the stentorian | ncssm
features
September 2013
Week!
Teams reveal pre
game traditions,
superstitions
By Steven Liao
In the world of professional
sports, it is rare to see an
athlete or team without some
kipd of pre-game tradition or
superstition.
Several are well-known.
LeBron James throws chalk
powder in the air before his
games. Clemson University’s
football team touches
Howard’s rock prior to each
game. Michael Jordan wore his
college shorts under his NBA
shorts in games.
So what about our very own
NCSSM fall sports teams?
What adrenaline-pumping,
blood-flowing rituals do they
perform prior to each match?
According to NCSSM
Men’s Soccer team Captain
Matt Nichols, the soccer team
ritual is listening to hype
music in the locker room and
finishing with “Heart of a
Champion” by Nelly.
“The pregame ritual
relieves tension and invokes
the mindset we need on the
field into our players,” said
Matt.
The women’s golf team
is deciding on a team song,
but also has a unique in-game
superstition after every poor
shot.
Women’s Golf Captain
Kara Wheeler describes, “We
have a ritual that after you
have a bad shot you have to
touch the other team’s bag and
you pass the sync away.”
The Women’s volleyball
squad has a ritual that involves
touching both coaches’
hands, forming a big circle,
screaming, and kicking each
other’s butts.
Chaotic-sounding?
Perhaps. But the purpose,
according to volleyball captain
Nicole Ward, is to bring the
team together. “You get pretty
hyped when you’re screaming
in a big circle and everyone’s
leaning together, so I guess it
just brings you together as a
team.”
While several of the
aforementioned rituals are
traditions passed on over
the years, NCSSM’s Cross
Country squad is starting their
own tradition of sorts: a pre
meet dance called the Haka.
If it sounds familiar, you
may have seen the All Blacks,
New Zealand’s national rugby
union team, perform the dance
before matches. The University
of Hawaii football team has
adopted it as a pre-game ritual
as well.
Senior captain Josh Rees-
Jones explains, “In New
Zealand, there are these people
called the Maori people, and
a long time ago, they would
perform this war dance and
scare their enemies.”
According to Rees-Jones,
the Haka dance consists of loud
chants and shouts, bending
knees and slapping thighs,
and making intimidating
arm movements and “very
fierce facial expressions” to
“intimidate the enemies.”
At the next athletic event,
keep an eye out for these rituals
and superstitions.
And after soaking it all in,
fans can return the favor by
taking part in the one ritual that
transcends them all; sending
off the unicorn athletes through
a roaring victory tunnel.
Bollywood Review
By Kanan Shah
Bollywood, or Indian
cinema, is gaining influence in
America. A typical Bollywood
movie is 2.5 to 3 hours long,
and consists of many songs
with dancing, cheesy, cliched
love stories, and lots of action.
On a deeper level, however,
Bollywood stories often reflect
societal issues and Indian
thought.
Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani,
or “This youth is crazy”
released last May, is one
such movie, both a typical
film but also one with deeper
implications.
Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
tells the story of a bad boy who
meets a good girl who falls in
love with him. The boy does
not love her, so the boy and
girl separate for eight years,
and after meeting again, fall in
love, living happily ever after.
Althougli 1 liad heard- this
story so many times and knew
it was marketed towards people
like me who eat this stuff up,
1 could not help but fall in
love with the movie. All of
the songs, including Dilliwali
Girlfiiend and Badtameez Dil
were catchy, and the movie
was well produced.
The main actress evolves
from a studious student to
a student who balances fun
with school. Going along with
most Indian parents’ dream,
she still becomes a doctor.
Her. character reflects how
many students feel in India-
wanting to study and get good
grades, but trying not to let it
become their life. Rebellion or
conformity is a big issue.
The story also addresses
societal issues through a
French actress ha\ing an
Indian name and wedding.
Bollywood mo\ies
encourage diversity by
showing dilferent races or
different religions. This
particular mash-up was really
Interesting.
Yeh Jawaani Hai Deew ani is
definitely worth the 2.5 hours.
It is a great introduction to
Indian culture, but is also filled
with a bunch of dancing and
upbeat music and addresses
many important issues in
Indian society.
Catching Fire: faii blockbuster
By Ava Gruchacz
I think it’s a universal truth
that Hollywood did a superb
Job converting Suzanne Collins
novel The Hunger Games into
a major motion picture.
As a Hunger Games fan
myself, I was very pleased
with the film and was one
of those crazy fan girls who
saw it three times in theaters.
Hopefully the sequel,
Catching Fire, will have a
similar effect.
They began shooting the
film over a year ago and
it will be released Nov. 22
2013. 1 recently watched the
trailer and was thrilled with
the outcome. It showed the
tension between the people
of Panem and the terroristic
government.
However, the only thing
more exciting than taking
over a government would
be the intense love triangle
between Peeta, Katniss, and
Gale (played by the swoon
worthy Liam 1 lemsworth).
Though this is very
Twilight-y, 1 believe it gives
the film a nice romantic touch
along side the brutal killings
during the Games.
The blockbuster fantasy
film will introduce several
new characters into the plot.
Sam Claflin will be portraying
’Hr HUNnen gamt
LIATCHINB riP‘
Photo courtesy of wikimedla.com
Finnick Odair, a member of the
alliance.
Clallin was in the most
recent Pirates of the Caribbean
^Im but his presence
was mundane and rather
forgettable. His looks are
perfect for the role and I hope
his acting skills are up to par.
Another anticipated
character is Johanna Mason
played by Jena Malone.
Malone is not well known
but she was nominated for
a Golden Globe in 1997
so I assume she’s pretty
talented.
The movie has very high
expectations and I truly
hope the filmmakers are
able to meet them. Collins
wrote an epic story and it
will be interesting to see it
on the silver screen.
Fandango . reports
Catching Fire is the most
anticipated fall movie
releasing and viewers
are anxious to see
performances by Jennifer
Lawrence and Liam
Hemsworth.
1 highly recommend seeing
this film over break, especially
if you were a fan of The
Hunger Games and/or enjoyed
the novel.