The Interested Elite: The History of Zeta Alpha Chi (ZAX)
The Beginning
In the fall of 1997, Zac Logsdon read a newspaper article in the Oklahoma Daily (OU’s newspaper) about a young fraternity on campus that was looking for members. Having been recently reunited with childhood friend, Zac Stevens, he wondered if this would be an opportunity to rule another group of people like they ruled the sixth grade classroom. Logsdon contacted Stevens and invited him to join him at the pledge meeting. On the fateful walk to the meeting, which was being held at the University of Oklahoma Bizzell Library, Stevens half-jokingly introduced Logsdon to the idea of a different fraternity.
After the brief meeting at the library, Logsdon and Stevens went to a gathering of potential pledge members at the fraternity’s house. During the tour of the facilities and a brief meet-and-greet with some of the other members, Stevens and Logsdon wowed them with examples of their comedic genius. They were immediately liked, nay, loved. Soon, one of the senior fraternity members asked Stevens and Logsdon to join him in a separate room. “We don’t normally do this,” he said, and then proceeded to extend an invitation to the two to join the fraternity immediately. A discussion ensued regarding membership requirements and dues, and Logsdon and Stevens left feeling like they might join.
Two or three days passed and Zac and Zac realized that traditional fraternity life was not for them. That brought them back to Stevens’ idea that he had presented to Logsdon days before. That idea: Zeta Alpha Chi, or ZAX. “It’s plural, and possessive.” This marked the unofficial beginning of what has become the most elite fraternity in the country.
The First Year
Zeta Alpha Chi was not exactly a welcome addition to the Greek world at the University of Oklahoma. A friend had warned Stevens that Z-A-X were also the “secret letters” of OU’s silver spoon fraternity, Lamba Chi Alpha. The fraternity’s founding fathers encountered looks of disgust, intense questioning and persecution when they wore their letters on campus. They would not be intimidated. A fraternity whose founders would probably have otherwise lost interest within a year’s time, now had a spark that kept them going. They wanted to continue to confuse and anger the boys of Lambda Chi Alpha.
A Tradition is Born
Having committed themselves to the prosperity of Zeta Alpha Chi, Logsdon and Stevens decided to initiate the fraternity’s first pledge class. But you can’t have a pledge without an initiation. So the brainstorming began to come up with an initiation procedure and a fraternity function. Though the initiation procedure will forever remain a disabling memory to those who have endured it, the weekend’s activities became the fraternity’s most prestigious tradition. To establish a name for the weekend, Zac and Zac looked no further than the student sitting right in front of them. This Lambda Chi Alpha member in their Spanish class was wearing a shirt from the Lambda Chi fall date party titled “Destination Unknown.” In an effort to rip them off and cause more confusion and anger (this time intentionally), the founding fathers decided that ZAX’s function would be the Spanish equivalent of “Destination Unknown.” After limited efforts to find out the Spanish equivalent of “Destination Unknown,” Zac and Zac boldly decided to shorten it to the Spanish equivalent of “I don’t know,” which is “No Se.” Desiring to add a more traditional feel to the event, they added a prefix, creating the 29th Annual Zeta Alpha Chi No Se Weekend, the first of which would be called “The Inaugural 29th Annual Zeta Alpha Chi No Se Weekend.” Only members will ever know the significance of the weekend’s complete name.
The Inaugural 29th Annual Zeta Alpha Chi No Se Weekend (1998)
In searching for potential pledges, Zac and Zac looked no further than long time friend and faithful supporter, Brett Anthony Farley. Upon completing one of the more physically demanding initiations, Farley officially became the first Zeta Alpha Chi pledge. He was initiated that fateful Friday night in the spring of ’98, however, the first edition of No Se date night would have to wait another year.
The Zeta Alpha Chi Back-to-School K.C. Party
(August 28, 1998)
In true Zeta Alpha Chi style, what started as a simple back to school gathering of friends, soon became the most infamous Zeta Alpha Chi function. It was held at the home of Zac Logsdon who lived in apartment #230 of Rebecca Lane Apartments in Norman. Attendees consisted of Zac Logsdon, his fiancé Jill Renner, Zac Stevens, Sarah Ritchie (who awkwardly had just become Zac’s EX-girlfriend), Brett Farley and his wife Jessica. After hanging out at the swimming pool, the party re-convened at Logsdon’s kitchen table. No one recalls how the game of “K.C.” began… all that is known is that in a match of men versus women, the men dominated. The object of the game was to come up with any two words, one beginning with the letter “K” and the other with the letter “C” and placing them together into a compound word. (i.e. Kryptonite-Carrot, or Killing Crackers) The preceding examples, if submitted by the male players, would have received high marks under the highly complex point system (no matter what, guys get points – girls don’t). If a female participant had submitted the entry “Kryptonite Carrot,” no points would be awarded based on the rule that “Kryptonite” is fictional. She may even have lost points on such an entry because “Karat” is spelled K-A-R-A-T, and NOT C-A-R-R-O-T. Meanwhile, “Killing Crackers” would not have received any points because no points can be awarded for violent entries…by women. However, if any of the male participants had submitted these entries, they would have been praised by their team members and awarded bonus points for creativity and/or violence.
Zeta Alpha Chi Post-Game Pancakes
The first year saw the birth of many traditions, none of which was more popular than Post-Game Pancakes. Invented by Dane Heins, the nephew of co-founder Zac Logsdon, Post-Game Pancakes reached out to a heretofore untapped group. That fall, when Dane was spending a weekend with Logsdon, the University of Oklahoma’s Dr. Doug Gaffin (Couch Center’s Faculty-in-Residence) sponsored a midnight breakfast program. Dane expressed his interest in attending that event which was held on a Friday night before an OU home football game that Saturday. As the night wore on, it became clear that Dane would not be able to last until midnight. We promised Dane that rather than go eat pancakes that night at midnight, we would have friends over to Logsdon’s apartment after the football game and have breakfast then. True to our word, the next day’s post-game festivities gave birth to the most frequently occurring of all Zeta Alpha Chi events. Notable attendees over the years have been the members and their significant others, Allison Stevens, Amber and Shylia Egelston, Alyssa Hay, Dane Heins, Chris Farley, Tiffany Rouviere, Chase Martin and others. While Post-Game Pancakes is a very important tradition, its specifics have been open to interpretation. Though the name implies that pancakes should be involved, the founders have determined that the name of the event, is just that… a name.
Key moments in Post-Game Pancake history include:
The 1st Annual 29th Annual Zeta Alpha Chi No Se Weekend (May 7th & 8th, 1999)
The 1st Annual 29th Annual Zeta Alpha Chi No Se Weekend saw a dramatic change from the previous year. This year, ZAX introduced date night to the weekend’s festivities and initiated the first member that did not attend the University of Oklahoma. John Conrad, who attended Oral Roberts University was this year’s pledge, and with this venture into uncharted waters, another new tradition began. The popular ZAX nicknaming tradition began this year as “University of Oklahoma” was not appropriate on the new member’s hat. John’s long-time nickname was The Birdman so rather than having a hat that read “ZAX – University of Oklahoma,” it read “ZAX – The Birdman.” This was the beginning of a tradition that would continue for all new members. To this day, the only members with “University of Oklahoma” on their hats are Zac, Zac and Brett (Top Dawg, The Blind Cajun and Senator, respectively).
Pledge night 1999 was held in the Couch Center dormitory on OU’s campus in Zac Stevens’ dorm room. It was there that The Birdman learned of the rich history of Zeta Alpha Chi and performed his initiation requirements. Though held up by a Campus Crusade event, Senator eventually joined the festivities and Zeta Alpha Chi grew one member stronger, already having doubled its original membership.
Date night was held on the 1-year anniversary of Logsdon asking for his then-girlfriend’s hand in marriage. In celebration of that event, date night began at the very place at which he proposed… The Service Station, a Norman steak joint. In attendance were, Zac and Jill Logsdon, Brett and Jessica Farley, Zac Stevens and John Conrad (Stevens and Conrad went on the arm of one another). One unique aspect of this year’s event was that Conrad, as a way of hazing himself, required that he wear a baby blue sweater vest the entire evening. After dinner, the night’s activities moved to Perfect Swing, a Norman area family fun center. There, members of ZAX enjoyed go-karts, bumper boats, skee ball and many other family fun center type games including a contest to see who had a bigger mouth… Conrad or Stevens. That contest ended in a draw. The activities at Perfect Swing gave everyone an appetite for something sweet so everyone then drove to IHOP for some dessert. It was at IHOP that the traditions of spilling apples on Jill’s chest and smearing ice cream on Stevens’ face were born. It was also where they died.
The 1st Annual 29th Annual Zeta Alpha Chi No Se Weekend ended that year with the performance of the official ZAX dance at Logsdon’s apartment. This dance has become one of the most time-honored and recognizable traits of a true Zeta Alpha Chi member.
The 2nd Annual 29th Annual Zeta Alpha Chi No Se Weekend (June 16th & 17th, 2000)
While there were multiple ZAX events held between the 1st and 2nd Annual 29th Annual No Se Weekends, those events were mainly centered around Zeta Alpha Chi Post-Game Pancakes which has been covered earlier in “The History of Zeta Alpha Chi.”
The 2nd Annual 29th Annual ZAX No Se, which was actually the third No Se, was the first No Se to be held outside the town of Norman, Oklahoma. The members of ZAX again extended the coveted invitation to join to someone not educated at the University of Oklahoma. This year’s pledge class was significant in many ways as it was twice as large as any previous pledge class and reached 2 additional universities. This year, ZAX showed their charitable and accepting nature by extending an invitation to a graduate of Oklahoma State University. The pledge class of 2000 consisted of Aaron “Fish n’ Crackers” Butler and Michael “Bugle Boy” Channel. While the addition of Butler brought a new initiation tradition, that is something that cannot be published in any historical memoir. However, this new tradition served as the template for what is now the required initiation ritual for all new Zeta Alpha Chi members. Pledge Night began at the apartment that was shared by Stevens and Channel. This year cast a melancholy cloud over the Weekend’s events as it was the first time in ZAX history that not all members were in attendance. The Senator and his wife had moved to Virginia and The Birdman had relocated to Colorado Springs causing the list of attendees to be Zac, Zac, Aaron and Mike.
Date night brought many firsts to Zeta Alpha Chi. It was the first time that Stevens had a date and the first time that a member had to find a babysitter so he could attend the event. Lori Lee Duck attended as Stevens’ date and Ryan Butler, the son of Aaron and Janet Butler, was left home with the babysitter so his parents could experience ZAX. Those in attendance were, Zac and Jill Logsdon, Zac Stevens, Lori Duck, Mike and Susan Channel and Aaron and Janet Butler. The evening’s activities began with a 3-hour wait at Garcia’s Mexican restaurant at Quail Springs Mall in OKC and was followed quickly by terrible food and awful service. Dinner was hurried in an attempt to make it to the next activity which was laser tag at Laser Quest on May Ave. in OKC. It was at Laser Quest that Stevens began the tradition of completely sucking at laser tag. He continues that tradition to this day, even at non-ZAX sponsored laser tag outings. Despite Stevens inabilities, everyone had a great time and we then retired to Stevens and Channel’s apartment for the performance of the sacred dance.
The 3rd Annual 29th Annual Zeta Alpha Chi No Se Weekend (September 1, 2001)
The 3rd Annual 29th Annual Zeta Alpha Chi No Se Weekend broke all the rules. Though an invitation had been extended to long time friend and much desired pledge, Gary Miller, he showed no interest in (and intense refusal to) becoming one of the elite. Therefore, dark horse Joseph “Cosgrove” Peck became the focus of Zeta Alpha Chi’s desire. His membership was so important to the founders of ZAX, they completely uprooted tradition by moving that year’s event both in date and location. Stevens and Logsdon rescheduled the 2001 No Se Weekend to be held in Colorado Springs on September 1st to accommodate Joe’s busy schedule. Luckily that date happened to coincide with the OU vs. Air Force football game. While many of the traditional initiation activities were compromised, other members can rest assured that Cosgrove was put through the ringer in order to become a member of Zeta Alpha Chi. Significant moments on pledge night include going to dinner at a Mexican restaurant in downtown Colorado Springs and filling up on queso while the food took over an hour to arrive. Shortly before the waiter walked out of the kitchen with the food, Zac, Zac, Birdman and Cosgrove indicated to the nearest waitress that we were completely full and she need not bring the food out. After dinner, the present members of ZAX had the pleasure of witnessing a death metal “band” in the Colorado Springs town square. After spouting profanities, professing a love of Satan and spitting blood on the crowd, the band was asked by police officers to vacate the scene. It was obvious that the CO Springs Police Department doesn’t know how to party. After a short stop at an Irish Pub, chasing a raccoon through the streets of downtown Colorado Springs and watching a street-performing violinist, the ZAX president’s council was partied out and retired back to The Birdman’s residence for a good night’s rest before heading back to Oklahoma the next day.
4th Annual 29th Annual Zeta Alpha Chi No Se Weekend (May 10th & 11th, 2002)
The 4th Annual 29th Annual Zeta Alpha Chi No Se Weekend was an especially exciting No Se Weekend for Zeta Alpha Chi, as it brought the first time since the initiation of Brett Farley that a current student of the University of Oklahoma was pledged. And it was so nice we did it twice. Cory “Totally Sweet Ninja” Thigpen and Brandon “Kingpin” Martin joined Zeta Alpha Chi that year and brought a young and fresh outlook to a fraternity run by old people. Pledge night began this year at the Logsdon household and this year’s event, unlike the previous two, was attended by members other than Zac and Zac. In attendance this year were Zac, Zac, Aaron, Mike, Cory and Brandon. Pledge night went without a hitch and for the second two-year period in a row, ZAX had doubled its pledge class from the previous year.
Date night began with what has become commonplace among Zeta Alpha Chi events… Zac and Lori were late. However, this incident can’t be blamed on Lori’s inability to be ready on time; they just couldn’t find the restaurant. No worries though, as is usual at Zio’s (and apparently ZAX events), the wait at the restaurant was long. The wait was so long, in fact, that the members in attendance were able to spend some time talking with a drunk pervert outside Zio’s front door. We thought about pledging him right then and there but used our discretion, which in this case was not the better part of valor. In attendance this year were Zac & Jill Logsdon, Zac Stevens and Lori Duck, Aaron & Janet Butler, Mike & Susan Channel, Brandon Martin and Cory Thigpen. Promising pledge, Brandon Martin, was impressive from the get go. After a day of doing something fairly unimportant in his hometown of Ardmore, he sped to the Logsdon house just in time to leave for our dinner destination. His willingness to drive such a long distance just for this event planted the seed in our heads that we most likely had a nominee for the following year’s “Best Zeta Alpha Chi Member” award.
Our experiences at Zio’s were much different than the last ZAX date night in that the food and service didn’t absolutely suck. In fact, the food was so good that Brandon ate more than the rest of us combined. And he was so adamant about getting dessert that he made us all wait just so he could eat the Big Honkin’ Oreo Mountain Delight Supreme Surprise that he loves so much. The rest of us decided to wait for the dessert we had planned for after our next activity.
After Brandon made a fool of himself at dinner, we all headed to Laser Quest (yeah, again) and the women were extremely proud of themselves for having figured out what we were doing in advance. Of course, they can’t credit themselves too much. “Worst Member of the Year” (awarded retroactively), Aaron Butler, had been revealed as a mole. The secrets of ZAX had for years been kept locked tightly in the hearts and minds of the elite few who had the pleasure of calling themselves members. However, due to Janet Butler’s ever so clever plan to withhold intimacy from Aaron, his libido got the best of him and he spilled the beans. This was the first time in ZAX recorded history that a member had ever dreamt of revealing those secrets and Aaron has spent years attempting to make up for his error in judgment. Though Aaron has made many attempts to redeem himself and his brothers have forgiven him, he will always be known as a big fat loser. The tradition of Zac Stevens sucking at laser tag was solidified this year by getting schooled by girls and toddlers and Cory showed us how much of a dork he really was by quadrupling all of our scores. Cory also provided some entertainment by expressing his desire to get into a fight with one of the Laser Quest employees. We have to believe that this could only stem from a long and heated laser tag rivalry that existed between these two panty-waists.
After laser tag, we all drove over to the nearby Braum’s ice cream and dairy store and enjoyed some fine tastin’ treats before heading back to our respective homes.
ZAX State Party (Saturday, December 14th, 2002 6:30 p.m.)
This event was intended to be an evening filled with The State and pizza at Zac Stevens’ apartment. Brandon Martin, however, had a conflict with this date and was therefore put in charge of rescheduling the event. As of May 14, 2004, he has made no attempt to do so. Brandon was voted Worst Zeta Alpha Chi Member of 2001-2002 and became the inspiration for the renaming of award as “The Padre.”
5th Annual 29th Annual Zeta Alpha Chi No Se Weekend (May 2nd & 3rd, 2003)
The 5th Annual 29th Annual Zeta Alpha Chi No Se Weekend brought new challenges for the ZAX pledge committee due to the fact that the qualifications to become a member had proven to be too strenuous. For a while, it looked as if no one would be capable of meeting those qualifications and for the first time in ZAX history, there might not be a 2003 pledge class. However, as the deadline approached, Ryan “Shipoopi Bones” LaCroix was approached by the pledge committee to see if he might be interested in becoming one of the elite. Still, we were unsure if he would qualify. The pledge committee met and after a long session, it was decided that “showing interest” could be defined as “not showing no interest.” Therefore, our pledge class became complete and in less than a decade, Zeta Alpha Chi reached double-digit membership. This is notable because in the early years of Zeta Alpha Chi, many nay-sayers believed we would never reach this milestone. In attendance at this year’s pledge night were, Zac, Zac, John, Mike, Aaron, Joe, Brandon, Cory and Ryan.
The 5th Annual 29th Annual Zeta Alpha Chi No Se Weekend Date Night was arguably inarguably the best No Se date night to date… night. For the first time ever, date night began before night was even on the horizon. Easily the most expensive No Se date night in history, it began with all members and their dates gathering at the Logsdon household in full regalia. Members of Zeta Alpha Chi were encouraged to participate in the first ever ZAX Western Wear contest. Contest participants were Zac, Zac, John, Aaron, Joe, Brandon, Cory and Ryan. In an ironic twist, the only member not decked out in Cowboy attire was also the only member that had attended Oklahoma State, where graduates get a belt buckle instead of a diploma. Due to lackadaisical contest rules and a loophole in fraternity bylaws, 4 members currently lay justifiable claim to Western Wear Contest Champion, although Logsdon’s outfit was easily the most authentic, from cowboy hat to steel toe boots. Originality prize went to newcomer Ryan LaCroix as he was the only member to embrace the Hispanic influence on No Se Weekend, by dressing as a Mexican Cowboy, un gaucho. In attendance were Zac and Jill Logsdon, Zac Stevens and Lori Duck, John Conrad and Nicole Tycer, Aaron and Janet Butler, Mike and Susan Channel, Joe Peck and Linda Something, Cory Thigpen and Jackie Miner, Brandon Martin and Lindsey Fowler, Ryan LaCroix and Tiya Bolding.
Once everyone had arrived at the Logsdon house, the wagon train departed toward our date with equine. We arrived at the Thunderbird Riding Stables where The Birdman’s date, Nicole Tycer, had us all in stitches when she faked a severe allergy to horses. Once our uncontrollable laughter had subsided, we mounted our steeds for a very painful trot around Lake Thunderbird. Following the ride, we all went our separate ways to prepare ourselves for dinner.
A couple hours later, but still 15 minutes too early for Zac and Lori, we all met up at The Vista in Norman for dinner and dancing… only without the dancing. Dinner was a festive occasion with fun and revelry in abundance… but no dancing. Brandon and Lindsey ordered chips and queso as their entrée, Zac Logsdon asked everyone at the table what they were going to be ordering and in a surprise move, Cory brought the same girl to dinner as he had to the pre-dinner activity.
After our bellies were full and the tabs had been paid, we caravanned to Perfect Swing, the site of the post-dinner activity at the 1st Annual 29th Annual Zeta Alpha Chi No Se Weekend Date Party. We all enjoyed go-karts, video games, skee ball and the fellas participated in the first ever Zeta Alpha Chi long drive competition. The entry fee of $2 per competitor would be given to the person with the longest drive off the tee box. The first round left Logsdon and Martin in a sudden death drive-off, winner-take-all. Despite Logsdon’s best efforts, Martin easily won the competition and became $16 richer. Honorable mention went to Aaron Butler who after multiple tries, finally made contact with the ball. After all the fun had been drained from Perfect Swing, we all made our way to the parking lot for the annual performance of the Zeta Alpha Chi fraternity dance.
First Annual Two-Thousand and Two Annual Christmas Fireworks Celebration
(Saturday, July 12th, 2003)
Due to the overwhelming popularity of the 5th Annual 29th Annual Zeta Alpha Chi No Se Weekend, the members of ZAX were left wanting more. Much to the surprise of founders, Zac and Zac, ZAX members wanted to start holding more ZAX sponsored events. Therefore it was decided that committees would be formed to plan and execute various events throughout the year and that Zac and Zac would be left to plan No Se weekend on their own. This also opened the doors to allowing potential pledges attend our events to see if they would qualify to be a member of ZAX.
The first committee that was created was the 2003 Summer Party Committee which consisted of Aaron Butler and Michael Channel. Because Aaron still had a stockpile of fireworks from years past, they decided to hold a Christmas party. It was to be the First Annual Two-Thousand and Two Annual Christmas Fireworks Celebration. Guthrie was chosen as the site of this party due to the fact that this was the location of the land on which the firework display would occur. The event began with everyone meeting at Granny Had One, a quaint restaurant in historic downtown Guthrie. Sadly, this was the first Zeta Alpha Chi event which only one of the founders was able to attend. Just one week after returning from their honeymoon, Zac and Lori were forced to sit this event out because of Lori’s raging kidney infection and the multiple misdiagnoses by incompetent emergency room physicians that allowed the infection to fester. The anonymous land donor, Jack Logsdon, a Pharmacist 25 years removed from practicing pharmacy, was ultimately the only person able to diagnose Lori’s condition and recommend a proper remedy. Stevens would like to point out that they did not necessarily miss this event… they’re just running a little bit late.
After a dinner at which Brandon returned from the salad bar with a plate of croutons and Thousand Island dressing, the couples in attendance headed to the site of the gift exchange and firework disaster… I mean, display. Those couples were Zac and Jill, Aaron and Janet, Mike and Susan, Brandon (alone), Cory and Heidi (convicted felon) and Gary and Jessica Miller, who were attending as a potential pledge and potential significant other. As shown by the list of attendees, Cory continued his custom of bringing a different girl to every ZAX event. This girl’s history of assault with a deadly weapon kept everyone on their toes the whole evening.
We all gathered around in a shaded area for the giving of gifts. As is typical with most Christmas gift exchanges, we were in the middle of a pasture among tall grass and bugs, with Christmas decorations and Holiday music to add to the Christmas cheer. It was obvious that we all had Christ’s birth in our hearts as we had our Dirty Santa gift exchange. Some of the gifts worth mentioning were a bucket of bubble gum, a huge package of tennis balls, and some other worthless crap. Logically, the gift exchange was followed immediately by the making of s’mores. What says Christmas more than making s’mores over a campfire? Nothing.
We all sat around waiting for nightfall when the fireworks would begin. In the meantime, we popped daytime firecrackers and socialized. Because of the dry climate, we made sure to bring fire extinguishers, though considering our safety precautions, they were completely unnecessary. Once darkness overcame the camp, Aaron and Zac began the fireworks show. Saturn missiles, fountains, celebration balls, rockets and various other colored sparks lit the Christmas sky. Everyone got in on the action and we were all having a pleasant time watching the brilliant display. Though we were all a little concerned that Cory’s date might have motives to murder us, it ended up being Cory that put our lives in danger. After much encouragement for Cory to get up and come join the fun, he finally picked out a firework and placed it on the ground for lighting. As only Cory could do, he tipped the firework over right as he lit it. As we all scattered, small balls of fire began to shoot directly at us, our cars and most detrimentally, to the large open fields of dead grass. Ten or twelve small fires sprung up all around us. Some were stomped out immediately but some required backup. Zac jumped the fence and ran toward the well house to get the hose going. Unfortunately, the hose would only reach the small fires that were in close proximity. After the smaller ones had been extinguished, one large fire began to grow exponentially just out of the reach of water. The fire extinguishers were activated and Brandon Martin risked life and limb to save us all from sure death… or at least the farm from being burned down. Three fire extinguishers, a few manure soaked shoes, and lots of adrenaline later, we all walked back to our lawn chairs and sat down. Though there were plenty more fireworks, we all decided it might be best to call it a night. We packed it up and headed home. Despite the small mishap during the fireworks display, the first ever ZAX event planned purely without the assistance of either of the founders was a rousing success.
Due to Brandon’s courage and bravery in the line of… um… fire…he was a likely nominee for the 2003-2004 Pumpy Tudors Award, an inspiring turnaround from his disappointing rookie year.
The First Ever ZAX Fried Chice Hockey Extravaganza (Saturday, January 31, 2004)
As if Brandon need do anything else to solidify his chances of being awarded the 2003-2004 Pumpy Tudors Award, his organization of this event made him a shoe-in. And as if Cory needed to do anything else to solidify his chances of being awarded the 2003-2004 Padre Award, his refusal to assist in the organization made him a shoe-in. Brandon and Cory were appointed to the Fall-Winter Event Organization Committee. Fall came and went and it appeared as if there might not be an event until No Se Weekend made it’s way onto the scene in late spring. However, Brandon came out of nowhere and concocted easily one of the Top 25 most brilliant ZAX event ideas in history. It was planned, organized and executed perfectly… all without the assistance of Cory. Cory did, however, continue his tradition of bringing a different girl to every ZAX event. Fortunately for us, this particular female had never been convicted of a heinous crime, but she was 5 years older than Cory. In attendance were, Zac and Jill Logsdon, Zac and Lori Stevens (yeah, they finally got married), Aaron and Janet Butler, Mike and Susan Channel, Brandon Martin and Lindsey Fowler, Cory Thigpen and Lisa Pruett, Ryan LaCroix and Tiya Bolding and Gary and Jessica Miller, again attending as potential pledge and potential significant other.
The evening began as they usually do, waiting on Zac and Lori. The Norman folks headed out from Norman and the OKC/Stillwater/Edmond contingent headed out from Edmond and we all converged on the tiny town of Okarche, Oklahoma at Eischen’s Bar. Eischen’s is known for miles around as having the best fried chicken anywhere and it is also Oklahoma’s oldest bar. While we didn’t take advantage of the bar portion of Eischen’s, we ate plenty of fried chicken, fried okra, white bread and pickles. Unfortunately, we had to be split up among two tables so we were unable to fully experience the company of one another, but we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless. As is commonplace in small towns in Oklahoma, the OU fans were persecuted by a scholar from Oklahoma State that challenged whether or not any of us had actually attended OU. Despite our educations, we were all dumbfounded by the large words the man used. Luckily, we had Gary Miller, an Oklahoma State graduate, to defend us against this browbeater. Our tales between our legs, we walked out of Eischen’s ready for what Brandon had in store next.
We hit the road and headed back to civilization so we could watch a bunch of toothless men hit each other with sticks. That’s right…straight to the Ford Center for some OKC Blazers hockey. An exciting brand of hockey, the CHL offers fans the ability to see occasional goals intermingled between fights. And that’s why we love it. That evening we had the pleasure of see the quad-fecta of Mad Dog, Bullfrog, Groundhog and Drain Clog take it to the… uhh…other team. Did the Blazers win? Yes, lead mostly by ZAX founding co-father Zac Stevens who got into opposing goalie Brent Belecki’s head (THEY SHOULD CALL YOU BEL-LUCKY!), helping break him down mentally so that the Blazers could break him down physically. Stevens also inspired the Blazer’s first goal when he instructed the Blazers to “go score” mere seconds before they broke the 0-0 tie. Who was the other team? Surely none of us recall. But we all remember that the kiss-cam came to our section and Mike and Susan, Zac and Lori, and Ryan and Tiya (no, they’re not dating) got some serious tongue action on tape. Unfortunately for Cory, the kiss-cam didn’t provide him the opportunity to lay the mack down on his lady of the evening.
The game ended and we all walked back to our cars and went our separate ways. The curtain closed on yet another fun, exciting and completely un-Cory-planned evening.
Zeta Alpha Chi – Live at the Addison Improv (featuring Mitch Hedberg – April 24, 2004)
This began as one of the most highly anticipated ZAX events in history. Originally, No Se pledge night was going to be scheduled around this event and all the members and the pledge would have made an evening out of going to Dallas for the Mitch show. Unfortunately due to Zac Stevens’ absolute refusal to ever leave college, he had a class that would have prevented a Friday night drive to Texas. So we decided to go to the Saturday night show and encouraged all ZAX members to attend. Of the 8 people that drove down, only 4 were ZAX members. A disappointing showing considering that 1 member confirmed his and his lady’s attendance, then backed out and a potential pledge, who has since been blacklisted, also confirmed and backed out.
The event actually began two months prior to the above listed date. That is when plans were made and Zac Logsdon made the call to the Improv in Addison, Texas to make reservations. He was told at that time that they did not take reservations until a month before the show. So, he waited. March 24th rolled around, one month TO THE DATE prior to the show. He called once again and spoke with someone so rude, the could only have been from Texas. The Addison’s web site had stated that if parties were planning to eat dinner, they got first choice of seating. Logsdon told the hag on the phone that we would be dining. She said that didn’t make a difference and that seats weren’t assigned before the show. So, Zac asked how early we should show up so as to assure ourselves good seats. The hag stated that the seats are already assigned and that showing up early wouldn’t help. Zac, befuddled, asked how one could find out if their seats were any good. She told him that seats are assigned based on when the reservations were made, but that no seats had been assigned yet. Zac, thinking that surely he had been the first person to make reservations for that show since that day was the first possible day they were taking reservations, asked if there had been any reservations made prior to his call. Hag responded by saying that about 100 people had already reserved seats for that show. In a normal situation, Zac would have cancelled the reservations based on the hag’s rudeness. However, given that Zac is a guy who likes Mitch (not a Mitch-enthusiast), he simply bit his tongue and hung up.
Finally, April 24th arrived and we all took off for Texas. The caravan was split into a boy car and a girl car. In the boy car were Zac, Zac, Aaron and Cory. In the girl car were Lori, Jill, Ali Stevens and Shylia Egelston. The gang stopped in Galveston on the way down to waste some time shopping at the outlet mall. Cory and Aaron had the whole town thinking they were a gay couple as they went from store to store shopping and giggling. Any doubt about their sexual preference was laid to rest when they began spraying one another with cologne in Brooks Brothers. At one point, Aaron was heard exclaiming, “Aaaahhh! Don’t spway me with
thaaat!”
After some shopping and some really bad Dr. Pepper, we made our way to Addison. We arrived about an hour and a half before the show and Aaron pleaded with us to go get some fondue at the nearby Melting Pot, host of approximately 326 various pre-prom dinners that night. He failed to convince us that it would be a good idea so we went on to the Improv and picked up our tickets. Our seats ended up being quite good. As we waited for the show to start, Aaron and Cory went over to check out the Oriental Massage parlor across the parking lot. Then we all just stood around waiting for the show to begin.
Mitch’s wife Lynn opened the show and was followed by some guy that wasn’t all that funny. Then Mitch came on and gave us an hour of side-splitting laughter and Stevens patted him on the back as he made his way from the stage. We all spent way too much on terrible food but had a great time because of Mitch’s musings.
On the way home, we stopped for refreshments at a quick stop in Dallas. As Zac was pulling into his parking space, a young Mexican fellow opened his door preventing Zac from pulling in. The fellow took his time and even sent a dirty look in the direction of the car. Later, in typical Aaron Butler style, Aaron walked into the quick stop and over to the men’s restroom where he thought one of his brothers was using the facility. Aaron violently banged on the door. Very soon after, the Mexican fellow came out looking like he was going to knock the crap out of whoever did it. Fortunately, Aaron used his charm and explained the misunderstanding and we were all able to head home with only one knife wound…each.
The 6th Annual 29th Annual Zeta Alpha Chi No Se Weekend (May 21st and 22nd, 2004)
Details pending.
Copyright © 1997-2004 Zeta Alpha Chi, Inc. All Rights Reserved. All narratives written by Zac y Zac.