Three…two…one…go! As January ends, Rosary Academy’s biggest tradition begins: Red and Gold. While most of the seniors and juniors know what exactly goes down on this momentous day of the year, the sophomores and freshmen are unaware of the kickoff ways of a Royal. Here’s what to expect on Kickoff day!

The day starts bright and early at 6 a.m. when the newest captains storm the school plastering any red and gold posters and various paraphernalia they found from Target, Walmart, Amazon, Home Depot, etc. With the yelling of 3-2-1, the Royals are off, battling for any square inch of space along the walls of campus. Streamers fill the bathrooms with cardboard cutouts of celebrities and minions covering the walls.

The timer goes off at 7 a.m., and all of the Royal captains must put down all things decorative. While the rest of the student body arrives with excitement in the air, captains head down for a quick breakfast and recharge after a night of no sleep and poster grind. With tarps and posters hung from the banisters and rails, everything from Harry Styles to “The Rock” appears across the school.

As the student body heads up to their classrooms, captains prepare to reveal their mascots and white team prepares to reveal the theme. Once in their classrooms, white team walks from classroom to classroom delivering lists of team and category for every student. Students find out their team and category ad head down to the gym.

Walking in the gym, chaos fills the Karcher Center. Red and gold yelling from both sides as they form walk-through tunnels. The madness begins.

Skits are performed. Mascots are announced. Theme is announced. Royals are screaming.

Teams then break off in color and category to discuss the future of their scripts and plan for the show. The bell rings. The day closes. Everyone goes home exhausted but in complete excitement as they await the next six weeks of flex.