THE TGIT of the Year
The energy at Groundhog TGIT was sublime. The packed room, dim lights, flowing libations and the incredible art of the Muses of Northgate band, made for what was possibly the best TGIT ever.
TGIT kicked off with Happy Hour from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m., where the crowd was enjoying the $2 beers and ciders. The Dumb Ox was packed with people hanging out, playing pool and catching up with each other after the ice week.
During the Happy Hour people were truly living with the spirit of groundhog by enjoying libations and laid-back conversations. Several alumni were willing to join me for an informal interview with beers in hand and lots of joyful reminiscence of their time at UD.
Some alumni drove over from their homes in Irving, others, such as Sophia Pell, Politics BA ‘25, drove six hours to be here for the Groundhog events. Pell is joining recent graduates for their one year reunion.
Other alumni are flying out from across the US and joining up with an entire “Fellowship” of friends. Fr. James Searby, History BA ‘95, James Bostick, History BA ‘94 and Pablo Gomez, Philosophy BA‘95 are joining their friend group of nine for Groundhog after they all graduated over 30 years ago.
But Groundhog isn’t just a time to connect with old classmates, it’s also a great way for teachers to see their old students, parents to see their children and alumni to see their old professors. For many alumni the reasons overlap. Bostick and Gomez each have two children currently at UD. Bostick also had the opportunity to see many of his previous students from the Avalon while here at UD.
Around 11 p.m., the Groundhog King and Queen were announced by last year’s King and Queen, Alexa Mascola and Luke Enriquez, joining via Facetime from the Marine Corps. From the list of stellar nominees, the ultimate will of the people was to crown Joe Rodda as Groundhog King and Lilly Clune as Groundhog Queen. Each received their majestic crown made from the boxes of beer cans and adorned with bottle caps and cigarettes.
After the coronation, Northgate took the stage! A fan-favorite, Northgate is a “very original cover band” made up of senior fromers Paulina Gomez, Violeta Marovic, Jacinta Gonzales, Mikey Christov, Joe Pascal, Michael Sutton, Andrew Denny and Scott Pasowicz. This TGIT’s set was a mix of songs from many decades: “Gimme, Gimme Gimme” from the late 70s, 90s hits like “Don’t Look Back in Anger” and 2000s classics like “1985” and “Teenage Dirtbag”. They even played more contemporary songs like Olivia Rodrigo’s “Good 4 U”.
The energy of the crowd and the singers was infectious. Sometimes the singers would even turn over the microphone to the crowd. Having only heard Northgate play a few songs at a time for battle of the bands or CAB events, we were impressed how much the band is capable of. The patio was too icy for the band to play outside, but this came with the perk that everyone stayed warm indoors.
The popular sentiment among the student body was clear: this TGIT has been one of the best yet. At any rate, it was a great way to kick off the Groundhog weekend!