On Friday Oct.18, Queens College hosted its third annual MidKnight Madness in the Fitzgerald Gymnasium to celebrate the various athletic teams.
A major part of the event was introducing and honoring the women and men’s basketball teams, as well as providing the audience entertainment throughout the night with a variety of performances.
An introductory video was made for the members of the basketball team. After the video, the basketball players made their way to the court, where they were met with applause from the crowd.
“It was great coming out to MidKnight Madness, the bands were great and there was a lot of support from the crowd,” a sophomore on the women’s basketball team, Joya McFarland said.
“This was a really good first experience and I’m excited for my season to begin,” freshman from the men’s basketball team, Kyhiem Chaplansaid said.
The ceremony included many performances from different acts such as Townsend Harris High School’s marching band and the QC dance and step team.
“Performing for the show was great. There’s always a good turnout for MidKnight Madness, so we worked hard to put together a good routine for the crowd. We wanted to show everyone who we are and they loved it,” sophomore, Kiana Newell said.
Newell believes that Midknight Madness is a necessary tradition for the QC community.
“It helps to not only foster school spirit by bringing together the students and faculty, but also, it’s a motivating factor. When people come to support the athletes it shows us how they care and that gets us motivated to perform at our best,” Newell said. “It’s great that the school gets a chance to see who the athletes are as well as celebrate the start of the basketball season.”
Nicole Orisino, a member of the women’s swimming and diving team, said that it is necessary to have Midknight Madness because it shows that people can have fun at QC.
“Since this is a commuter school, people think that not a lot goes on. My favorite part was the marching band. They were a lot of fun and they got the crowd really excited,” Orisino said.
The audience members were just as thrilled to come out and support the teams as the atheletes were.
“I haven’t really seen the athletes in the school, so I wanted a chance to see them by coming out and showing my support,” freshman Celeste Vargas said.
A majority of the members in attendance commented that it was their first time attending the event.
MidKnight Madness highlighted events that not only brought athletics and the QC community together but also welcomed back alumni. The athletics department also honored inductees to their Hall of Fame that weekend.