It’s here! It’s finally here! Red and Gold season is officially among us! Here’s a deeper look at what this year’s Red and Gold kickoff was like for captains, white team, faculty, and students at Rosary Academy!

The day started bright and early for the captains and white team, all of which got very little sleep with the only thing keeping them awake being energy drinks and pure sugar. Most captains spent the night creating posters and planning their mascot reveal announcement; however, right as the clock turned five, captains started rolling into the Rosary parking lot.

Red producer Daly Holman ’22 said, “I was really excited but nervous because I knew I had to sprint for my life all the way to the far staircase and sacrifice my body by laying across the entire railing. It was a lot to ask of my frail body at 6 a.m.”

Although captains were not let out of their cars until six, cars were lined up with trunks full of red and gold posters and balloons. Gold producer Anna DiCrisi ’22 commented, “I was experiencing the stress of not being able to do anything five minutes before we ran in. I was worried because I wasn’t able to get all my posters and stuff together with the rest of the gold captains. However, sitting there knowing that any second we were going to be called up to school was probably the most exhilarating feeling I’ve ever had.”

At almost six, my fellow white team members and I started walking down the hill to let captains out of their cars. In anticipation, girls started stacking posters and storming the gate. At exactly six, the gate was opened and a stampede of red and gold started sprinting up to campus. For the next hour, posters, streamers, and sticky notes covered campus while the sun rose. I walked around campus on Instagram live for all of the parents and students who were not yet on campus to watch (if you haven’t already follow royalredandgold on Instagram!). While captains headed to breakfast, the student body started to show up and head to their period one classrooms.

After announcements, white team took category and team assignments up to every classroom, as screams of excitement filled campus. White team senior representative Evelyn LeVecke ’22 said, “I thought it was funny seeing everyone’s reactions as they saw us walking down the halls with the papers that would decide their fate. I only stayed in one room to hear their assignments (Mr. Bravo’s freshman class), and I enjoyed seeing all of their reactions because it was their first Red and Gold kickoff!”

Everyone then headed down to the Karcher Center as both teams cheered on their new teammates. ASB performed their theme announcement for the student body, revealing the theme as “One in a Million.” Red followed announcing themselves as the “Red Rockers” followed by Gold with the “Gold Popstars.” White team then gathered to announce themselves as “White Team Security.”

Mr. Bevins said that his favorite part of ASB’s skit was, “definitely the sound effects that white team made while traveling through Jade’s hula hoop. All of the teachers were cracking up at that. They thought it was hysterical.” Additionally, Ms. Barclay ’94 commented on her appearance in both Red and Gold’s skits as “I thought it was fantastic and highly appropriate. Emma Silva ’23 said something funny, and I remember Anna Jordan ’23 saying something funny too. Both Emma and Anna portrayed me as a dignified woman of grace, intelligence, and competitiveness, as they should have. My only critique is that there could have been some more A. Barclay.”

The student body separated into their teams and categories and began discussing the future of their shows. White team perused the halls making sure everything went smoothly. As the day came to a close with Mrs. Huerta’s ’94 dismissal, all captains went home and napped for multiple hours. I can say that I took a three-hour nap after pulling an all-nighter before Red and Gold kickoff.