The countdown is in the single digits.
Canning has ended.
Most of the money has been collected.
THON 2010 is set to begin.
For 51 weeks, the many members and organizations involved in THON have been taking over intersections, visiting Four Diamonds families and promoting THON on a local and national level.
And this Friday, they’ll finally see the results of all that hard work in a 46-hour dance marathon.
They’ll learn the new line dance. If you haven’t seen this before, I highly recommend doing so this year. What starts off as a light, somewhat silly dance move becomes the dancers’ most familiar movement. After the 30-hour mark, they’re better at the dance than they are at standing still.
Friends, families and avid supporters will fill the seats of the BJC to sing and dance along, supporting the dancers who never seem to struggle as much as they should.
And my goodness, will you feel the love in that room.
The Four Diamonds families love THON for what it provides.
They love the dancers and organizations that run THON.
The dancers and the organizations love the Four Diamonds families for the inspiration they provide.
Participating groups love their dancers for being on their feet for two days straight, and the dancers love them back for providing round-the-clock support in the stands.
It’s fitting that THON 2010’s theme would be ‘Love Belongs Here.’ No kidding.
It’s a powerful thing.
Joe Paterno once took a football player to the leg and was too tough to sit quietly in the box away from the field of dangers. And even that tough guy was overcome with emotion at last year’s THON.
Supported by an arena of JoePa fans, the coach turned the support right back around. ‘I wish the whole world could see and feel what’s in this room right now,’ he said.
This was a man who demanded the best from his athletes on the field, in the community and in the classroom. And he was endlessly impressed by the THON supporters’ efforts.
You still have time to be a part of THON. You belong in that room, sharing the love with the families, dancers and supporters.
Learn the line dance. Yes, you’ll feel silly at first, but it means to world to the dancers to see the crowd joining in (besides, if you’re there for a few hours, you’ll learn it whether you want to or not).
Stand up in the seats. You do it at the football games. Just do it again.
Cheer. Wildly.
Try to be there for the final four hours. If Beethoven and Jimi Hendrix put on a concert together, it would be easier to get into than the final four hours of THON, but do it if you can.
Watch the total as it is revealed. THON 2010 may have raised another $1 million more than last year. Then again, the total might be $1 million less. But it’s very important that no matter the total, you realize what THON has done.
It only takes one mother saying through tears that her baby boy is alive because of THON’s efforts to make even the hardest of hearts melt.
It’s then that you realize that THON isn’t about the money.
It’s about love.
