I spent last weekend in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, working the WACPC dance team championships. I haven't really been active in the Wisco Pom World in awhile, so I was surprised and entertained by several things...
1. Apparently the pop remix trend has yet to pass through this area of the Midwest. EVERY SINGLE ROUTINE was set to music that consisted of a classic song with a heinous thumping beat on top of the notes. It was like a 80's-only deejay had taken every song and turned it into a euro-beated, club mixed, booming bass nightmare. Songs overheard: "I Feel the Earth Move" by Carly Simon, "I Want to Dance with Somebody" by Whitney Houston, 89 different versions of the ever popular "Sandstorm" by Durade, and the always rocking "Orbital B-Bop" off of the Girls Just Want to Have Fun soundtrack.
2. When the going gets rough, where do dance team parents go? Apparently, they go to the hotel bar for a couple cocktails. My hotel was across the street from the convention center, and every time I went downstairs...let's just say that their spirit didn't come from the heart, it came from Eddie, the bartender. I guess you have to fuel the fire within if you really want to go the distance when cheering on your team.
3. Is there a secret sign for snow in Wisconsin? I caught the weather update on the evening news right after I'd left the facility (in the middle of the awards ceremony)...and by the time I had taken my shoes off and washed my face, the first flakes were falling. It was like the natives could smell the snow, and the impending doom it would have on their evenings. I sat at my window in awe, watching teams exit the building single-file. I've never seen such organized chaos- coaches were doing frantic headcounts as all the little bunheads got onto the busses, dads were scraping off cars at raceway speeds, and the entire place was empty and dark in less than 30 minutes. NO LIE, PEOPLE. THE ENTIRE CONVENTION CENTER- EVEN THE CUSTODIAL STAFF. When it comes to a potential snowstorm, these cheeseheads aren't messing around.
1. Apparently the pop remix trend has yet to pass through this area of the Midwest. EVERY SINGLE ROUTINE was set to music that consisted of a classic song with a heinous thumping beat on top of the notes. It was like a 80's-only deejay had taken every song and turned it into a euro-beated, club mixed, booming bass nightmare. Songs overheard: "I Feel the Earth Move" by Carly Simon, "I Want to Dance with Somebody" by Whitney Houston, 89 different versions of the ever popular "Sandstorm" by Durade, and the always rocking "Orbital B-Bop" off of the Girls Just Want to Have Fun soundtrack.
2. When the going gets rough, where do dance team parents go? Apparently, they go to the hotel bar for a couple cocktails. My hotel was across the street from the convention center, and every time I went downstairs...let's just say that their spirit didn't come from the heart, it came from Eddie, the bartender. I guess you have to fuel the fire within if you really want to go the distance when cheering on your team.
3. Is there a secret sign for snow in Wisconsin? I caught the weather update on the evening news right after I'd left the facility (in the middle of the awards ceremony)...and by the time I had taken my shoes off and washed my face, the first flakes were falling. It was like the natives could smell the snow, and the impending doom it would have on their evenings. I sat at my window in awe, watching teams exit the building single-file. I've never seen such organized chaos- coaches were doing frantic headcounts as all the little bunheads got onto the busses, dads were scraping off cars at raceway speeds, and the entire place was empty and dark in less than 30 minutes. NO LIE, PEOPLE. THE ENTIRE CONVENTION CENTER- EVEN THE CUSTODIAL STAFF. When it comes to a potential snowstorm, these cheeseheads aren't messing around.
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