Thursday, March 25, 1999
First trip to state makes Madeira 'a little crazy'
BY RAY SCHAEFER
Enquirer Contributor
Madeira student and staff cheer at Wednesday's pep rally.
(Michael Snyder photo)
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MADEIRA — Cyndi Underwood was perhaps the busiest woman in Madeira on Wednesday.
With the boys basketball team playing Coldwater in the Division III state semifinals at 11 a.m. today at the Jerome Schottenstein Center Arena in Columbus, Ms. Underwood may have had the most important job — as athletic department secretary she took the money for tickets and nearly 700 T-shirts and juggled seats on the seven buses headed for Columbus this morning.
“It's a little crazy right now,” Ms. Underwood said. “... This is our first trip to state, it's exciting. It's a wonderful time. We're having fun, it's just nuts.”
Crazy pretty much described the atmosphere around the school on Loannes Drive. Students and adults did things to celebrate the state semifinal berth.
Things like the royal blue that Madeira principal Christopher Mate sprayed in his hair and mustache.
“This is a special occasion,” Mr. Mate said.
There were the usual signs in yards and businesses around town as well. “Go Mustangs, Freeze Coldwater,” read one.
“We're not fair-weather fans,” junior Kara Wittenberg said.
Senior guard Todd Schlensker, whose 20 points helped Madeira to a 77-62 win over Finneytown in last Saturday's regional finals, said he was a little anxious about the game, but he appreciated that attendance at games rose from 500-1,000 last year to around 1,500 this year.
Before the team left for Columbus Wednesday, the school threw a pep rally. There were the usual speeches by players and school and city officials.
“This is the biggest thing in Madeira history,” coach Jim Reynolds said. “I think it's more incredible we could be 24-1 and headed to the state tournament.”
Senior Jake Jacobs, who played basketball for three years, attended the rally. He wondered why he left the program this year to concentrate on soccer, but he wasn't too upset.
“This is so neat to see them go this far,” he said. “I'm friends with all of them.”
Senior Jason Case likewise sat at the end of the Madeira bench for three years with Jake, and he also skipped basketball but instead concentrated on football and baseball.
“I wish I was on the team to enjoy this,” he said. “But I really love cheering for these guys.”
By the end of the day it was apparent hardly anything would keep fans from Columbus. Sheri Misleh stopped at Ms. Underwood's office on her way to her son Joey's doctorappointment to pay for tickets.
“My son is sick,” Mrs. Misleh said. “But he's going to be better (today).”
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