CIT: “Gentiles Gathered Together”
Fans and players from Concordias gather in Walz Arena on Saturday, Jan. 28. Photo by Jenna O’Laughlin.
by Abigail Wisniewski
The Concordia Invitational Tournament—a weekend when the most dedicated of fans travel to the alien land of another Concordia campus where together we lose our voices in order to make it known that our team, pep band, dance team, cheerleaders and school spirit is the best of all the Concordias.
What I love about CIT is that while everyone is on a school pride high for their own Concordia, we’re reminded that as much as it is a competition, it’s also a reunion. Throughout the weekend we get glimpses of interactions between Concordias that remind us that despite where we pay tuition, we’re all members of the same body of Christ.
As is normal for many people in the Lutheran bubble, I recognized many faces among the visitors. Our rivals include a dozen or so past co-workers from camp, a neighbor from growing up and will soon include my little brother (who I failed to convince to come to Nebraska instead of Wisconsin). They may be on the opposing teams, but they’re still fellow students and fellow believers.
We get to appreciate the talents from all the schools. Fans from every part of the arena cheered like crazy after Shannon O’Brien sang the National Anthem. Everyone cheered during Ann Arbor’s championship game stunting routine because it was really cool. The tuba player from Concordia University Chicago played his way over to Concordia University Wisconsin pep band and joined them for a few songs. Countless summer camp staff reunions occurred throughout the weekend, and students who were cheering against each other got to catch up with each other as friends.
And everyone at the end of the day, winners and losers, came together to sing the Common Doxology.
During Pastor Mathias’s closing devotion, we did the wave. As “Gentiles gathered together,” we—Nebraska, Ann Arbor, Wisconsin and Chicago—did the wave, reminded that the one name we all cheer is Jesus.
I love inter-Concordia events for this reason. Despite the fact that we cheer against each other during the games, we have an arena full of people who can come together at the end of the day and sing the Common Doxology, praising the One True God.
