know what I mean.
Like I said previously, oh what a year it has been. This list is neither all encompassing nor exhaustive; it’s just some of the things that I will think of when I look back on this year. We’ve laughed, we’ve cried, we may have even gone to class at some point, but above all else, we all have Creighton memes to look back on to remind us of all the fond memories. I can’t even imagine what next year has in store for us all.