National Champion Warhawks Receive Warm Welcome Home
Released: December 18, 2007
Hundreds of friends, family and fans waited patiently in the stands of the Dave "Augie" Vander Meulen Court Sunday evening, but it wasn't for a basketball game. No, these fans were waiting to welcome home a group of so-called underdogs, a group destined for second place in the majority of the public's eyes, but not to us. To us, they were champions all along; it just took until December 15 for the rest of the world to finally realize it.
The team was scheduled to arrive at 4 p.m., but was running late because of the parade. You could feel the tension mounting with every passing minute. The pep band and Willy Warhwk tried their hardest to control the crowd's restlessness, but the excitement was just too strong. Then it happened. One of the cheerleaders, who had been lined up in tunnel formation waiting for the team's arrival, alerted the crowd that they were coming.
The band struck up the fight song and the crowd erupted in a chant of "U-Dub-Dub." The team filed in, led by captain and NCAA Division III Player of the Year Justin Beaver, and came together at the center court circle.
The crowd was hushed and the speeches began, each one with its own message, its own memory and its own magnitude to those in attendance. The event's master of ceremony was UW-Whitewater Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Paul Plinske, who ushered in a number of key contributors to the Warhawks championship tradition including two former coaches, Forrest Perkins and Bob Berezowitz.
The ceremony culminated with the presentation of the trophy to team members, who hoisted it high above their heads and gave their best rendition of Queen's "We are the Champions" for all to hear.
Sure, none of them really sang on key that night and for some of them that should have been the only time they were allowed to sing, but the point is they did it as a team. They did it together just like they approached every game this season. Win or lose they took the end result with class, and that my friends, is truly what made them champions.
Watch a video of excerpts from the ceremony on Youtube.
- Kyle Kopplin,kopplinka01@uww.edu
