The EH-mazing comeback

August 6th, 2005 by lynn under Uncategorized

The emcees took so long to get down to the results. They kept us waiting in the heat, on tired legs, and had the gall to ask us to cheer. Jeer is more like it, get to the important stuff already!

The Flag Day collection prizes were given out first, and Temasek received a Certificate of Participation. We were quite shocked by how badly they had done, since we had always considered them our main contender. However, this year our biggest threat was Sheares Hall, as it was rumoured that they had received a huge donation from their corporate sponsor. They were awarded a Silver, which cleared the way for us to win Gold, along with Kent Ridge Hall.

The first award was for Least Cost float. SDE’s float won for this, and the winner for halls of residence was Eusoff. Yay. I think the raggers were pleasantly surprised by this, since our float wasn’t exactly made out of the cheapest stuff available – Medusa had lots of aluminium on it. Jubilation ensued among the yellow and red battalion of Eusoff.

The prize for most environmentally friendly float went to Kent Ridge Hall, who were camped out next to us. It got a bit awkward here, especially since that prize had been ours last year, and Least Cost had been theirs. And also considering that we were now rivals for the Vice-Chancellor’s Shield for Best Flag Day Collection… yes, very awkward.

Best Float Design for faculty clubs went to SDE, I believe. They won 4 prizes today, breaking the Bizad domination many had expected to continue. Bizad was a faculty force to reckon with, but they lost the Flag Shield to Science this year. Science was also the overall winner for faculty clubs.

Best Float Design and Best Float Presentation for Halls went to Sheares, and you could sense the aura of heartbreak among the raggers. Their masterpiece had lost. The dancers looked downcast. The Float Presentation also takes into account the dance, and Sheares’ prancing clowns had beat our cocoons. The (mostly male) raggers around me started to give in to the disappointment, surreptitiously wiping away tears.

The Best Flag Day collection for Halls eluded us, and it went to Kent Ridge amongst much cheering, as we in the Eusoff camp stoically held in the tears. It wasn’t easy having to listen to them trumpet their victory when you know somewhere near you, a flagger is crying. It hurt even more considering the victory had been ours last year. But we acknowledged that they had given us a stiff fight for the shield, their can-holders outnumbered ours on Flag Day.

Flag had been lost, perhaps Rag might still be salvaged. The Vice-Chancellor’s Shield for Best Float went, away from Eusoff to the expected champions, Sheares Hall. We knew they would win, since they had swept the subsidiary prizes. But the tears came fast now as the sting of defeat set in. My guy friends were crying around me now, and though I was sad, this defeat was not mine to mourn. It was not my place to cry when I had only cut a couple of cans and popped my nosy head in once in a while. Even sadness has its boundaries, and all I could do was wrap an arm around a shoulder slumped in defeat.

The big prize came up for grabs, the Chancellor’s Shield for Overall Champions. We were still reeling from our double-knockout as the emcee called, “Eusoff!” Then the scene exploded, fists were raised in the air, girls and boys alike screaming in joy. The noise continued as our representative went up to receive the Shield, and it got even louder as it was raised for all to see. Then the flag, which had been furled, came to life at the hands of an Ehocer, and the cheering began. We chanted the Eusoff Rally, which is so rarely sung that I had forgotten the rhythm. And then the Eusoff Anthem. A ragger next to me, in his final year at Eusoff, broke down and sobbed very audibly. I followed suit, and croaked out the final two lines in between sobs.

There was no victory lap this time, I don’t know if they forgot, or if it was our way of marking the defeat. No matter, the Chancellor’s shield was ours for the 8th time. It was a bittersweet victory. Certainly we’d have liked to take home something for the float, since there’s only one prize for Flag. But we won the biggest prize, and that’s always something to celebrate. I guess we’re like Liverpool FC that way. No FA Cup, no League Championship, but they won the Champions League and that’s a BIG deal. And like Liverpool, this is a lesson we’ll not forget, the empty spaces in our trophy cabinet will serve as reminders.

Next year, Eusoff. Next year: Bolder and better.

This post is specially dedicated to those in red, who cheered and cried and carried us along with them: Cheers, EHOC.