Turkey Bowl Weekend Wrap-up

Sunday, November 18th, 2007

Greetings! Today was quite a day (ok… disclaimer: I drafted this post Saturday night, but my blog crashed and I was only able to post this now) . I have just returned from the Turkey Bowl at Alumni Stadium here at BJU. But I’m getting ahead of myself. The day’s festivities started for me at 2:00pm. I went to the final performance of the BJU Classic Players’ Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare. Overall, it was just great. The actors did a great job bringing out the comedy in the play, the music was nicely done, the costuming was great, the staging was cool, … you get the idea.

But then there was the Turkey Bowl, the annual soccer championship. This year’s game was between the Alpha Razorbacks and the Omega Lions. Those of you that were present at the game also know of a particular highlight (for me, anyways). I got to help sing the national anthem! We sang a “barbershop” arrangement of the national anthem in a quintet. It was great fun and I’m glad I got to be a part of it. It was exhilarating getting to sing in front of a packed stadium and knowing that I was also being broadcast on HomeSat, too.

After singing, I watched on as the game ball was delivered by Dr. Bob via helicopter. After circling the stadium several times, it finally touched down in the center of the field and out came Dr. Bob with the game ball.

A short while later, Dr. Bob came and sat two rows in front of me in the bleachers. I considered going down and hob-nobbing with him, but decided against it.

During halftime, we broke the world record for the largest kazoo ensemble ever. We were led by University Evangelist Mike Schrock in kazooing the “12 days of Turkey Bowl.” It went like this: 12 campus guests, 11 papers due, 10 little pilgrims, 9 ushers spinning, 8 playoff teams, 7 days vacation, 6 Classic Players, 5 golden rings, 4 big drums, 3 bagpipes, Dr. Bob and Wife, Dr. Jones with a small Goatee. We kazooed for more than the required 5 minutes (probably 6 or 7). The unofficial count was . . . [drumroll] . . . 3,800 participants. Once confirmed, that number will beat the previous record breaking attempt that came in at approximately 3,600.

All in all, not a bad day. I went to an outstanding drama, sang in front of thousands, and broke a world record – and all within 6 hours. Beat that.

BJU – Future home of the world's largest kazoo choir

Thursday, November 1st, 2007

You heard it right. Seeking to follow up their past success with Christmas carol singing, the Inter-Society Council of Bob Jones University is sponsoring an attempt to break the world record for the largest kazoo ensemble. Here’s the release from the ISC…

The Inter-Society Council will sponsor an attempt to break the world record for the largest kazoo ensemble Nov. 17, 2007, during the halftime show of the BJU Turkey Bowl. BJU students, faculty, staff, and administration are invited to participate!

The Alumni stadium is able to seat 4,000 spectators, and with additional bleachers placed near the field, the Inter-Society Council is confident BJU will be able to break the world record. Kazoos will be passed out free of charge before the game so everyone can participate. Mr. Mike Shrock will lead the BJU family in the attempt.

The official record stands at 2,679 people, and was set on Dec. 31, 2006 in Rochester, NY. The most recent attempt to break it was Oct. 5 in Canton, OH with approximately 3,600 participants.

The stipulations from Guinness are as follows:

• Every participant must sign his or her name before two witnesses
• Every kazoo player must be proficient (which isn’t difficult)
• The ensemble must play for 5 consecutive minutes