The Ultimate Step Sing Recap

Have you missed the action so far in the greatest tradition at Samford University?  Are you going to miss out tonight as well, because you couldn't get tickets?  Fear not, my friends, I will offer a concise but thorough overview of the weekend's performances, from One to Thirteen, and then offer my top three in three or four different categories.

Real quickly, I need to throw a disclaimer on this.  I tried to be very objective in my critiquing, I am not aiming to upset anyone in any shows that I don't speak incredibly highly of.  I'll try to focus on the positive as much as I can.

The show started off with Zeta Tau Alpha's "The Journey Home."  I was blown away by some of the harmonies the Zeta sisters threw out for the audience.  The Wizard Of Oz-themed show was a phenomenal start to Step Sing 2011.

The brothers of Pi Kappa Phi were set to perform next, with "Does It Live."  While not as strong musically as Zeta, Pi Kap's news-themed performance was one of the most entertaining shows of the night.  Fun selections such as "All I Do Is Win " "We Didn't Start The Fire" (with new, more modern lyrics, but it was the same song that helped Sigma Chi win 1990's Sweepstakes), and "The Bed Intruder Song" made this show a delight to watch.

Next up, Phi Mu had a video game theme in their "When Legends Come To Life" show.  Phi Mu's performance, while enjoyable, was not quite up to the par set by the two previous groups.  The vocals were somewhat lacking, and although the execution was good, the choreography was not outstanding.  Seeing several popular video games depicted on stage, though, was fun.

Lambda Chi Alpha was determined to have fun, although their cast for "Shuffles Up Your Day" was significantly smaller in comparison to Zeta, Pi Kap, and Phi Mu.  The choreography was very poorly executed, but the energy was incredibly apparent.

The first independent, and co-ed, group of the night was University Ministries.  UM opened with an out-of-this-world acapella of "Dear Old Shiz" from Wicked, modified to fit Hogwarts.  I said that Zeta's harmonies blew me away, UM singing this song without any instrumentals knocked me into another dimension that has not yet been discovered.  It was that powerful.  As far as the rest of the show, it was entertaining, very musically pleasing, and visually sound.  Closing with the opening bars of "The Mysterious Ticking Noise" from the infamous "Potter Puppet Pals" youtube video, UM's performance immediately topped my list.

Poor Alpha Omicron Pi, having to follow UM's fantastic "In The Potter's Hands" show.  Nevertheless, AOPi had a very solid "Won't You Be My Neighbor" performance.  I enjoyed AO's sequence, and equally enjoyed spotting probably a dozen familiar faces among the performers.  I feel the music could have included more harmonies, and the show didn't quite measure up to the first two performances of the night.

After the intermission, Sigma Chi presented the first show of the second half, "The Organization."  Taking the audience through a series of events within the Mob, Sigma Chi's show was full of wonderful moments, musically, choreographically, and plot-wise.  But nothing I saw at Step Sing on Friday night could compare to the end of the Sigma Chi show.  It was an absolute had-to-be-there moment, it can't be described to someone who has not seen it.  At least, I can't.  All I can say is that it was an insanely powerful testament to what a little faith and determination can do.

The Freshman Ladies were next.  "Shooting Stars" was their show about the pressures of fame.  This wonderful group of girls with which I will be going to school for the next three and a half years showed that they were indeed rookies to the Step Sing stage, but for such a large conglomeration of first-timers they did a fantastic job.  They certainly had an enjoyable show, even if it wasn't top-notch.

I had great expectations for Dudes A Plenty, the reigning Sweepstakes champs.  "Grandpas" really didn't disappoint, but it wasn't championship-caliber.  There were still three shows in the first half that I had rated above Dudes at this point, and Sigma Chi's show from the second act I felt was better.  It was certainly great entertainment, though, and the quality of the choreo and music was great.  My criticism on DAP is not that they weren't good, just that they weren't good enough.

The Artistic Activity Alliance was small, but I enjoyed their debut Step Sing performance, "Saturday Morning Showdown."  My buddy and JMC 201 project partner Alek Pike did a great job of putting together AAA's inaugural Step Sing show.  It brought me back to the Saturday morning cartoons of the past, although I could've enjoyed it more with a certain few different song selections to more reflect my cartoon interests.  Nonetheless, if the AAA picks up some more folks for next year's show, they could soon be a force to be reckoned with.

Alpha Delta Pi's "It's Time for a Change," despite suggesting liberal propaganda, was a Transformers-based show.  This had some of the best choreography of this year's Step Sing, but too much backing track music and not enough singing.  The song selections were very theme-appropriate, though, and were great selections by my opinion and tastes.  Probably half of these selections, however, deserved MUCH better vocal arrangements and harmonies.  Despite my musical yearnings not being met, ADPi had a good show this year.

Penultimately, the Independent Ladies showed us how to "Get Intense" (read "in-tents") with a summer-camp theme.  The Indies brought some great energy, music selection, and choreography with their performance.  The harmonies were unbalanced in a couple of spots, but were definitely there.  Singing the beginning of the chorus to Michael W. Smith's "Friends," the Independents nearly brought me to tears.  They did a great job of relating to feelings and emotions with their show.  I was highly impressed.

The Babes in Toyland of Chi Omega presented "Imagine That."  I had a hard time imagining how Chi O's song selections all fit together, and with their theme.  None of the music and choreography really related to the toys come to life story, and the ending was abrupt.

My picks are as follows:

Music, to me the most important quality (Includes Song Selection and Musicality, among other things):
3. Independent Ladies
2. Sigma Chi
1. UM
Honorable Mention: Zeta, AAA


Overall Entertainment
3. UM
2. Dudes
1. Pi Kappa Phi
Honorable Mention:  Independent Ladies, Sigma Chi


Most Energy
3. UM
2. Pi Kappa Phi
1. Independent Ladies
Honorable Mention:  Zeta, Dudes


And now, from 13 to 1, I give the worst and best shows in this year's Step Sing:
13. Lambda Chi- They went there and had a good time.  But they could've put more effort into their show.
12. AAA- AAA needs some growth, so that mistakes aren't as noticeable and vocals are stronger.
11. Phi Mu- Need to pick a better theme, so that there's not so much instrumental music and more singing.
10. Chi Omega- Need to relate to theme more.  Show would've been much better if it were coherent.
9. ADPi- Stop flashing your gang symbols at every possible moment, it might help the overall quality.
8. AOPi- Good, but not outstanding.
7. Freshman Ladies- Great effort by first-time performers
6. Zeta- Energy and music set the bar which was only beaten by a handful
5. Dudes-A-Plenty- Probably lower than most would have them, but like I said, great but not better than four others.  For the third time in six years, no repeat for DAP.
4. Pi Kappa Phi- Very entertaining show.  Looking back 21 years and taking from a past champion a nice touch, especially when they did a little modification and modernization.
3. Independent Ladies- I originally had them in the first-runner up slot, but further comparison with the other runner-up was not beneficial for the Indies.  Still a fantastic show.
2. Sigma Chi- Fantastic show by the brothers of Sigma Chi.  They didn't let their recent probation affect their performance, just like Ryan Penney didn't let a car crash affect his contributing to the show.
1. UM- Matt Taylor is a genius.  Harry Potter is a win.  Shiloh's going to be awesome on Tuesday.  UM brings home the sweepstakes title for the first time in 36 years.

Well, here's the recap.  We'll know in about three hours how right I am, and what all I've gotten wrong.  In the meantime, those of you that saw the dress rehearsal on Wednesday, or the show for the first two nights, what do you think?  Who's your favorite?  Comment below!

Winners and Losers: Super Bowl XLV

What a game last night.  The Green Bay Packers won their fourth Lombardi Trophy, meaning there are only three teams with more Super Bowl championships (Dallas and San Francisco at 5 each, Pittsburgh at 6) than the Pack.  I'll go through the winners and losers of the big game, in several different categories.

THE GAME  (I totally just lost the game, btdubs.)


Winners:

• The Packers.  Well, this is a no question, when you win the Super Bowl, you're a winner.  After jumping out to a 21-3 lead in the second quarter, the Pack let the Steelers make the game interesting in the second half.  Great efforts on defense, special teams, and by Aaron Rodgers overcoming some egregious receiver mistakes, allowed Green Bay to hold on for the 31-25 victory.
• The Pittsburgh Steelers.  In Super Bowl history, no team has ever come back from more than ten points behind to win the game.  The Steelers were a bad Packers play away from winning the game after at one point trailing by 18.  That shows a lot about the aptitude and resolve of the Steelers, and their head coach Mike Tomlin.
• Aaron Rodgers.  In terms of the NFL's biggest stage, A-Rod is only one win and 200-some yards away from besting Brett Favre.  In one Super Bowl appearance, Rodgers has met or surpassed Favre's marks in wins (1 each), passing touchdowns (3 each), and MVP awards (1 for Rodgers, 0 for Favre).  For the record, it took Brett two Super Bowls to post those stats. Rodgers is far from breaking Favre's marks in career yardage and touchdowns, and never will beat the consecutive games played of number four, but at least he can already say he's bested his predecessor and mentor in one category.  Plus, it's gotta be cool to be one of three guys in a group (Packers Super Bowl winning QBs), particularly when the other two are named Starr and Favre.
• Nick Collins.  What a beautiful first-quarter pick-six.  That swung the momentum towards the Packers in a big way to begin the game with a 14-0 lead.  He contributed all night for Green Bay, but his first big play was perhaps the biggest in the entire game.
• Mike Wallace.  Had the Steelers somehow pulled off the win, Wallace would've been the hands-down game MVP.  In his first Super Bowl appearance, the second-year wideout led all Pittsburgh receivers with 9 catches for 89 yards and a touchdown.  If the Steelers' final drive had resulted in the game-winning touchdown, I have no doubt those totals would be somewhere around 11 or 12 catches, 120-140 yards, and two scores.  As Roethlisberger had a ho-hum day, Rashard Mendenhall only gained 63 yards while fumbling the ball in a critical situation, and there were no huge defensive stars, Wallace was clearly the top contributor for Pittsburgh in last night's game.
• Tim Masthay.  The Packers' punter, coming to the field six times throughout the night, played an incredibly solid game, averaging more than 40 yards a punt, and pinning the Steelers inside their own 30 yard line multiple times, despite often being deep in his own territory himself.  In fact, the only thing Masthay didn't do right was hit the Jerry-tron with a punt.  In a game that came down to field position and special teams, the 23-year-old Masthay was the unsung hero for the Packers.
• Steelers O-Line.  With all the talk about Maurkice Pouncey for the past two weeks, the Steelers' line did a phenomenal job, only allowing one sack of Ben Roethlisberger for the entire game.  Doug Legursky may have had one halfway-bad snap in his first NFL start at center, but it didn't affect the outcome of whatever play it was.

Losers:

• Ben Roethlisberger.  This game was supposed to be Big Ben's redemption.  Instead he finished with a so-so passer rating of 77, threw two interceptions--including one returned 37 yards for a touchdown, and was sacked on a critical third-down play in the second half.  Not a championship performance for a two-time championship-winning quarterback.  But, hey, it was better than his Super Bowl XL showing.
• Packers receivers.  There were three crucial dropped passes for the Pack in last night's game.  The first would've resulted in a long touchdown, but was dropped by James Jones.  Jordy Nelson, while catching nine passes for 140 yards and a score, had two big drops in the second half.  Meanwhile, twelve-year veteran Donald Driver, drafted by the Packers two years after their Super Bowl XXXII loss, spent the majority of the second half on the sideline with an ankle injury.  After waiting such a long time to be in the big game, it had to be bittersweet for Driver to finish the game on the bench, even though his team won.
• Packers secondary.  Yes, I know I'm coming down hard on the winning team right now, but the coverages the Green Bay secondary threw out after being banged up a bit physically in the first quarter and a half were pitiful.  There were several open looks, including a wide-open Hines Ward when the Steelers scored a touchdown to close out the first half.  Charles Woodson was the only member of the unit not to return for second-half action, but it seemed like the entire secondary was replaced.  If any one thing is to blame for the Steelers getting back in the game, it's the cornerbacks and safeties of the Green Bay Packers.
• That poor camera-man.  During one of his fourteen rushes, Rashard Mendenhall was forced to run out-of-bounds...and right into a camera-man.  Both Mendenhall and the camera-man had some difficulty recovering from the collision, but it wasn't a problem as Isaac Redman immediately succeeded that play with a 16-yard burst to get Pittsburgh in scoring position.  Mendenhall was back in enough time to end that drive with a touchdown run, putting the Steelers behind by only 4, 21-17.  The least the guy could've done was take Rashard out for the rest of the game....
• Injuries.  As I've already hinted on, there were at least a dozen players that had to miss at least one play due to injury.  The Packers were hit especially hard; both Donald Driver and Charles Woodson, seasoned veterans, had to finish the game on the bench.  Fortunately, although he took a few vicious hits, Aaron Rodgers did not suffer another concussion and didn't have to sit out at all.

THE COMMERCIALS

Winners:

• Budweiser.  Once again, Anheuser-Busch came away with the best set of Super Bowl Commercials.  Among my favorites this year were the Bud Light home makeover, and the Bud western spot.  I also enjoyed the dog-organized party.
• The Automobile Industry.  There wasn't a truly disappointing car commercial in the entire batch released by the various companies, and there were certainly a lot.  From Audi's spot with Kenny G, to the Chevy Camaro's "what would make a good commercial?" ad, to Darth Vader kid using the force on a Volkswagen, to Eminem's "Lose Yourself" playing background in a Chrysler commercial, the auto industry used its bailout money to maximum effect in this year's Super Bowl.  My favorite car ad of the year, though, goes to the Kia Optima's "Epic" commercial.
• Pepsi Max.  Great commercials featuring Pepsi Max cans flying and hitting just about anyone in just about any way are a classic way to successfully sell a product.
• Eminem.  While his first commercial, for Lipton Brisk, made me say, "What. Just. Happened.", the rapper capped off his "Recovery" album, tour, etc, with being featured two commercials, including a two-minute spot for Chrysler which captured the essence of the recovery of the auto industry.

Losers:

• Coca-Cola.  I was not impressed by the effort Coke put into its ads this year.  The two that I can remember were incredibly slow to develop, and you knew what was going to happen.
• E-Trade.  The E-Trade baby is getting old.  It probably should think about retiring to Tuscany.
• GoDaddy.com.  Sex sells, yes, but when it's the only thing you're using, it stops selling pretty quickly.  Any more incredibly suggestive ads, and people are really going to stop visiting the website.
• Teleflora.  "I like your rack."  Really?  Kids watch the Super Bowl.  That was inappropriate and completely distasteful.
• Groupon.  Also very distasteful and inappropriate.  If you're talking about enslaved Tibetans, or wherever the heck they are, and the things they are forced to make in poor conditions (in other words, going for a human interest, public service announcement sort of thing), don't EVER twist off and say "But hey, screw the people who made this stuff, we've got a ridiculous deal on it."  It's not funny, and you should have some more sensitivity about the subject.  I'm ashamed.

THE MUSIC

Winners:

Well, there wasn't much winning going on in the music front Sunday night.  I was able to pick out a couple of good things, though.

• Lea Michele.  Although she is one of my least favorite singers, and characters, in Glee, she absolutely rocked "America the Beautiful".  I very much enjoyed her rendition of the song.
• Slash.  The ONLY good part of the halftime show (Usher was lip-syncing, it doesn't count.) was the riff from "Sweet Child of Mine" which Fergie promptly chose to ruin with her horrendous vocals.
• Christina Aguilera staying in tune.  Yeah, she flubbed up the lyrics.  I'll get on to her later about that.  But, in retrospect, I'd rather have Aguilera messing up the words, but keeping in tune with an incredible voice, than Fergie getting all the words right, but being off key.  She gets kudos for me for her ability to sing the second half of the Anthem absolutely phenomenally.

That is literally it.  The only winners, musically, in the spectacle that is the Super Bowl.  Now, here comes the fun part.

Losers:

• Aguilera's Anthem.  No.  You can not mess up the lyrics.  Especially on the country's biggest stage.  There is no excuse.  No one should or will ever ask Christina Aguilera to perform the Star-Spangled Banner at another sporting event.
• Fergie.  No.  Just no.  She single-handedly destroyed any entertainment value in the halftime show.  It was HORRENDOUS.  With a capital HORRENDOUS.  If I wanted to hear someone singing so horribly off-key, I'd go to a elementary school talent show.  It's kind of precious when kids that can't sing try to sing.  A full-grown woman, not so much.  Especially when said full-grown woman is a professional musician.
• The Black-Eyed Peas in general.  I didn't have much expectations for them anyway, so I wasn't disappointed having to put them in the "Losers" column.  In addition to Fergie being so terrible, you can't sound good by just yelling into an auto-tune mic.  You have to at least get somewhere close to the desired note.   I didn't like how it seemed that Tron sponsored the show instead of Bridgestone, either.

THE EXPERIENCE

This will cover anything from the site of the game, to the TV coverage, to the Internet.

Winners:

• Jerry Jones.  J-squared got to show off his pride and joy to the world, and boy was it worth the 1.2 billion he spent on it.  There were a couple of glitches, that I'll get to in a bit, but Dallas should have no trouble landing more Super Bowls while the Jones Mahal is standing.
• A-Rods.  I've already discussed at length on A-Rod's on-field accomplishment.  Alex Rodriguez, however, got the best off-the-field treat ever:  his woman feeding him food, on television, in front of millions.  Doesn't get much better than that, being in a luxury suite in the best stadium in sports, while your girlfriend does all the work and puts the popcorn in your mouth for you.
• @Fake_BigBen.  During my epic 100-plus-tweet Super Bowl coverage, I also got to follow Ben Roethlisberger's inner thoughts and desires as the game unfolded.  And the joke account for Big Ben was absolutely entertaining in every aspect.  In fact, many of the folks I follow on Twitter were fun to read as the game went on.  Some other notables were @PeytonsHead, @wingoz, @BIGJOEONTHEGO, and @ComradeJoey.  You can find all of my Super Bowl tweets @churdle76, if you so choose.
• The Pizza Places.  I spent over $50 for Pizza Hut to bring me three large pizzas and two two-liters for my party.  It was completely worth it, and knowing how many others got pizzas for the big game, it had to be a HUGE money-making day for the Hut, PJ's, Domino's, and so forth.  

Losers:

• 400-some people that weren't able to watch the game at Cowboys' stadium, because some 1200 temporary seats were declared a fire hazard.  About 800 were able to be re-located, but 400, some die-hard Packers and Steelers fans that traveled long distances to come to the game, were sent away.  The triple-face-value reimbursement (some tickets netting upwards of $2K) was hardly compensation for these folks.  
• The sound system.  Of course, they couldn't do the courtesy of keeping Fergie's mic off.  There were a few technical/sound glitches at the halftime show, they were fixed, but kept recurring.  On the biggest stage in American sports, that's something that shouldn't happen.  Still, despite this and the seats issue, there is still great praise for Dallas's first Super Bowl.
• The National Media.  Those guys really have a way for blowing things out of proportion.  If the Steelers had won, Ben Roethlisberger would be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame the very next day.  Super Bowl XLV would be the last ever NFL game.  That's just a couple of things I heard that were very hyperbolic and untrue.  But, that's just something we'll have to live with.
• A trillion hours of pregame.  How much can you talk about two football teams without beginning to sound like a broken record?
• John Madden and George W. Bush.  The two were sitting right next to each other, and when they were shown on national TV, the former was checking his email or tweeting on his cell phone, and Bush 2 was looking down for an extended length of time.  Neither was paying any attention to each other, the camera pointed right at them, or the game.  Not good spectator-ship from either.

Well, there are a few winners and losers from Super Bowl XLV.  I could probably go on forever, but I don't need to bore you any further.

-Clayton

The Super Bowl reaction post will come tomorrow. Meanwhile, a little Step Sing History.

Step Sing Celebrating Sixty Years
By Clayton Hurdle

                In 1951, a few groups of students at Howard College participated in a small singing competition which they named “Step Sing.”

                As February 10 fast approaches, fraternities, sororities, and other groups are spending vast amounts of time preparing for the 60^th anniversary rendition of the biggest three nights of the year at Samford University.  Through the years, Step Sing has blossomed in more ways than those 1951 participants ever could have imagined.

                When Step Sing had its humble beginnings in October of 1951, there is no solid evidence that groups competed for a prize; rather, the event was purely an exhibition.  The first Step Sing took place on the steps of Renfroe Hall in Howard College’s East Lake campus.  Records show that the first “Annual Inter-Organization Sing” took place on the first day of December in 1953, and was most likely won by Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity and the Young Women’s Auxiliary.

                As Howard College made the transition to Homewood, Step Sing (it is not certain when students began to call it “Step Sing”) moved locations as well.  The first Homewood Step Sing, which was held December 9-13, 1957, occurred in the chapel, and added a third division.  Alpha Delta Pi and Sigma Nu each won for the first time, and the French class was the inaugural mixed-gender division winner.

                The cafeteria hosted the next two Step Sings before the event moved to Seibert gym, and the Sweepstakes competition was introduced in 1969, with Alpha Phi Omega taking the first overall title.  In the 1961-1962 school year, Step Sing was held each semester, in order to move the event to the spring.  1962’s Step Sing, held in March, was only the second time Step Sing was held during the spring, and the first time in ten years.

                On March 5, 1976, the Wright Center became the fourth location on the Homewood campus to host Step Sing, ending a fifteen-year run at Seibert Hall.  With their show themed “Everybody Loves a Loser,” Sigma Nu became the seventh different group in eight years to win Sweepstakes.  For the next eight years, however, Sigma Nu, Pi Kappa Phi, and Zeta Tau Alpha were the only three groups to win the Sweepstakes competition.

                During the mid- to late-1980s, Step Sing became more and more centered around the choreography.  This brought about a controversy with the Alabama Baptist State Convention, and resulted in a 1988 Step Sing with no awards other than one for spirit.  The sophomore class received this award.  From 1985 through 1989, Alpha Delta Pi won every Sweepstakes title that was awarded, giving them the longest Sweepstakes victory streak in the history of Step Sing.

                Nearly as impressive was the hold Sigma Chi had over the men’s division; stretching from 1984 to 1995, the fraternity finished in the top three in the division each year.  Sigma Chi finished in either first or second place in the men’s division every year except for 1988 and 1993.  Although only winning two sweepstakes titles during that time, Sigma Chi’s run dominated a decade marked by controversy and Step Sing’s resultant revitalization. 

                As Step Sing approached the twenty-first century, several changes occurred.  In the latter half of the 1990s, the men’s, women’s, and mixed divisions were eliminated, and the live bands that played for the Step Sing shows were replaced with piped-in music.  Participating groups changed.  Alpha Omicron Pi became a Samford sorority in 1995.  AOPi quickly became dominant in the fields of philanthropy and banner design, but have yet to win a Sweepstakes title.  In 2004, after eighty years of existence, Samford’s chapter of the Delta Zeta sorority was disbanded, but their spot in the Step Sing show was quickly replaced by the most dominant Step Sing team in recent history.

                The newest addition to the culture of Step Sing is the independent men’s group, Dudes A Plenty.  Founded in 2005, DAP won Sweepstakes honors in three of the group’s first six years of existence, and for the last half of the decade have been a fan-favorite on Samford’s campus.  They look to take back-to-back Sweepstakes titles for the first time in their history.

                In the past sixty years, top honors have been awarded most to Pi Kappa Phi and Zeta Tau Alpha.  The sixty years that have gone before are only the beginning, and are a sign of the things to come for Step Sing.

It's Super Sunday!!!

Happy 100th Birthday, Ronald Reagan.

Ok, now that I got the important stuff out of the way, my pick is Packers, 38-34.  You may think I'm crazy, but I think A-Rod, Rapistberger, and their respective offenses will be ready to shred the highly-touted defenses, both of which are similar to each other.  Packers win merely because I don't like the Steelers, and because they have the edge at O-line and special teams, which is what this game will probably come down to.

I'm hosting a Super Bowl party today in the bottom of Smith, so if you're not doing anything come on and hang with us.

I'm also considering giving instant analysis and reactions via Twitter during the game and commercials, so if you're so inclined go ahead and follow me up @churdle76.

Should be an exciting game!  Go Pack Go!

-Clayton

"The following is based on real events. Only the places, locations, and events have been changed."

Yes, you can find those words prominently displayed on a black Step Sing banner in the Caf right now, and I didn't come up with them.  However, I liked it for a title, so that's what it is.

The following poem came from my thought process resulting after a facebook conversation I had with one of my incredibly dear friends (who happens to follow my blog, shoutout CUBS followers!).  I just want to say, this will probably be touchy for both of us, but I felt it was something I needed to get out there.  Nothing against you, and don't take it as if I'm trying to condemn you or make you feel bad or guilty.  I'm not.  I'm expressing how my feelings changed from immediately after the conversation to after I had thought about it for awhile.  Some things in it are probably over dramatized a little too.

Oh, and as for you poetry freaks, I was not trying for a consistent meter/rhyme scheme throughout, so call it "free verse."

So, that's my disclaimer.  Without further ado, here it is, "Untitled Poem Number One".

Love:  mysterious and wonderful,
Yet, marked with pain.  It's worth the toll,
Oh yes, but some things you just can't grasp.

For instance, take a friend you love.
You know you'd drop everything at once
If this friend needed comfort.
But you're not completely sure if he'd do the same,
If she'd stop what she's doing to ease your pain.
You want to say yes, but if he doesn't come,
No.  He'll be there.  But...doubt, there might be some.
Of course, it's not just that, oh no, there's more.

You want to be there, but you don't know if you can.
You know your friend so well, you understand
What makes him tick, the things she loves and hates,
Your friend, with you, you know you can relate.
At least, that's what you think....

You're talking and your friend brings something up.
You latch on with excitement,
You want to know some more.
Anticipation building,
Like walking towards a door,
A door to something special,
Something few appreciate,
You're bursting with excitement, you can hardly longer wait....

Stop.  Back to Earth.  Your opinion doesn't count.
Your friend won't fully trust you, and so you are put out.
You shrug it off, but still you can't deny
The way it hurts, so much, down deep inside.
And then, she says, she's told another,
One you both consider like a brother.
Although one of you once may have thought him more,
But that time is over, it was much too long before.
And if that wasn't enough of a blow,
Your friend's told folks you think he barely knows.

Let the shock subside, though, and you'll realize
There's things you'd have to see through your friend's eyes
To fully understand her motivation,
The reasoning behind his consternation
To let you know what's very hard to tell,
To anyone, even those she knows so well.

So, yes, upset as you may be for now,
And disheartened as you try to question how,
It's your love for him helps you survive the fall,
They say patience is a virtue, after all.
It hurts right now, but tomorrow morn,
No love is lost, no thoughts will be forlorn.
If anything, you love him even more,
Than you ever imagined you could before.
Of course, the cycle can and will repeat,
But when you earn her trust,
It's the trials that make that feeling much more sweet.

Unconditionally, that's how Jesus loved,
Through much more disappointment than we ever could dream of.
His example's one we know we all should take
And follow.  And though we'll make some mistakes,
We can love each other like God taught us to,
No matter what our friends might say or do.

-Clayton