They said, “He wore the ‘juicy’ shorts last year and didn’t win. He’s wearing them again?”

Well, I’d rather go 0-2 than 0-1 because going 0-1 means I stopped trying. But what would I do if I went 0-2?

I guess we’ll never know.

That’s right, I won the second-annual Student Media Showdown, representing The Quinnipiac Chronicle. After getting bounced in the first round last year, we needed redemption. I spurned opportunities for help from my newspaper peers. I needed to win on my own accord.

But at the end of the day, this entire organization won the year’s most prestigious student media award, not just me.

While I was preparing myself to read an original poem and dress up in an Among Us costume, I looked around and noticed how hard the Q30 Television production team was working.

Q30 Entertainment Director Corinna Caimi ran the show flawlessly. About an hour before the show started, she gave directions to a crew of around 50 people without shoes on. That’s so cool.

I told myself that I have stressful moments with my own student media organization. Every Tuesday spent putting together the next day’s issue is an anxiety-induced marathon. But SMS was different. Q30 gets one shot at it every year, and it’s all live. No hiding behind the classic “undo” keyboard shortcut that us print folks have.

Spectators filled the piazza in the Carl Hansen Student Center. Almost every seat in the house was taken, plus people at home streamed the event. All because of Q30’s marketing team, the event had a fantastic turnout. Not many events during the year capture the attention of both student media leadership and general members.

SMS was a fantastic event for everyone to enjoy — student media or not. Q30 did an unbelievable job of delivering us that one night where all four outlets live in harmony.

And the cherry on top: I held the first-place trophy while we all watched the men’s March Madness tournament together, and let out a collective cheer when Saint Peter’s beat Purdue.