Among the daily sea of students in the halls of Staples, it is common to spot the occasional ninja dressed in all black, or maybe a girl carrying a lacrosse stick around all day like its her royal staff. Sometimes, if you look closely, you will even find the rare student wearing a fuzzy onesie with little duckies on it.
No, we’re not just that weird.
It’s game day.
“The most popular ones are usually blackout and whiteout, where we wear all black or all white, and risky business, where we wear spandex and button down shirts,” said Elizabeth Coogan ‘14, one of the varsity field hockey captains.
Like the field hockey team, the girls’ soccer team has a few traditions as well, but theirs are a bit more “interactive” you could say. Meredith Hood ‘14, described one of her personal favorite traditions called a “color war”. Basically, if you ever see a group of girls chasing each other down the halls trying to scribble on each other’s shirts with colored markers, don’t be alarmed. It’s just game day.
The boys’ teams, on the other hand, usually go for the more professional vibe.
“We were doing it 50 years ago when I was a student-athlete at Staples,” said Laddie Lawrence, “we never went anywhere for an athletic contest unless we were in a jacket and tie.”
Zack Azadian ‘15 said that he honestly doesn’t mind dressing up in a shirt and tie for his baseball games. He explained that he thinks the tradition of dressing up for games, for both boys and girls teams, comes from the idea of showing support and unity as a team throughout the school day.
“Yeah, it might be uncomfortable at times,” said Azadian, “but I think it sends the right message of being focused and ready to go.”
Staples students love showing spirit for their sport, and seeing teammates at school dressed up in any way keeps everyone excited and focused on their goal. “It always gets me pumped up for my games,” said Anna Eichhorn ‘16.
So whether its the classic shirt and tie that gives it away, or a straight up onesie, you will never be left wondering if it’s a game day.
