By Ben Snider-McGrath
Ask just about anyone who was at Ryerson’s 6 Fest this past weekend and they’ll tell you how much they hated it. Daniel Tyler, a fifth-year architecture student at Ryerson, didn’t have the 6 Fest he had hoped for.
“I was extremely disappointed,” Tyler said. “I was banking on Big Sean to be there, but he never came.”
Sean Michael “Big Sean” Anderson, who was set to be one of the headliners at this year’s 6 Fest, didn’t show up, cancelling at the last minute. The reason Tyler cares so much is because of his intramural basketball team.
“We’re the Fighting Parrots,” Tyler said. “We wanted to be called the Fighting Ferrets, but another team had already named themselves that. So, as team captain, I made an executive decision to go with Parrots instead.”
His next executive decision? To get Big Sean to put his hip-hop career on hold so he could become the newest member of the Fighting Parrots basketball team.
Tyler didn’t know who Big Sean was until he overheard someone talking about 6 Fest and who would be performing. Once he heard the name, he knew how to turn his team’s season around.
“We’ve lost all four of our games so far,” Tyler said. “When I heard that this guy Big Sean was coming … well, I knew we had to at least try to get him on our team. I mean, his name is Big Sean. Big. I’m our tallest player and I’m only six-foot-two. A big man would be a huge addition to our team.”
Understandably, Tyler was upset when, after doing some research on the rapper, he learned that Big Sean is only five-feet-six-inches tall. Tyler remained hopeful, however, for what he said were “obvious reasons.”
“Sure, he isn’t tall,” Tyler said. “But there are two types of people you want on your basketball team. Tall people and, well, you know.”
Unfortunately for Tyler, Big Sean never showed, ultimately “crushing his team’s hopes” of becoming a legitimate contender for Ryerson intramural glory.
In a last-ditch effort, Tyler approached the event’s volunteers, asking if they could pass a message along to Big Sean. It was all for naught, however, and Tyler was unable to contact the only man who could save his team’s season.
Diplo, another artist at 6 Fest, overheard Tyler’s message, and was quick to offer his time and energy to be a Fighting Parrot. Tyler respectfully turned him down.
“Yeah, sure, he’s a good DJ, but I’m not gonna recruit a short white guy to come play for us. We’ve got enough of those,” said Tyler.
The Fighting Parrots’ next game is on Oct. 17 at 6 p.m. vs. the league leading Balling Bandits in the Kerr Hall Lower Gym.
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