The end of a 2021 to remember
2021 will go down as a year I will never forget. I had experiences this year that I will probably never get to do again, created memories that will last a lifetime, and had a whole bunch of fun. Get ready for my favorite moments of 2021, in the final From Ben's Desk of the year!
Beginning in Boulder
My very first event in 2021 brought me to the CU Events Center in Boulder for a PAC-12 Women's Basketball matchup between the No. 1 Stanford Cardinal and the unranked Colorado Buffalos. My purpose for attending was to create an article that ended up being published for CHSAA on Colorado high school basketball alums returning to the Centennial State.
It was a homecoming for (left to right) Fran Belibi, Ashten Prechtel, and Cherry Creek's very own Jana Van Gytenbeek. It was a surreal experience to get to see the best team in the country in an empty area, in front of no fans. I still feel somewhat bad that I could attend the game, but those girls' parents could not.
Stanford ended up falling to Colorado in overtime that January afternoon, in a game Buffalo fans won't forget for a long time. I remember Jana telling me, "I cannot believe we lost that game." I think it ended up okay - she, and her teammates, won the National Championship a few months later.
Huge thanks to CU SID Seth Pringle once again for letting me come up in January, hope I can come again in just a couple weeks!
A Basketball Season Unlike Any Other
I'll say it. Basketball season in 2021 was flat out weird. It felt extremely foreign to have no fans, players wearing masks, and to have the feeling that everyone in the gym could hear what we were saying on our broadcasts. What was pretty cool is that other high school, college, and even NBA teams and broadcasters were going through the exact same thing early this year.
Sharing commentary with Nate Henden and Abby Hallam, who graduated in May, was something I will never forget. Those are two people I had been very close with, and we got even closer while broadcasting basketball games together. I will never forget the late-night zoom calls making graphics and writing scripts along with having to dodge quarantines of our own. Let's hope we are never in those circumstances again.
What was extra special about basketball season is that CCSN broadcasted every single home game for both the boys and girls teams for the first time ever. My parents would suggest that I spent more nights at basketball games in January-March that I did at home. We got to see some spectacular basketball, including a boys team who didn't lose a single game until they were knocked out in the semifinals in the playoffs. Getting to host the seminal game at Cherry Creek along with having the game on CCSN for free to our viewers was a super cool moment that I don't think will come along again.
I can't forget to say it one more time in honor of Abby, SHOOTERS SHOOT!
Bruins Nation Reunites
When you think about what the most attended Cherry Creek athletic events are traditionally, you think of football games and basketball games. So what happens when students can't go to football or basketball games? The entire school becomes the biggest soccer and field hockey fans you can imagine.
Soccer and field hockey games are not the easiest sports to comprehend when you compare them to other sports, but when there couldn't be a student section at games for over a year, it doesn't matter if anyone knows what's going on down on the field.
I will remember final week of April 2021 as "Championship Week." The week that we played in the field hockey and boys soccer state championship just days apart. Both of those games will be remembered more as social events and a homecoming more than they will as athletic events, and most won't remember that the Bruins didn't capture either of those championships (sorry for being "that guy").
While the showing at both events was huge, the field hockey state championship gained international attention for the number of students that attended. I'm going to make the claim that as far as students go, it was the most attended game in state history. If you would like to dispute my claim, have at it. Cherry Creek students became HUGE field hockey fans, and some of us even made up our own terms to use on broadcasts.
May the "insert" call live on forever.
Summer at Cherry Creek
What was unique about the backend of the 2020-21 CHSAA calendar is that sports went into the very last of June, a month after school had concluded for the year. I didn't have much planned besides my summer job, which is only a morning gig, so I went to almost every game over the summer that I could. After all, when else am I going to be able to go to Cherry Creek games during summer vacation?
While the heat was absolutely blistering, I followed the girls soccer playoff run all the way until June 23rd. Since school was out, the possibility of being able to broadcast games was slim (I didn't expect or should I expect to be able to get a crew together during the summer, it is summer after all) so I grabbed my camera and took pictures at every game that I could.
Let me be clear, I do not consider myself a photographer. If you want good pictures from a real photographer, you can ask CCSN's Claire Semerod or Jonathan Varghese, but the summer before the 2020-21 school year began, I bought my very first camera and it got very good use during the end of May into June. There was no better way to spend my free time during the summer than taking pictures and tweeting about sports, I had a blast!
I pinpoint June as the time I started to consider myself a soccer fan. While it is the sport of the globe, that's not really the case here in the US. However, in an Olympic year in a country with a very good women's soccer team, it was just a good a time as ever to get into footy. I'm proud to say I bought my very first soccer jersey over the summer in July, and I can't wait for girls soccer season to come again!
Woah. It's Senior Year.
After a little over a month off from covering Cherry Creek, it was time to return to school... for what is now senior year. I honestly can't believe I'm a senior and now as I get ready to enter my final semester at Creek, it seems even more impossible.
There is one thing I have done so far as a senior that I would tell anyone to do when they get to this year. 9/10 times, it's a very good idea to say yes. You never know when you will have the opportunity to do something again.
Running the flag out at football games? Yes.
Racing 3-time Gatorade Player of the Year Riley Stewart? Yes. And don't forget that I won that race.
Being a member of the homecoming court and brining my mom to her first ever Cherry Creek game? Yes.
Going to Arizona to call a football game? Yes.
Officiate a dodgeball game and create controversy? Yes. Yes. And Yes.
So far in my senior year I have created memories that will stick with me for a really, really long time. I want to thank Mr. Weiss so much for being a common denominator in almost all of the special opportunities I've gotten to have this year and during all my time at Creek. Here's to making tons more before it's all said and done!
To make it simple, I'm having a whole bunch of senior year fun and I'm so thankful I get to share it with all of you. If you want to hear about more of my senior year adventures, make sure to checkout some previous editions of From Ben's Desk!
Ending 2021 With a Whole Lot of Winning
Within just a few weeks of each other, Cherry Creek ended the year by capturing the state volleyball championship and their third football championship in a row.
As I discussed in a previous From Ben's Desk, every state championship is different and single one has its own special thing about it. Getting to cover volleyball, an event I hadn't covered before this year, and football, an event I have been to all four years as a student at Creek, was the best way to end the year.
It was amazing to watch the volleyball state championship unfold in dramatic fashion and celebrate with friends and teachers on the court after it ended.
As far as football goes, I can confirm that the "Mile High Magic" that many Broncos players talk about in 100% real. Special things happen at Mile High Stadium, some of the most exciting moments of my life have.
I have no complaints about 2021, as the universe always does, it played itself out. Memories were made and fun was had, I can only hope for a 2022 just as prosperous.
Have a happy and healthy new year,
Ben Parris
My Favorite Photos of 2021
A select few photos to round out 2021
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