Taylor’s ‘Silent Night’ is better than any party you will ever attend
It really doesn’t get much better than this.
Since 1997, Taylor University has been the home of one of College Basketball’s most eccentric traditions. During one game each season, students will dress up in costumes and remain completely silent until the team has scored ten points.
Then, they go absolutely bonkers.
Santas, sports anchors, vikings, and Johnny Manziels alike jump for the sky and let out bellowing screams.
Sports Illustrated’s Phil Taylor, an expert on Taylors, profiled the tradition in a 2010 edition of the magazine, and perfectly captured the rumbling in the gym. It’s worth a read.
This year’s night was exceptionally rowdy. Taylor played Ohio-Chillicothe on Friday, and after a corner three from Evan Crowe, a capacity crowd at Odle Arena blew its top and forced a timeout on the floor.
Taylor dominated the Hilltoppers 100–50, and are now 19–0 on Silent Nights. As they’ve always done, they ended the evening by singing “Silent Night.”
A ranking of costumes seems ideal, but there are far too many wonderful students in this video.
I’ll just give a nod to a few people. First, the kid who yells “Another one,” before the ice-breaking three goes in—that’s your MVP of the night right there. The ladies dressed as McCormick spices—they’re probably in second place. Johnny Manziel, Scott Van Pelt and Bill Belichick also put on exceptional performances.
Well done, everyone involved.
For more videos, and more information on the night, you can visit Taylor’s website.
- Kenny Ducey
