Keith Day: A Hoban phenomenon
November 29th, a day born of a mistake, now famous among the senior class.
Recently, you may have seen countdowns on teachers’ whiteboards, denoting “X days until Keith Day.” If you’re not currently celebrating this should-be national holiday, then you’re probably thinking, “What in the world is Keith Day?”
Keith Day, the holiday, was born on Nov. 8, by a group of seniors who call themselves the “Wizards.”
“So this all really started after our friend, Ian Doucet, tried to say ‘Happy Birthday’ to Nick Sack but it autocorrected to ‘Happy keith day,’ and it all went downhill from there,” senior Reese Marino said.
After the historic mistake that sparked Keith Day, fellow senior Jackson Ciborek started researching, trying to figure out who Doucet was referring to. He discovered that multiple “Keith Days” exist. One was a soccer player in England, one a chef, and, arguably the most notable, Keith Robert Day, from Middleport, Ohio, convicted of arson in 2017. While neither the Visor nor the “Wizards” condone arson or violence, they did find irony in finding a Keith Day so close to home.
After finding a graphic from a news outlet featuring arsonist Keith Day, seniors Ben Vrobel and Nate Plaspohl created a new graphic, featuring all of the founding members of Keith Day: Alex Baumgartner, Drew Pero, Reese Marino, Jackson Ciborek, Joel Hottinger, Ian Doucet, Ryan Ambach, Ben Vrobel, Nate Plaspohl, Andrew Rinaldi and myself.
Keith Day has been planned to be on Nov. 29 which is not an arbitrary date, but rather one that ties into soccer player Keith Day from England. Keith David Day, was born on Nov. 29, 1962. He joined Colchester United in 1984 and left in 1987 but in his short three years in the club, he scored a total of 12 goals, and was a starting player in 130 games.
“So as Keith Day was born on Nov. 29, we decided to make the official ‘Keith Day’ on Nov. 29, full of festivities including living as Keith wanted to,” Ciborek said.
The group then began to spread Keith Day cheer, writing a countdown on every whiteboard they could, involving as many peers as possible. From Rossi to Dzik, teachers around the school were soon trying to decipher what “Keith Day” signifies. Some classes are even celebrating today!
Soon, all of Hoban would be partaking in Keith Day celebrations, along with celebrating our fourth appearance at the State Championships with a Hoban Spirit Day.
“I’d like to think that we got the Spirit Day for Keith Day and not for States,” Alex Baumgartner said.
Once people stopped trying to understand Keith Day and begin enjoying the joy and jubilee of Keith Day, they are able to see how magical of a holiday it truly is.
“Keith Day has been an experience that has brought me closer to my friends and has brought the community closer and has made us a family this Christmas season,” Jacob Petit said.
“Keith Day has helped me reach out to those I don’t always talk to but man I’m anxious for the 365 days before the next one!” Jordan David added.
The original group of “Wizards” has been trying to reach out to Keith Day, the soccer player, but they haven’t had any luck yet. The group will attempt to meet Keith Day, the arsonist, when he is freed from prison in 2020.