Can-chew Fee-la Bran New Day?!

If you are unfamiliar with Baylor All-University Sing, click here for a quick tutorial:

What the heck is Baylor All-University Sing?

I love Baylor Sing!  I've been a big fan since my high school days when I sat in the audience wide-eyed with my mouth ajar dreaming of the day when I could be up there on the stage.  It made perfect sense that I would be in Sing.  I was a drill team girl with a flair for the dramatic.  The lights!  The costumes!  The singing!  The dancing!  Bring it on!!  Alas, my high school wannabe's dreams came true a few years later as I pranced on stage and spun in a KOT 3-step turn.  My senior year, I reached Sing Nirvana when I was asked to serve as the Chi Omega Sing Co-Chairman with my best friend, Cindee Garner.  Oh, the fun we had coming up with a theme, the perfect songs, exciting choreography, and a big old back drop that was bigger than an Mac truck and weighed about the same!

Cindee and I give a pep talk before we all
head over to Waco Hall.

Alan, Bryce and I went to Sing last weekend.  They left after the first set of 6 acts (out of 17 acts) to attend the ill-fated Baylor VS Tech Men's Basketball Game.  A couple of cute sorority girls quickly came to claim the seats.  Their sorority had performed during the first set of acts, so they wanted to watch their competition.  Being the Barney Fife geek that I am, I ran my tongue around the inside of my cheeks, pulled up my britches, sniffed and said, "Well, you might like to know that 32 years ago, I was one of the Chi Omega Sing Chairmen."  They reacted in an appropriately impressed and awestruck manner.  "Yeah.  That was me all right.  I was a Sing Chairman.  In fact, you know that song 'Brand New Day?'  We were the first group to ever use that song.  The movie came out in the Fall of '78.  Yep.  We were the first.  It was our 'big ending' song.  People have imitated us many times over the years, but, no one can top our 1979 original 'Brand New Day' performance."  They begin to look amused, "Is that right?  You were the very first ones?!"  "Yep.  We were the first.  The best."  I realized that they were using the same tone of voice that I use when I talk to Mom's octogenarian friends at Raider Ranch.  ("So, you fought in WW II, did you?  Really?!")  "So, how did you place that year?" they eagerly inquired.  "Uh, well, we...ahhh....tied for 4th.  We got beat out by patriotic Tri Delts with sparklers," I said sheepishly.  "Ohhhhh, sparklers," they empathetically cooed.  "Yeah.  Sparklers."

Every time I sit in Waco Hall waiting for the curtain to go up on a Sing act, I feel like I'm 22 again.  My blood begins to pump, my toes begin to tap, and I begin to perform vicariously as the act unfolds.  Once a Sing Chairman, always a Sing Chairman.  I laughed to myself this morning when I wondered if the hundreds of Baylor students who are performing in Sing 2011 realize that there are middle-aged alums who have spent the week discussing and dissecting each of the Sing  acts.  We've already picked the 8 groups who will move on to Pigskin 2011.  We think we know who will win and why.  To aging alumni Sing Chairmen, Sing is the Superbowl.  The only difference is, you can't take snacks into Waco Hall unless you have a really big "old lady" purse.