Events

Spank O’ Lympics
O’Neill’s beloved pizza place, Spanky’s, fresh off a good showing at ’Taste of ND’, helped put on an O’Neill Week favorite. Spank O’ Lympics is a series of competitions held during O’Neill Week. It features a few eating contests, Slush Flip Cup, and a Saltine Challenge. It is very fun to watch as evidenced by the large turnouts of guys who jam into the 24 hour lounge. Below, competitors get off to a fast start in the pizza-eating competition. Clearly, the eaters went so fast that the camera could not keep up with the blur of action.

Perhaps the highlight of a great Spank O’ Lympics was The Eliminator. The event always garners great attendance, as Mobsters hope to see true athletic ability in action. A special type of athletic prowess, the rare combination of speed, endurance, and strong stomach, is prerequisite for success in The Eliminator. The event consists of eating a small Spanky’s pizza, running to the Coleman Morse Center, chugging a slushy, running back to O’Neill, and eating a plate of breadsticks, in that order. Though many put on impressive performances, the defending champ, 3A’s John Juarez, won, finishing ahead of 4A’s Sam Roskos, a freshman destined for future glory in the event. Juarez is yet to announce whether he will compete for a 3rd consecutive title next year. Pictured right, the participants finish up their pizzas before departing on their run.
Who: ~ 110 Mobsters (7-14 participants, 35-80 spectators depending on event)
Where: O’Neill 24-hr lounge and South Quad
When: November

Assassins
O’Neill Hall organized a big, new event and got the lovely ladies of Ryan Hall involved. The two dorms collaborated got great turnouts of people, which made for a very exciting and hotly contested game. Each player received a squirt gun and a target. Their objective was to sneak up on the target and squirt them, before he/she could figure out who is after them which could spoil the plot. After a successful hit, players were given a new target while the ’victim’ was eliminated. Once one player is left standing, the game is over. Three prizes were given out for: 1) last man/woman standing, 2) most kills, and 3) most creative kill. The game involved a little bit of luck, a little bit of skill, and a lot of Facebook stalking.
What: Assassins strategy game
Who: 55 Mobsters and 40 Ryan Wildcats
When: Late October - Thanksgiving Break

Recess
On a beautiful Friday afternoon in mid-April, O’Neill and Lyons gathered on South Quad to eat, play games, race along an inflatable obstacle course, and enjoy each other’s company. The activity, which is becoming a Mobster favorite, was well-organized and clearly, a great success. Though the showing consisted mostly of The Mob, members of several other dorms came to share in the fun and take a well-deserved break from studying. Many guys hung out for the better part of the afternoon while others stopped by for an hour or two. Above, people line up to race on the obstacle course while others enjoy the food and one another’s company.
Who: ~ 100 Mobsters, 100 Lionesses and 100+ Others
Where: South Quad
When: Late Spring

Miss ND
O’Neill’s signature event each year has been the Miss ND pageant at Washington Hall. One member from each female dorm on campus can enter into this beauty pageant on steroids. The pageant involves three main portions. These events are the talent portion, the evening wear portion, and the question/answer portion. In order to fill in the time between pageant portions, the men of O’Neill come up with various skits to keep the crowd into the show. The skits involve song parodies and normal skits that relate directly to life at Notre Dame. In order to improve on previous years’ pageants, the men in charge of Miss ND added some features, including ’commercial breaks’ with pre-recorded, comedic videos. Junior Ryan Geraghty entertained the crowd with his parody of the Beatles classic ’Let it Be.’ His rendition, entitled ’Miss ND’, was his effort at professing his love to the contestants of Miss ND. This years winner was Junior Elise Jordan from Farley. She had the crowd of over 450 in tears with her parody of Creed’s ’With Arms Wide Open.’ Not only was she rocking a killer outfit and a flawless Creed impersonation, but she also had killer original lyrics about Touchdown Jesus’ frustration over the ND football woes of recent years.