Students and Players Enjoy Hawaiian Night

Helen Smith
The Paw Print

Hawaiian Night 2013 brought an element of entertainment to the halftime of the Fort Lewis v. Adams State basketball games. The seats of Plachy Hall were full, with overflow seating necessary.

ASU fans were active in participating and cheering on the halftime activities. The festivities consisted of several entertaining, Hawaiian-themed games as well as Hawaiian/beach music played to add atmosphere. In addition, the gym was decorated to set the tone.  A large amount of leis, hats, sunglasses, and shorts, along with official Hawaiian Night t-shirts, were on display over the course of the evening.

The first halftime game was the Hawaiian relay. This game consisted of two teams competing against each other. The first part of the game required the contestants to spin around, before running across the court to hula hoop, and then running back to tag their teammate.

The second game was the hula hoop contest, to determine who had the best skills with a hula hoop. The winner was determined by crowd voting by cheers for each contestant. One of the winners was eleven-year-old Derek Van Berkum, who attends Manassa Elementary. Dubbed “Wrangler”, Van Berkum had the crowd laughing loudly at his antics and determination. His mother said amusedly, “I didn’t know he had that in him.” When it was time to vote for the winner of the contest the crowd stood and applauded loudly for ‘Wrangler.”

The next contest was called Sharks and Minnows. For this game, a table with whipped cream pies was brought out to center court. The game required contestants to find the Swedish fish in the whipped cream. The winner was determined by who found the most fish out of their pie. Contestants left this game smiling with their faces covered in whipped cream.

The last contest was hula dancing. The contestants were supplied with grass skirts and optional coconuts. The hula was cut short due to halftime being nearly over, with the teams making their way back out to the court.

For all of the contests, the winners were awarded gift cards from various sponsors such as SLV Federal Bank and Chili’s. The win in the men’s game contributed to the tempo of the night’s festivities. The crowd was very involved in the game, chanting against the other team and holding up their hands during free throws for ASU.

The game was very fast paced and high energy. The team gave fans a performance they could cheer about including a few jams and steals. ASU’s style of play eventually enabled them to outmaneuver and outscore the Skyhawks. Ft. Lewis came within six points of the Grizzlies but was unable to make baskets at the right time. With a surge in the final minutes the Grizzlies were able to seal the win. This made for an overall light atmosphere in the gym, and fans left the game cheering and dancing. Adams State was proud of its team and it showed.