I got to hurl my body around in a mosh pit of fellow Chaminade students (and others) near the stage of one of my favorite bands on national television during the all-star game of a professional sport.
That was my Pro Bowl 2014.
Through the graces of a free ticket, I was able to be part of the small crowd that was brought in to mosh in front of Fall Out Boy during halftime of the NFL’s Pro Bowl on Sunday, Jan. 26. Just seeing Fall Out Boy would have been amazing. But coupled with a huge stadium and a national TV audience – part of which was my sister who got super jealous at my good fortune – and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life.
I wasn’t even sure I was going to the Pro Bowl this year.
From the start of the second quarter went into play, all the people who were dressed in their Pro Bowl shirts headed down to the garage of the stadium. Once half time began, the mosh pit and I kept getting hyped up for the moment with the band.
“Jog! Don’t run,” Said one of the event coordinators.
None of us cared because a blast of adrenaline streamed through the entire mosh pit. Thus making us run wildly onto the wet field.
The energy went from hyped up to fired up once band performed of their recent hit single “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)” and their classic hit single “Sugar, We’re Goin Down”. After the performance some people who were wearing the NFL logo on their blazers congratulated me for doing something different than the other mosh pitters.
It was surprising that it wasn’t just college students to who got to participate. One married couple looked about in their early 50s and was mosh pitting their heart out.
On the day of rehearsal, over half of the mosh pit were Chaminade students. When we waiting in line to get registered, one of the event coordinators told us that Chaminade wasn’t even on the list. It took about almost an hour for me and the other students of Chaminade to enter the stadium.
The sun was beaming on us as our coordinator coached us the choreography. It was a bit dull when we ran through the performance because the coordinator was on the stage, and the energy flowed poorly. Until I saw Patrick Stump, the lead singer and lead guitarist from the rock band walked up to the stage. The energy lit up like a fire. For about an hour, the mosh pit practiced with the band during sound check.
I was about five or six deep behind the stage. Once the band walked away from the stage, I wanted to get a good, clear photo with Patrick, but one of my friends beat me to it. A few seconds later, one of the entourage instructed us to give Patrick some space so he can be on his way out of the stadium.
Hours after having my amazing weekend, my phone was blown up from Facebook messages by my sister as she rants about on how I got to meet with my favorite band. If I could go back in time from that weekend, it would be me that shook hands with Patrick Stump instead of my friend.
