After a couple of EVENT-ful spectacles by a group of ten senior boys, culminating with a boy band dance performance Thursday at lunch during the halloween costume competition, many Palo Alto High School students are left wondering: What is “EVENT?”
While your typical fantasy sport league may consist of bets and dares, EVENT, a fantasy football league run by Palo Alto High School seniors, has taken fantasy bets to a whole new level.
According to EVENT member John Young, what began as an idea to create a “super” fantasy football league by combining separate leagues has very quickly become a sensation at Paly. In the place of traditional monetary bets, EVENT members have taken to betting on their own dignities by engaging in public stunts.
“EVENT started from this fantasy football league we created,” Young said. “For most weeks, the losers during that week have had to do a bet. So we’ve had running shorts, sitting with a group of freshmen, overalls, our famous Homecoming asking and our performance [last Thursday].”
Stunts and performances are decided before the week is over and are carried out by the losers of the week, according to member Josh Totte.
“We all decide on a bet for the losers that is agreed on before the week ends,” Totte said. “It’s a huge incentive to do well in the group but even if you do lose, the bets are always hilarious and fun to participate in.”
According to Young, ideas for large stunts are usually drawn from on-campus events and happenings that coincide with weekly bets and are publicized through Facebook. Such publicized EVENTs have included a Homecoming Dance proposal, which featured senior Edward Mei rolling onto the Quad in a chariot while lip-synching to Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball,” and the dance performance Thursday, Young said.
The group plans to continue staging stunts until the end of the fantasy football season, which is based off of the National Football League season, at which point there will be a big EVENT finale, senior and EVENT member Neal Biswas said.
According to Totte, EVENT has become much more than just a fantasy league and has brought members John Young, Josh Totte, Edward Mei, Frankie Comey, Jack Anderson, Blake Smith, Chris Smith, Bowen Gerould, Neal Biswas and Andrew Liang much closer together.
“EVENT has definitely made us tighter as friends, as we all have had to do some embarrassing stuff,” Totte said. “We all have a ton of fun and have definitely made some memories that will stick with us.”