1999 PIN

Our pin this year is both simple and complex, if that is possible. I say this because there is a tremendous amount of writing of the face of the pin, but there are only a few riddles. Many things are obvious, such as the naming of our opponents and the dates that we play some of them. I am curious to see how much of it you guys were able to figure out. Of course, some of the messages would only be understood by members of the Star Chamber

If you are reading this page Mike has already ascertained the web site address and the password needed to enter the Star Chamber. I’m hoping it didn’t take too long for him to put all the clues together. The web site address is written vertically across the face of the pin. Start at the “W” in the SSW9 at the top of the pin and read down. Mike discovered the Star Chamber and got into it by using the following:

Looking at the top left hand side of the pin you can see the number of nonleague and league opponents that we play…six and four respectively. Here we also emphasize the concept of teamwork with our junior and senior class working together. The numbers 6 and 4 are important because that is also the composition of the Star Chamber…6 juniors and 4 seniors. I made this very clear in Jon’s letter assigning him his “9.”

As you continue to read down the left side of the pin you see a number of phrases that are self-explanatory. It is our goal to make the playoffs in 1999, the Viking defense is number one, we will win the league title against Uni on Friday November 12 with special teams, offense and defense and we will finish up a great year by winning the 1999 CIF Championship. Now if you read from top to bottom beginning with the number 6 at the top next to the word “nonleague,” you will see this sequence:

This is a telephone number. If you look at a phone you will see that the letters DEF correspond to the number three. Thus, the phone number is 641-3131. This really did turn out to be a great coincidence. The number is the phone number of Qualcomm Stadium. We had worked the phone number of the stadium into last year’s pin but it was changed. The new number gave me a chance to work a different angle. How many of you figured it out?

Right below the LJ 1999 CIF CHAMPS are the words SENIORS, JUNIORS and VLM IN 99. This stands for varsity letterman in 1999. We have nine seniors and 8 juniors returning. If you read across starting with the 9 you will see this sequence:

This is a birth date. I wanted to pay a small tribute to the leader of the Star Chamber so I put in this date. Did you figure it out Mike? It should have been pretty easy. Perhaps the Star Chamber can get together on this day and have a small celebration. I’m assuming of course that Mike got into the Star Chamber early in the season.

At the bottom of the pin we honor our two returning running backs, Jon and Jimmy. Jon scored 5 touchdowns, rushed for 449 yards and scored 9 defensive points last season. Jimmy scored 2 touchdowns, rushed for 414 yards and scored 12 defensive points. If you read across the pin starting with Jon’s 9 you will see this sequence:

This was another great coincidence. The address to the Stadium is 9449 Friars. It’s weird that Jon rushed for exactly 449 yards! It was perfect spelling out Friars with the Scripps date and our 1999 saying “Sacrifice For Success In 99.” I hope you guys like the RIP in Scripps. They will be resting in peace when we get through with them. They are going to need a lot of help when we play them. Did you see the “SOS” after SCRIPPS?

Of course the 9449 FRIARS also has another significance. This one I know you all figured out. These are the letters and numbers that correspond to the Star Chamber members. This was no coincidence. I planned this back in December when I first thought about putting the Star Chamber together. Now you know, if you guys stand in the following order, your helmets spell out the address to the stadium:

Jon, Cody, Mike R., Jeff, Isaiah, Jack, Mike S., Mike B.,Nick and Mike P.

Remember, even if they don't play the Division III Championship there, we will still go there for a team picture.

That is pretty much the riddle of the pin...I think. Let me know how much you figured out.