Homecoming 2015 has drawn to a close. As usual, the week was wrapped off with an age-old homecoming tradition: Crazy Blue and Gold Day. The day itself, however, was far from ordinary. It featured some new twists, including a larger display of participation, a talent show during the pep rally, and a football game that was cut short due to a storm.

Some students went all out this year. Anyone who disagrees probably didn’t see Phillip Phan running across the gym in a cheerleader’s outfit during the pep rally.

And he wasn’t alone. Other kids wore blue and gold socks, makeup, shirts, and necklaces. A vast majority of the student body participated this year, flooding the hallways with streams of blue and gold.

Around 2:30 the entire school assembled in the main gym for a pep rally. As usual, the band played the school’s fight song, the cheerleaders performed, and the Homecoming Court as well as those involved in fall extracurriculars were introduced. The freshmen class was also deeply confused when the cheerleaders chanted to them, “Freshmen, freshmen, battle cry!” But that is to be expected. These things always happen, and they’re always a great way to help the students celebrate their school.

This year, however, the pep rally included a small talent portion. Appropriately titled “East Noble’s Got Talent,” it allowed three students to showcase their musical abilities. Each student received thunderous applause. Jocelyn Hutchins, a junior, showed off her flute skills and opened the show with a rendition of Aerosmith’s “Dream On.” An abridged version of “Concerning Hobbits” (the Shire theme from The Lord of the Rings) on the violin was performed after the flute solo. Jakob Speelman ultimately won the show after engaging the crowd in cheers and playing his guitar.

Hours later, kids packed the student section of the bleachers to root for their football team, which faced strong opposition from Leo Jr. Senior High School. By halftime the team was losing 21 to 0. Nearly the entire student section stood throughout the game to show its support.

The Homecoming Court was recognized again during halftime. Nate Housholder and Emily Napier were crowned as this year’s homecoming king and queen. The night went by as planned until the band began to perform. A streak of lightning lit up the sky in the north. Then it did so a second time—then a third and a fourth. Finally, it was announced that the game would be ending early. The crowds made for the exits to flee from the approaching storm.

The game picked up at 10:00 AM the following day. In the end, East Noble lost 35-14 to Leo. Fortunately, however, a simple defeat like this is far from able to crush the spirits of its student body. Homecoming 2015 was indeed a success—a crazy blue and gold success!