What does that even mean?

Do you remember back in the good old days when the “Big Game” was happening Friday night? You and all your friends would meet at their place, get dressed in your team’s colors, paint your faces (or bodies if you were super wild), pregame and go to parties? Then you would all ride to the stadium, or the coliseum or field to watch your team face off against the opponents under the bright lights? Well that’s what Friday Night Lights is, but instead of us getting ready to go watch our team, we are watching and supporting our friends as they perform under the bright lights! And guess what? After they are done the roles are reversed and now it’s their turn to watch you perform! 

I know that may sound daunting. “Someone is gonna watch me work out? They are gonna judge me? I’m not good enough for that…” Well I say YOU ARE! Every one of you is beyond good enough to perform in Friday Night Lights! Every single one of you is good enough to come to CrossFit and do the WOD (almost) every day for weeks, even years, on end! Friday Night Lights is the same as that! Yes there is a little added pressure, but that is supposed to happen. That pressure may make you a little nervous and it might be scary, trust me, I’ve been there. But trust me, the added pressure, anxiousness and nerves helps you perform better. It does so because your nervous system kicks into overdrive, your adrenaline starts flowing a little more than normal and that amps you up. Add your friends and family on the sidelines cheering you on and instantly you get inspired to just send it!

I know this is how it works because I have been a part of 10 CrossFit Opens before. Either as a competitor (this year will be my 8th), judge, coordinator, team captain, coach. You name it, I’ve been it. That means I have seen people that have the same thoughts, fears, concerns, aversions and whatnot as you may have. I have seen the same excitement, hype, hope and so on as you have as well. And I have seen everything else in between. I have seen people break barriers and I have seen people fall short. I have broken barriers and I have fallen short. That stuff is supposed to happen. That is where we learn what we are made of. By taking that risk you are establishing your boundaries which gives you your goal(s) of what to break. And then you break it.

That is what Friday Night Lights is about. It’s not about the Open, it’s not about who is the fittest, it’s not even about failing. It’s about trying something new out, sticking your neck out there, hyping up your friends and hyping yourself up too! It’s about getting a little nervous and then kicking its ass and showing those nerves who’s boss. YOU ARE THE BOSS! GO GET IT!

That sounds pretty awesome right? I think it does or else I wouldn’t be telling you all this. So what comes next? You sign up for your WOD time!!!

What does this do? A couple of things, actually.

First, this locks in your spot for when you would like to workout and perform Open Workout (or Test) 24.1.

Second, if you sign up and come to workout during your assigned time, you get a free 2024 Evansville CrossFit Open T-Shirt! If you don’t workout but you sign-up to judge you also get a free shirt. Heck if you are an EC member and you come to cheer on friends and you get a shirt!!! I know this is different from what we have done in the past but I will save why for a later post. Just come to Friday Night Lights and let’s rock!!! PLEASE!!!!

Third, and most important, this will give us a chance to plan ahead for the heats and how to set-up the gym. If everything goes the way I want it to go it will be packed with people warming up, working out, hanging out and watching and knowing who is going to workout, when they are working out and how many stations need to be set up ahead of time will help expedite the process and minimize unnecessary downtime. Doing so will keep the event moving and keep people entertained which will keep the energy high and help everyone enjoy what the Open and FNLs is all about! So please, sign up for workout time as soon as you can so we can begin figuring out exactly what we need to do! Oh also, if you can find yourself a judge ahead of time just makes things even easier. Thank you!!

Alongside signing up for Friday Night Lights, consider signing up for the 2024 CrossFit Open (click image):

If you are unsure about signing up for the Open, take a few minutes to read our post