2:55 p.m. - September 30, 2006
Homecoming Update!
I know you all wanted an update on the homecoming queen contest, so, here it is!
Well, the game didn�t turn out like Crawfordsville wanted it. It was an old fashioned butt-whipping. Here�s my game story.
I guess the Afterschool Special can wait, though. You don�t get a good sappy two hours when your team loses 47-6.
And yes, Megan, the kicker, was the homecoming queen. I wrote another story about that, but it�s not online. So, I�ll just repost it below:
++++++++++++
It was quite a unique looking court that presided over Crawfordsville�s homecoming festivities.
The sophomore attendant wore Doc Marten boots and had a studded bracelet on her wrist, while one of the queen candidates wore Birkenstocks instead of heels.
The queen had problems with her tiara when her escort tried to put it on her head, and putting the queen sash on was a challenge as well.
You see, the homecoming queen was wearing shoulder pads.
Senior place-kicker Megan Mummert was named homecoming queen at Crawfordsville High School�s homecoming Friday night. Matt Kelsey, her escort, placed the crown upon her head, but it slipped off and got tangled in her football uniform. The sash denoting Mummert as homecoming queen for 2006 barely fit over her shoulder pads.
That didn�t matter to Mummert. What mattered was that the Athenians lost the game 47-6, and her only extra point attempt was blocked.
�It was a lot of fun, but I wish we could have pulled out a win,� said Mummert. �But we have North next week and we�ll get them.�
Megan not only is an ace place-kicker, as the block was the first miss for her all season, but she also excels as a student and as a soccer player. She is looking at Denison, DePauw, and Ohio Wesleyan to continue her athletic career in soccer.
Mummert�s senior year is full of activity, as she plays two sports and also can be seen at many other home sports supporting the Athenians when she is not on the field herself, but she is savoring the experience.
�I�ve been enjoying it,� said Mummert, �but it�s going by pretty quickly.�
Megan�s parents, Vernon and Susan Mummert, were beaming with delight after the game as they reflected on Megan�s senior year.
�I�m very proud of her. She�s worked very hard at everything she does,� said Vernon Mummert. �She�s a very good person as well.�
Even though the team was losing 33-0 at the half, when head coach Rex Ryker found out that Megan was the homecoming queen, he embraced his kicker and congratulated her on her accomplishment.
The score was out of hand in the second half, but many of the fans stayed on with the hope of seeing Mummert score a point to cap off her night. The kick was blocked. Yet to all those in attendance, Mummert�s accomplishments already scored many points with them.
+++++
I really didn�t like the way I ended it � I was veering into Mitch Albom-land I am afraid. However, it was a neat thing to see, and really, even though the game was totally out of hand nobody left the stands until Crawfordsville scored their touchdown and Megan tried her extra point.
I found my friends, the parents of the sophomore punk-rock attendant, during halftime. The dad was worried, because he had NO idea what she was going to wear. The mom was living it up, taking about 12,298 pictures. I especially liked the one where her daughter showed off her Docs, gave the devil sign, and bit into her yellow rose.
Yes, she had on a dress but she had on her Docs and her bracelet, and her escort wore black and white checked loafers. They were quite the pair.
Later, the entire court had to film a spot introducing the football highlights for an Indianapolis television station. They had to go through four or five takes of it, and it sounded good every time I heard it. I think that taught those kids a lesson � working in TV can be tediously boring.
So the night was both a good night and a bad one � bad in that it was a blowout on homecoming. Good in that some history was made, and it reassured Liz that we are evolving as a society, when homecoming queens can play football and attendants can wear Birkenstocks.
