On every Colgate student, teacher and alumni’s favorite day of the year, Friday the 13th, otherwise known as Colgate Day, Colgate’s esteemed all-male a cappellagroup, The Colgate Thirteen, had the honor of performing the National Anthem at Fenway Park, where the Boston Red Sox were hosting the New York Yankees.

On Thursday afternoon, the a cappella group piled into “The Grunt,” their limousine, and made the trek from Colgate to Boston, Mass. They arrived at the game several hours early that Friday, ran through a microphone check and were then ushered onto the field, where they lined up in a crescent on the grass in front of home plate and were introduced to the crowd as one of America’s most well-known collegiate a cappellagroups.

Applause erupted from the stadium before they even finished singing.  It had been 20 years since the Colgate Thirteen last sang at Fenway Park, and both times they made a lasting impression. Being invited to sing at a national baseball game, especially at a game with such a powerful rivalry as that between the Red Sox and Yankees, was a wonderful opportunity for both the singers of the admired a cappella group and the Colgate campus.

“Singing at Fenway was an absolutely amazing experience,” said sophomore Warren Dennis of the Colgate Thirteen. “I still can’t believe how incredibly lucky I was to be able to do something like that.”

Following their spectacular performance, the Colgate Thirteen stayed for the entirety of the baseball game. Not only was the game itself exciting – the teams were tied 4-4 when the Red Sox hit a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh inning to take home an 8-4 win – but it was also exciting to be part of the Colgate community on Friday the 13. The a cappellagroup ran into a number of people at the park who congratulated them on their excellent performance, many of whom were alumni who also wished them a happy Colgate Day.

While singing the National Anthem at the home stadium of the Red Sox was by far the highlight of the trip, the Colgate Thirteen also had a number of other exciting events lined up for their weekend in Massachusetts, which was impressively planned by sophomore Casey Konys, their fall business manager. The group stayed at the house of their leader, senior Ross Nicholson, in Mass., making several trips around the state to perform at a variety of locations.

On Friday morning, before the baseball game, the a cappellagroup sang a collection of songs at a retirement home. Saturday afternoon, they performed several songs at a tailgate for the University of New Hampshire football game. After the performance, they spent several hours wandering around Boston before meeting up that evening with Boston University’s all-female a cappellagroup, the BU Sweethearts, to host a joint concert for the city at the Marsh Plaza. Their last event of the weekend took place on Sunday morning, where they sang at the Lansdowne Pub in Boston before grabbing some lunch and preparing for their long trip back to Colgate after an unforgettable weekend.

Contact Jaime Gelman at [email protected].