There were thirteen of them in the beginning. On a clear Easter morning, as the call to prayer floated above the Cairo rooftops, they prepared themselves for the most important day of their lives. This was what they had been waiting for, their purpose, the reason they had spent the morning getting ready, choosing the perfect color, coming up with names. This was the very reason they had been created. To be a part of…

EASTER SMACKDOWN 2009!

They lined up, prepared to meet their fate.

They would be the thirteen champions competing for the title of Easter Smackdown er, champion. The glorious sport, introduced into Mason family tradition by the Heisses, pits two eggs head to head in a narrow hallway. Each egg is flung at high speed towards the other. The egg that comes out of the battle with the least damage advances to the next round. Prior to the competition, each egg was given a name and put into a bracket.

And the games began…

While some eggs triumphed and advanced in hopes of gaining the eternal glory of victory, others were not so lucky.

In the end, the victor was an unassuming little green egg that Patrick made and named ND. As he held it aloft in victory, he proclaimed “at last, an ND National Championship!”

The prize for the winner? In the spirit of equality, it shared the same fate as the losers and graciously added itself to our Easter celebrations.