Inspired by Beth Mowins: Being a Northstar @bethmowins @NSyracuseCSD

Yesterday, while watching the U of L/Kentucky rivalry football game, I heard a voice I recognized from an event hosted last March at Cicero-North Syracuse High School. It was a voice heard during a ceremony to honor accomplishments of alumni and alumnus. Her address to the audience was powerful and I felt I was in the company of magic.

I will be honest: I love sports, suck at them, but view them fanatically.

When Beth Mowins spoke that evening I knew I recognized the distinguished pitch and poise, but I didn't make the connection that she was the ESPN announcer I have listened to on numerous occasions when watching men's and women's college basketball. The epiphany was made immediately - WOW! Beth Mowins is a CNS grad!  I put two and two together immediately (I may have a Ph.D, but that doesn't mean I'm the sharpest tool in the shed) and grew star-struck. I knew of Jackie Robinson of CNY news-fame and Richard Gere of Pretty Woman fame, but not  the extraordinary athlete-turned-sports-television-personality, Beth Mowins.

Beth Mowins walked the halls of Cicero-North Syracuse five years before I did, so I have no memories of her influence as an athlete, student, or friend, other than what my sister, Cynde, and her friends have shared with me. Cynde was closer in age and knew many of those from the social groups that Mowins inhabited, several of whom who played basketball, soccer, and softball with Beth.

Northstars are known for many things and most recently were given a boost through UCONN's 2013 NCAA championship women's basketball team where Breanna Stewart,  class of 2012, helped lead the Huskies to victory. I attended the tournament early in Bridgeport and Beth Mowins announced the play-by-play. I waved, invisibly, to my fellow Northstar from across the court and sang a good ol' "2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 18 - all you Northstars get up and lean" chant to send blue and green karma into the Webster arena.

It is miraculous for anyone to make it to the level of professionalism that Beth Mowins has achieved and that is why, yesterday afternoon when she retweeted a post of mine, I was stoked.

Gush. Head down. Toes twirling deep in dirt below. Beth Mowins shared my tweet! Young, pre-pubescent boy-crush on senior girl. The inanity of 8th grade madness. Retweeted. I was retweeted. 41 year-old nincompoop.

Wola!

Just like that, a Northstar can serendipitously connect with another Northstar, even though they only met once in a hallway at their alma mater in front of doting family members and friends (including the incredible softball coach, Kerry Bennet, whose claim to fame as an outstanding sports instructor deserves its own hall of fame).

Why is this important?

It might not be.

Yet, anyone who attended the CNY school located on Route 31 in Cicero, New York, will feel that same pride. We are those who fought tremendous winters to still find a way to study and earn our diplomas. We are the ones who swam in Oneida Lake and cheered on the reality of a Wegman's grocery store being built on Route 11. We are Big Dip ice-cream and little league fields, friday night football games under the lights, and trudging to make it to class in overcrowded hallways. We are Starburst shows and Captain Northstar, yearbooks, and crazy 80s fashion. We are victors who made it through adolescent angst at North Syracuse Junior High School and who loved those years when Gillette Road Middle School combined with Roxboro. We are fans of the Orange and rivals of the Liverpool Warriors, West Genesee Wildcats, and Fayetteville-Manlius Hornets. We are the Clam Bar, Penn-Can Mall, and Hollywood movie theater.

We are the youth that resided north of the city of Syracuse and who, with the natural procession of post-high school life, found a way into new worlds, careers, and irreplaceable experiences. Central to it all, though, we are graduates of the same location. Polaris. Ursai Minoris - the brightest star in the constellation.

When individuals like Beth Mowins shine, it is easy for us to be proud. She left for Lafayette to play sports, but returned to Syracuse to earn her Master's degree with the Orange. Soon after, she began spreading CNY light onto television with crisp commentary, sharp play-by-play analysis, and an irreplaceable knowledge of sports.

So, yes, gush. I have a right to feel good to know I walked the same halls as this amazing woman.

May many more follow in her footsteps at Cicero-North Syracuse High School.
May the traditions continue.

"A lean-a lean-a lean-a lean-a lean-a lean-a whoa!"