Now, before you all jump at me in the replies, hear me out… obviously due to the current situation, I know this couldn’t happen. We passed the one year anniversary of the 2019 ‘Red Storm Tip-Off’ back in October, and the season creeping up upon us (praying for no delays) has got me thinking about the hypotheticals.
Picture in this COVID-free world, where there are no capacity restrictions, no uncertainty about the college basketball season, thus no uncertainty about a pep-rally to help us get hyped for St. John’s Basketball. Who would you have liked to see?
For reference, the last five Tip-Off’s have looked like this:
- 2015: Mac Miller
- 2016: Desiigner (with a guest appearance by J. Cole)
- 2017: Dave East
- 2018 Sheck Wes
- 2019: Juice WRLD
I think it goes without saying it would have been tough to top last year’s Juice WRLD concert. Performing not even two months before his untimely passing, it was one of his last shows. Fans of his, including myself, will never forget that energy.
On a lighter note, hopefully whoever would be the hypothetical performer wouldn’t make everyone storm the court again and break out into mass chaos (looking at you Desiigner).
For that matter, I just wanna see Carnesecca get as hype as Sheck Wes had it when performing ‘Mo Bamba’. If you haven’t seen this video, it’s linked below. Chills.
I mean just look at him, you can tell he had an absolute blast.
The excitement and anticipation of knowing Tip-Off is a few weeks away and not knowing who the artist would be was always a great feeling. This year, it would be hard to say who I’d even want. Just give me a good show, long ass Snapchat stories, new meme material and some dope player introductions. It is always fun to see what the St. John’s players have up their sleeves when it comes to those intros. Never gets old.
Our favorite introduction and walk-out moment of the last few seasons occurred last year, when Damien Sears came out with the roses. Iconic.
A close second to this is obviously King LoVett back in ’17. He had the crown (no pun intended) of my top pick until Sears came along in 2019.
Just look, such detail and craftsmanship in that costume. Gotta respect it. What a guy.
Needless to say, we wish this year allowed us to experience more moments like these. We needed it, desperately. We wanted to see Coach Anderson walk out with our BIG EAST championship trophy and see a ceremony prior to the concert in which Mike Cragg raised a banner that reads “2019-20 BIG EAST Tournament Champions” into the rafters.
I am certain that had a pep-rally happened, we would have had some great content to give you guys and some funny moments to cherish. Hopefully ‘Red Storm Tip-Off 2021’ creates more timeless memories.
Barstool St. John's 