What is it about this time of year when entire towns come out of the ice fishing shacks, off the snowmobile trails, and head for the “Mecca”? We love to cheer on our teams during the Eastern Maine Basketball Tournaments! But there’s an art to this cold winter ritual that gets people heated up and I don’t mean just with trick plays on the court!
T-Shirt Art
As a spectator, look around in the stands and you will find a plethora of logos, slogans and designs worn by supporters from every high school in northern Maine. Catchy, cool and colorful are these t-shirts, that year after year pile up in closets and bureau drawers. I have the perfect solution! (I must give former Orono High School Principal Jim Chasse credit for the idea). Make a giant banner from all the t-shirts! I cut the best designs from Mr. Chasse’s collection into 15″ by 15″ squares (some were a bit smaller) ironed on jersey interfacing, added boarder strips sewn between shirts and then I backed with pre-quilted cotton (on sale at JoAnn’s Fabrics). Voila! Not a project for a novice, as it took lots of time to cut, press and piece the shirts together, but a fun and truly useful school-spirited project!
Cheering Art
As teams get introduced during pre-game today, watch not only the funky jumps of the cheerleaders, but also watch the players bump, pump, jump and slap individually choreographed routines as they run on the court. These gyrations are the latest form of team spirit expression and get the teams and their fans prepped for the game! Along with their swagger, their swag is not too shabby either! Long baggy shorts combined with geometric patterns and bold stripes that delineate rugged physiques and bulging biceps for the players. Meanwhile, the cheerleaders uniforms are spray painted on lycra, optical illusions that make the old-timers squint! It is a fashion designers’ paradise integrated with physical movement!
Art of Basketball
Crazy as it seems, I brought my sketch book to the Cross Center while watching the tourneys this year. My husband is on the faculty at Orono High School, and we live directly behind the school, therefore we cheer for the Riots. We know all of the players on the team, Coach Jason Coleman and many of the officials too. Unfortunately, it’s tough for me to be a quiet observer, so I try to maintain some decorum by sketching. Yeah, try as I might…I ended up finishing this sketch many miles from the game site! I must congratulate the Riots for showing huge sportsmanship during their win against Presque Isle on Saturday. And today’s victory against the #1 ranked Hermon Hawks is a perfect example of how talented these young men wearing Orono on their jerseys are. Orono High School won 52-41. Congratulations to the maroon & white team, cheerleaders, coaches, parents and fans. Winning is an art and doing so with class and respect is Gold Ball Material. I love drawing and illustrating winners! Thank you to all involved and keep up the good work! I need to create more winning sketches; therefore, I am asking for two more winning games, Go Riots!