Twas The Night Before Christmas 2023
Dec 23, 2023 14:10:12 GMT -5
Ray, rgs318, and 11 more like this
Post by Non Alum Dave on Dec 23, 2023 14:10:12 GMT -5
Didn't think this was going to happen; been a long week getting water out of my basement!! As usual, imagination is required. 
TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS 2023
Twas the Night Before Christmas and atop Mt St. James
Things were very quiet, as there was nary a game.
The real action that night was at Coach Paulsen’s house
And it certainly was not as quiet as a mouse.
Players and coaches were there; Coach had invited the team,
To enjoy some Christmas cheer, and to blow off some steam.
There was plenty to eat, and plenty to drink,
Mrs. P served everything but the kitchen sink.
The music was so festive, in the holiday theme
That the vibe in the house was like a Hallmark scene.
But in the corner Coach sat in his big easy chair,
With a facial expression that contained a blank stare.
The stare was then replaced by a big frown on his face
With others singing carols he looked so out of place.
He usually would join in and sing and dance like a fool
But his demeanor right now was definitely not cool
.
Of course Coach was thinking about the plight of his team,
With its won-loss record that made the message board scream
There had been a few moments that eased his paranoia
Like the night Joe Octave dropped 33 on the Hoyas
.But highlights had been but few and far between
And the poor results had made him both sad and mean
As Coach took a big swig of his cold Mountain Dew
He worried he’d bitten off more than he could chew.
Then Kathy P. brought out some fruit punch for all
Of course it was purple, she was right on the ball.
Coach Paulsen poured some punch and took a sip,
Shook his head, and exclaimed, ”nah, let’s let her rip”.
With that he grabbed a big bottle of The Dew
Mixed it with the punch, sort of his coaches brew.
“We’ll call this Sader Punch, let’s all try some.
Now this get together will really be fun!”
In a few moments it was sampled by all in the room
And just like that everyone felt this big boom!
The energy the guys felt was beyond comprehension,
And it was all positive, with not an ounce of apprehension.
The guys had to do something, maybe out of the blue.
In the end, they knew of only one thing to do.
So they raced to the gym, and bolted through the doors
Got into their gear, and soon hit the floor.
They warmed up quickly with sharp, crisp drills,
From my perch in the rafters it gave me a thrill.
They practiced and practiced, and got better each day,
And everyone noticed the sudden improved play.
Bo’s shot had returned, was back in rare form,
it was once again just a can of corn.
Batch’s range on his J was as good as it got,
Gus Johnson was somewhere yelling “from the parking lot!”
Caleb Kenney blocked shots all over the place,
While maintaining this sly little smile on his face.
Louth started asserting his presence in the low post,
That Sader Nation punch seemed to help him the most.
The threes kept coming from the first year named Singleton,
Before very long he was renamed Tripleton.
‘Dre played a D that would make Kevin Hamilton proud,
With each charge he took he’d scream nice and loud.
AJ dropped dimes to his teammates with ease,
Shouted encouragement to all, so eager to please.
Nugent was another who had started to shine,
Showed off that lefty stroke, oooh, mighty fine.
When Ryan took his man in the paint for a waltz,
It reminded old timers of the Whopper, Billy Paultz
The forgotten guys were even getting in on the act,
First Rabs, then Tse, and soon Kirkwood, too, that’s a fact.
The walk-ons had become run-ons, with their high voltage play,
Their energy at each practice set the tone for the day.
The goal was real simple: become a league contender,
And one by one make each opponent surrender.
For every road game, as they boarded the bus,
They’d all shout in unison “Hey, why not us!!”
The league soon took notice of this energized bunch,
But couldn’t do a thing as The Cross swiped their lunch.
Although short in stature they now played so tall,
Who knew it could be so fun, just playing ball.
The season flew by with a speed that was insane,
With the Sader Punch the guys made it to the final game.
Coach had then ready, there was no doubt about that,
There was no way the team would come out flat.
True to form they were flying around, so close to the ring,
Then…………
“Wake up, how can you fall asleep on such a night!”
Mrs. P. shouted at Coach, who had such a look of fright.
“The boys have to go, don’t be a rude host,
It’s midnight now, here on the East Coast.”
Coach looked at the punch bowl, and then to his staff,
Then made a request that nearly made them laugh.
“I want all Gatorade coolers filled with this stuff!
We will be grateful for it when the going gets tough”
The assistants looked puzzled, but knew not to push back.
After all he was boss, and they had no problem with that.
Coach then said goodbye to each player on their way out
Feeling better about things now, with much less doubt.
He wanted to share these good feelings with those who matter,
That group of young men who were about to scatter.
So he shouted to his guys before they went out of sight,
“Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night!”
Merry Christmas everyone!
TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS 2023
Twas the Night Before Christmas and atop Mt St. James
Things were very quiet, as there was nary a game.
The real action that night was at Coach Paulsen’s house
And it certainly was not as quiet as a mouse.
Players and coaches were there; Coach had invited the team,
To enjoy some Christmas cheer, and to blow off some steam.
There was plenty to eat, and plenty to drink,
Mrs. P served everything but the kitchen sink.
The music was so festive, in the holiday theme
That the vibe in the house was like a Hallmark scene.
But in the corner Coach sat in his big easy chair,
With a facial expression that contained a blank stare.
The stare was then replaced by a big frown on his face
With others singing carols he looked so out of place.
He usually would join in and sing and dance like a fool
But his demeanor right now was definitely not cool
.
Of course Coach was thinking about the plight of his team,
With its won-loss record that made the message board scream
There had been a few moments that eased his paranoia
Like the night Joe Octave dropped 33 on the Hoyas
.But highlights had been but few and far between
And the poor results had made him both sad and mean
As Coach took a big swig of his cold Mountain Dew
He worried he’d bitten off more than he could chew.
Then Kathy P. brought out some fruit punch for all
Of course it was purple, she was right on the ball.
Coach Paulsen poured some punch and took a sip,
Shook his head, and exclaimed, ”nah, let’s let her rip”.
With that he grabbed a big bottle of The Dew
Mixed it with the punch, sort of his coaches brew.
“We’ll call this Sader Punch, let’s all try some.
Now this get together will really be fun!”
In a few moments it was sampled by all in the room
And just like that everyone felt this big boom!
The energy the guys felt was beyond comprehension,
And it was all positive, with not an ounce of apprehension.
The guys had to do something, maybe out of the blue.
In the end, they knew of only one thing to do.
So they raced to the gym, and bolted through the doors
Got into their gear, and soon hit the floor.
They warmed up quickly with sharp, crisp drills,
From my perch in the rafters it gave me a thrill.
They practiced and practiced, and got better each day,
And everyone noticed the sudden improved play.
Bo’s shot had returned, was back in rare form,
it was once again just a can of corn.
Batch’s range on his J was as good as it got,
Gus Johnson was somewhere yelling “from the parking lot!”
Caleb Kenney blocked shots all over the place,
While maintaining this sly little smile on his face.
Louth started asserting his presence in the low post,
That Sader Nation punch seemed to help him the most.
The threes kept coming from the first year named Singleton,
Before very long he was renamed Tripleton.
‘Dre played a D that would make Kevin Hamilton proud,
With each charge he took he’d scream nice and loud.
AJ dropped dimes to his teammates with ease,
Shouted encouragement to all, so eager to please.
Nugent was another who had started to shine,
Showed off that lefty stroke, oooh, mighty fine.
When Ryan took his man in the paint for a waltz,
It reminded old timers of the Whopper, Billy Paultz
The forgotten guys were even getting in on the act,
First Rabs, then Tse, and soon Kirkwood, too, that’s a fact.
The walk-ons had become run-ons, with their high voltage play,
Their energy at each practice set the tone for the day.
The goal was real simple: become a league contender,
And one by one make each opponent surrender.
For every road game, as they boarded the bus,
They’d all shout in unison “Hey, why not us!!”
The league soon took notice of this energized bunch,
But couldn’t do a thing as The Cross swiped their lunch.
Although short in stature they now played so tall,
Who knew it could be so fun, just playing ball.
The season flew by with a speed that was insane,
With the Sader Punch the guys made it to the final game.
Coach had then ready, there was no doubt about that,
There was no way the team would come out flat.
True to form they were flying around, so close to the ring,
Then…………
“Wake up, how can you fall asleep on such a night!”
Mrs. P. shouted at Coach, who had such a look of fright.
“The boys have to go, don’t be a rude host,
It’s midnight now, here on the East Coast.”
Coach looked at the punch bowl, and then to his staff,
Then made a request that nearly made them laugh.
“I want all Gatorade coolers filled with this stuff!
We will be grateful for it when the going gets tough”
The assistants looked puzzled, but knew not to push back.
After all he was boss, and they had no problem with that.
Coach then said goodbye to each player on their way out
Feeling better about things now, with much less doubt.
He wanted to share these good feelings with those who matter,
That group of young men who were about to scatter.
So he shouted to his guys before they went out of sight,
“Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night!”
Merry Christmas everyone!
