The enormous publicity task for alerting Calvin and Hope alumni about 87 viewing sites all over the world has been a special challenge for the alumni associations of the two schools.

In addition, 2012 was the first (almost) paperless promotional effort to get the word out about the annual Calvin-Hope men's basketball game broadcast by satellite and on the web. (Florida and Arizona did get a postcard notice.)

Still, another record number of venues hosted a viewing party—87 in all—and the enthusiasm from alumni was at its typical strength.

One of this year’s prime examples came from the Yakota Air Base in Japan where Calvin grad Jim Poel ’85 is the 374th Aeorspace Medicine Squadron Commander and Hope alum Leland Webb is a surgeon for the 374th Surgical Operations Squadron. Of course, they found one another and set up a Rivalry gathering.

In Tulsa, alumna Krista Vermeulen Schaafsma ’76 reported that their event was especially important since it served as the first connector for alumni in the region. “I was worried that we might have to keep the party going, but there was no stopping it!” she wrote.

There's no stopping the tradition of “,” either. The next edition is on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013.