Daily Collegian - Event pumps up student groups (Third Place)

By performing the story of "Joemeo and Sueliette," the Lion Ambassadors used their usually backward-walking legs to execute in-synch dance steps Tuesday night and secure first place in the annual Airbands competition.

The Lion Ambassadors danced and lip-synched to a mix of Estelle's "American Boy," Run DMC's "It's Tricky," Madonna's "4 Minutes" and more, showcasing their skills beyond spouting campus facts. The men wore black Nikes, rolled up khakis, shirts, ties and sunglasses while the women wore khakis and blue and white sweaters.

The second place group also featured a Joe Paterno theme. Theta Delta Chi and Orchesis Dance Company's "JoePa Through the Years" won second place, followed by Theta Chi and Omega Phi Alpha's "Under the Sea" in third.

Theta Chi and and Omega Phi Alpha's 3rd Place Performance for the 2008 Homecoming Airband competition

Held in Eisenhower Auditorium, Airbands is a Homecoming tradition that's been happening for years, said Fran Roach, Homecoming special events overall chairman.

"It's one of the most popular events during Homecoming week," he said. "It's great because a lot of people come together for it, not just the greek organizations."

The Nittany Lion started the show with a short performance of Michael Jackson's "Thriller," followed by the first act of the night.

Members of Penn State Fitness took the stage in bright leotards, sweatbands and spandex. Despite technical difficulties, the group performed to a mix of songs including Haddaway's "What Is Love," Rihanna's "Don't Stop the Music," and ended with a song originally accompanied by a music video famous for girls in leotards -- Eric Prydz's "Call On Me."

The judges for this year's Airbands were Barry Bram, Penn State senior associate director, union and student activities, Deon Butler, Penn State wide receiver, Casey Sandy, a Penn State gymnast and Sue Paterno. This was Paterno's first time judging Airbands and she said she likes to support the students.

"It's students working together and using their creativity outside the classroom," she said.

Organizations participating in the Homecoming parade are assigned a theme for their float and their Airbands performance was supposed to be related to their theme, Roach said. The organizations that aren't in the parade can pick any song or mix of songs to perform to, he added.

There were several greek organizations involved in Airbands and some of the non-greek organizations that participated were the Spanish Club, Circle K and Penn State Men's Rugby.

Other awards, such as most creative props, biggest crowd pleaser and most likely to go on tour were also presented.

Hannah Sheridan (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) attended the event last night because she was looking for something to do.

"I heard about it from my friends, but I'm glad I came," she said. "It's an interesting event that gets students involved."