Super Saturday

TigerBlog hopes you had a Wonderful Wednesday and now have a Terrific Thursday.

Ah, alliteration. It's a wonderful thing. 

Most of TigerBlog's experiences with alliteration through the years have come quite by accident. He's sometimes said sentences that seemingly made sense, without realizing that he had the same first letter in so many words.

That leads into a good trivia question. In what movie was this line uttered: "That's lot of alliteration from anxious anchors place in positions of importance." Here's a hint - it's a wildly underrated movie that should be on pretty much everyone's list of the 25 best movies ever.

TB will have the answer for you later.

Why the alliterative action for today? Well, that's because it's only two days until Super Saturday.

It's a promotion of the Jadwin Jungle. If you're a Princeton student and you send a selfie from each of six different home events this weekend, then you'll be entered to win a pair of air pods.

The ever-present airpods, by the way remind TB of a team a few years ago when he was walking into a supermarket. As he got to the door, someone walked out speaking rather loudly, with the air pods in his ears. As this happened, someone TB did not know was also walking up. He and TB stopped for a second as the man walked between them, oblivious to anything other than his conversation. 

There was a time that a person who walked out of a supermarket and was speaking loudly with no one else around would have raised some eyebrows. Not anymore. 

"It used to be easier to tell who was crazy," the other man said. 

As for Super Saturday, here are the six home events:

8 am - men's lightweight rowing vs. Cornell
11 am - track and field Larry Ellis Invitational
noon - women's lacrosse vs. Dartmouth
noon - women's tennis vs. Harvard
2 pm - men's volleyball vs. Sacred Heart
3 pm - men's lacrosse vs. Dartmouth

That's a pretty good day. Or a Super Saturday. If you're a student who would like to submit your six photos, you can do so HERE.

Larry Ellis, if you don't know, was the first Black head coach ever in the Ivy League. Hired in 1970 to coach the men's track and field team, he would serve in that position for 22 years. 

TB found THIS STORY about Ellis from goprincetontigers.com. The quote from Fred Samara matches up perfectly with the Larry Ellis whom TigerBlog knew.

Ellis, who was also an Olympic coach, was part of one of the most insightful moments TB has ever experienced. TB was walking down the Jadwin balcony when he saw Ellis and one of his athletes outside of his office, and TB heard the athlete ask the coach what he needed to do to be able to get to a certain time in his event.

And what did Ellis answer? With all the wisdom of the world, he said simply "run faster."

Larry Ellis passed away in 1998. The Larry Ellis Invitational originated one year later.

As for the men's volleyball team, Princeton started the season 1-8 but has gone 9-4 since. The Tigers are also 8-6 in the EIVA and ending the regular season with matches tomorrow and Saturday against the Pioneers, who are 2-12 in the league.

The league's six playoff teams are set, and Princeton will be one of them. The Tigers currently are in a three-way tie for second, and second place comes with two bonuses - a first-round bye and an avoidance of unbeaten Penn State in Round 1.

The women's tennis match is also huge. Princeton is one of four teams in the Ivy League with one loss. Harvard, the Tigers' Saturday opponent, is the only remaining unbeaten Ivy team.

It'll indeed be a Super Saturday. Get those selfies ready. If you're not a student and want to take the Super Saturday challenge, you can email your six selfies to TigerBlog (princetonuniversityoac@gmail.com).

And the trivia answer? Broadcast News, of course. It's the scene where William Hurt (a novice who has gotten where he is through his good looks and ratings in focus groups rather than through any kind of intelligence or depth)  is chosen to anchor a special report on a Libyan skirmish. The report is produced by Holly Hunter, while Albert Brooks, the great veteran reporter, is excluded, leaving him home to watch and critique.