The pavilion in which the debate would be held could seat just over 2,000 people, which, during typical debate championships would be less than half full. However, on the night of the debate I’m telling you about, the pavilion was filled to capacity. There was more of a demand than the venue could accommodate. The university had no idea that such interest would be shown, therefore no inquiries had been made regarding a change in venue to accommodate the extra spectators, which would have brought the university more money. Administrators were baffled as to what galvanized interest in the state debate finals to the point where the venue was booked to capacity. After all, even those who were part of the debate team, as well as the coaches, were aware that the debate team was about as popular as the chess club, which is to say, not very popular…almost a punchline, really. What could it have been besides the anticipation of the highly debated, highly protested, and highly embraced Super Chasm?
