Solon Debate Team Blog: Freshman Phenom, Mavericks Victory Parade, iChill

On Wednesday, the competition heated up, and each of us was eventually eliminated from his/her respective event, with Freshman Phenom Eric Wang making it farther than any Solon freshman ever has at nationals: the top 60 competitors in International Extemporaneous Speaking, an event in which students discuss international issues. In fact, Eric is the first Solon freshman to even qualify for nationals in the first place!

Wednesday night, the National Forensics League (which runs the tournament) threw a party at Gilley's, a cowboy themed Dallas event center. After an hour or so of playing blackjack, dancing, and donating money to Joplin, we decided to leave to eat dinner on the West End, which was swarming with both scam artists and police officers. The fact that Dan is 6'6" also helped keep us safe. Many of the team members had the opportunity to try alligator meat for the first time at the world-famous Gator Grill where we ate dinner. 

Eric had the chance to show us extemp skill yet again by registering for a supplmental event, Commentary, which is very similar to Extemporaneous speaking. Supplements are for people eliminated from their regular events, but are just as competitive as regular ones. Eric started Commentary Thursday morning and as of Friday morning is still in. The farthest a Solon student has gotten in a supplemental is in the Top 20 national competitors in Expository Speaking, a feat achieved by Raja Krishna. Eric seems slated to break that record as he continues to speak well after breaking into the Top 60 Commentators.  

Thursday morning, the team got up early to get good spots at the victory parade for the Dallas Mavericks, which was starting literally at our hotel's front door! We cheered along as Dallas citizens praised the likes of Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, and Jason Kidd, as the entire Mavs team floated by on...well, floats. Even Mark Cuban drove past in his car, proudly holding the 2011 NBA Finals trophy in the air for all to see. 

Thursday night, we ate at Y.O. Steakhouse, a steakhouse lauded by Food Network as having the world's best steak--and Jen and Dan were kind enough to treat us to dinner! 

We also discovered iChill, an "anti-energy drink" advertised as the opposite of 5-Hour Energy. After Raja, Andrew, and Trent each had one and felt a Cloud 9-like state of relaxation, little high-pitched Eric was permitted to try half a bottle. 

"Hey guys," said Eric, grinning through his words, "when will I feel normal again? Because I don't want to..."

iChill gave us the best sleep of our entire lives--no dreams, minimal movement, pure rest. Some might describe it as a 10 hour vegetative state. 

Overall, it's been a busy yet very educational and entertaining two days. Today we watch the final rounds: it's only a matter of time before a Solon student is in one.