Lifestyle:
Being in college gives you the opportunity to do many unusual things. If you have an active imagination, and like being silly , the list of creativity can be endless.
I was a graduate student at SUNY Cortland , a school in upstate NY, 30 miles south of Syracuse. I was conscientious in my studies, but made time for enjoying myself.
I don’t remember how the Great Egg Throw of 1976 came into being but the debate raged on for some time. Steve Triolo was of the opinion he was able to toss an egg 100 yards in the air. Not only was he convinced of this, he also wanted to bet anyone he could achieve it.
I thought he was totally out of the realm of reality and took him on his boast. I put a free ad in the student newspaper announcing a time and date for the egg throw which was to be held at the football field. This made sense as the football markings would determine if the egg would actually travel the distance.
How does one train for an undertaking of this type? As far as we know, you could practice throwing eggs but Steve was so confident about his arm strength, I don’t believe he did anything. However, he talked about it a lot. Our friends were either believing this was a done deal or it was an idle boast.
The back and forth went on for weeks but the date of the event drew near and finally we congregated for the Great Egg Throw of 1976. Cortland weather is always iffy but fortunately for all of us, it did not snow.
We made it to the field where Steve was extremely confident about the task at hand. I thought he would fall short, believing he would throw the egg at a max. of 75 yards. Friends and their dogs gathered to watch this historical event in the annals of Cortland NY.
The bullshit was flying on all sides as Steve made a very important tactical decision. He opted for fresh eggs and not hard-boiled. To this day , over 40 years later, this has been debated.
For several minutes before the throw, Steve mediated with the egg in his mouth , being one with the universe. I was at the the start line, making sure he would not have a foot fault. It was agreed he could throw as many eggs as he wanted but Steve opted for only a dozen throws.
As we watched Steve approached his mark , he took a running start and the egg flew out of his hand. The collective energy from the group was intense as we all wanted an outcome that proved us right.
The egg released made a massive trajectory and landed with the expected explosion. The distance recorded was 92 yards, short of the mark. The dogs immediately licked up the remains of the egg.
As it stood, Steve threw eggs several more times but none were as mighty as the first toss.
The dogs continued to eat the eggs every time. I don’t remember what the bet was either.
The group scattered after the Great Egg toss of 1976 back to their homes.
While I am only in touch with several of the group through the years, I am sure each person still remembers that event as if it was yesterday.
Keep smoking