As Spring Sing draws near, I find myself reminiscing on my Spring Sing experiences. I can proudly say I was involved with Knights’ “The Show Heard ‘Round the World” that swept the awards. It was an incredible experience and a special time for Knights. But while the judges were unanimous in their decision of who the winner should be, the student body wasn’t. There were a lot of angry tweets from participants who were bitter their shows didn’t win. Apparently that isn’t a new thing for Spring Sing. How sad, I thought, to put so much time into something just to end up being bitter that you didn’t win first place.
It’s not like I’ve only won. The year before Knights did Spring Sing, I participated in the “Olympics” show with ChiO’s, DGR and ZPZ, and I had a great time. It wasn’t a first place show, but it wasn’t presented as such. That wasn’t the goal. The goal was to produce the best show possible, and to have fun doing it. We practiced hard, but we kept it light-hearted. And I had a blast. I was actually sad when the show was over. I missed going to the practices, because they weren’t a burden. It was an opportunity to get to know people from different circles. We didn’t win first – we didn’t place – but I had formed great relationships with people I never would have met and made memories that I still remember fondly.
Even with “The Show Heard ‘Round the World,” we didn’t really think much about the possibility of winning until after Jersey Night. Our show, and the process that went with it, was about spending time with each other and strengthening relationships. Much of practice was spent laughing and goofing off. We ended every practice a little early to give a different member an opportunity to share his story with the rest of the club. There was no class hierarchy or executive officers; the only distinction was large and small part. We were all just guys (and a few queens) having fun while trying to learn to sing and dance. Some of my favorite memories from my time in Knights occurred during Spring Sing, and some of my deepest relationships were strengthened by the time we spent in practice.
I can’t say that winning wasn’t great. It was a tremendous honor to take the stage as a club and lead the crowd in “The Star-Spangled Banner.” It was really cool to see the number of views on YouTube continue to rise as it was watched around the world. But that faded away after a couple of weeks. What remains are the memories. We don’t really talk about the time we won Spring Sing. We talk about the time Connor Merry strapped a GoPro to his chest for a performance. We laugh about Jared Dryden dressed as Paul Revere with a costume horse. We remember falling asleep on the Benson stage waiting for chapel and our final performance. We think about the experience that it was to take on the show as a club and how it pulled us even closer together.
As Saturday night approaches, I hope you’ll consider what you’ll take away from Spring Sing. If you’re only participating to compete for first place, you may end up disappointed. Take the small amount of time before Spring Sing to cherish the new relationships you’ve built and the memories you’ve made. Winning first place won’t be your favorite memory.
