April 20, 2012 – A day which will live in history as the first ever Baron Games. It’s not often that a new tradition is created to bring hundreds of students closer, but in this case it is. The spirit and power of Fountain Valley was in the atmosphere from the moment 3,500 students walked into the bowl. Many of us did not know what to expect as we took our seats, but we knew that we were in for a show.
“At first I thought Baron Games were over-hyped in hopes to wash out the idea of Gender Wars, but after all the lunch time activities, the assembly had me anxious for what was coming next,” says Andrew Cheung (’13), “Knowing the whole school was going to be in one place lived up to the hype which got me pretty excited.”
The games were convened with a unique performance by Keith Adamiak (’12) singing the national anthem with a ukulele. The flamboyant team leaders, Mr. Arnold and Mr. Fraser, then took center stage to make some noise from the crowd. You could only hear “Team Gold!” and “Blue in the house!” flourishing back and forth. They could not hold off the games any longer though; the crowd was on the brink of anxiety. The games were about to go underway.
“Before the games known as the Baron Games commenced, we expected it to be cheesy,” says Lina Nguyen (’14) and Kaden Bruner (’13), “But when it started it was really fun and it pumped everybody up.”
As an opening event, the blue and the gold fought it out with their stomachs. It was a race of consuming noodles, chewing bubble gum, and finishing a taco. It was the Blue team that took the victory in that event. To follow up, the teams battled with beach balls. Whichever team had the most balls on their side loses. It was a spirited event and you can feel the energy and competition between the two vivacious crowds. In a disputed decision however, it was the gold team that came out on top. What was to occur after a game of volleyball, perhaps? It must be a tricycle race. It was a relay race to ride the tricycle around the bowl and back onto the stage. Both teams demonstrated speed and determination, but Blue team considerably swept the race. To shift the flag a little, Mr. Arnold and Mr. Fraser moved on to play a game of catch with water balloons. The water balloons did not douse a fired-up event when you try to anticipate a catch or a miss. The results kept the crowd on their toes, but the win was undeniably owned by the Blue team. When it looked grim for the Gold team however, there was one event that would be anybody’s game. Softball players participated in a mini-Gender Wars to try and guess the lyrics to the next song. It was not just the players singing; it was the entire bowl. Just one song missed from the Gold team, and the Blue team snatched that victory as well. The Games’ events have officially ended.
“I felt excited during the games because there was actually a prize to be won. Many of the games were very creative and I liked how they were able to use a lot of crowd participation,” says Wei Yan (’12), “I didn’t know what to expect and didn’t expect too much because it was something completely new. But I think it was really well planned and fun, they did a great job especially since it was the first year.”
The only thing that could be heard from Blue team at that moment was “This one’s over!” Mr. Fraser, to the Blue team’s dismay, responded, “It was not over.” Then, as if on cue, Principal Herzfeld walked in and rose up something in the air known as a decibel meter. I loved how everybody in the crowd just anticipated what was going to happen next. Moments of explosive cheering ensued, each time with increasingly louder cheers. It was the Gold team who took the last and loudest cheer of the day. And what better way to end an assembly then have confetti blasted in all directions.
At the end of the assembly, everybody was a winner with the Blue team winning a free Doritos Loco Taco and the Gold team winning a free 7/11 Slurpee. Both teams got to shine today, and what I loved most about today was that everybody was unified rather than split. This was definitely an assembly to be reckoned with. Who knew what a little friendly competition could do for our school environment? The Baron Games left a legacy for school spirit, and many of us can’t wait for what’s in store next year.
“What really stuck out and really set the bar for future assemblies was that everyone was participating, and that was awesome. I came to realize that this was the only assembly in a very long time that the entire student/faculty became one giant family,” says Harrison Pham (’12), “My only wish was that I can have one more assembly like this before I leave FVHS.”
