What Happened in Utica Stays in Utica

Perhaps the community is wondering what ever happened when Scarsdale High School students flocked to support the Raiders at their semi-final hockey game in Utica, New York on March 14. It was a big trip and, to many parents' concern, some students stayed overnight at the Holiday Inn Express near the stadium. Yet, there were no widely known scandals. No emergency parent group meetings. Utica came and went, and everyone arrived home safely. My friends and I wonder how we possibly pulled an adventure off like that without any serious mania. We did, and it was incredible.

On the easy three hour drive up to Utica, it was exciting to spot the proverbial "Scarsdale Raiders" bumper sticker on the windows of other cars driving down the highway and to look over and see a fellow classmate bopping their head to their own road trip playlist. Sleepy rest stops in quiet upstate towns were teaming with Scarsdale students and echoing with the kind of high school chatter that usually fills Langes on Friday afternoons. (One boy even told a story of running into a high school administrator in a rest stop bathroom, and then having to use the urinal next to him.) Most students left at the same time and thus arrived at the stadium at the same time -- all decked out in maroon clothing and face paint. Spirits were high.

At the game, the energy from the cheering fans was unrelenting. In comparison, the McQuiad (the rival team) fan section was subdued, even though their school is much closer to the stadium than ours. The fans were supporting the players throughout the whole game. We cheered for every Scarsdale goal and even encouraged the team after a McQuiad goal. Energy was intense when the teams were tied, but, eventually, those McQuiad goals outnumbered the Scarsdale ones, and the Raiders lost the game 4 - 2. The loss felt tragic, and heads hung low as we all grudgingly headed back to the Holiday Inn Express for the night.

By 9 p.m, however, the mood transformed from sorrow to excitement. After all, the prospect of an unsupervised evening was exciting. It would be like summer camp -- or, more relevant to us seniors, it would be exactly like college. Oh yes, like any classic movie depiction of an out-of-control Big 10 college party it certainly was. All hell broke loose. The class of 2015 completely took over floors two and three, running in and out of rooms and wreaking havoc.

At 10 pm the hotel tried to control everyone and brought out their wartime consigliores'': a team of short middle-aged women with voices louder than the captain of the cheerleading team and presences scarier than the heaviest football player. They were doing what it took to reclaim those second and third floors of their sacred Holiday Inn Express, including threatening to kick kids out of the hotel and searching rooms. They were adding $100 - $200 fines to the bills for rooms that were damaged. Some kid threw a Timberland boot at the manager; others got kicked off the roof. They chased kids out of the pool area, which was definitely filled above maximum capacity.

The team did their job fast, as most students were too scared to leave whatever room they were in by around 11 p.m. My observations end at this time as I only know what happened in my room. I would not dare meet the wrath of those hotel employees by venturing outside.

The next morning was awkward to say the least at the hotel's complimentary buffet breakfast. Eye contact between hotel employees and students was brief, and everyone just tried to get out of there as fast as possible.

On the drive home, we reflected on the amazing season the hockey team had this year and acknowledged how lucky we were to be along for the ride (pun intended). It was the game of the year, and we had all been there supporting the team together. If that is not a priceless high school memory, I do not know what is. When I reached home, my mother asked me how Utica was. "Mom, what happens in Utica, stays in Utica," I replied. That was the end of that.