Princeton University Athletics
Tuesday TigerBlog - Wyatt, Wyatt, Wyatt
April 18, 2023 | Tiger Blog
TigerBlog can cross that off his list. Here's the story:
TigerBlog and Matt Madalon rolled out of Princeton late Friday morning on their way to the men's lacrosse game at Dartmouth.
The two were in a rental car, instead of on the bus. Why? Madalon needed a way to get back in case his wife Ashley went into labor with their third child.
Of course, this seemed unlikely. They had just come from the doctor and were given the okay. The baby wasn't due for four more days, meaning today. What could go wrong?
When TigerBlog woke up Saturday, he went outside and saw the car was still there. No baby, he thought. All good.
Then he saw Madalon outside the breakfast room, and he knew something was up. Madalon had a look about him that seemed to be 50 percent joy, 25 percent panic and 25 percent relief.
Shortly before 10 Friday night, he'd texted TB asking him if he needed the car for anything. When TB said he didn't and asked Madalon how he was, the response he got was "just relaxing."Then the phone rang in the early morning hours, and the relaxation part of the weekend was over. Wyatt, as TB said, wasn't due until today, but apparently he didn't get the message. Ashley had to go to the hospital, and now Madalon was Face-Timing with her and the doctor about the upcoming C-Section.
He could be there in six hours, he told them. The baby will be here in eight minutes, the doctor told him. And so it was that Wyatt Madalon came into the world, joining his older sisters Waverly and Whitney.
Had Madalon gotten back to sleep afterwards? It was unlikely. He was understandably a bit wired as he told TB and the rest of the staff the news. Then he stepped in the breakfast room and shared the news with the team.
A long, sustained ovation broke out. This was emotional and sincere. This was an addition to the Princeton Lacrosse family, and that meant it was good news for all of them.
That emotion extended over the course of the 60 minutes of the game. There was no way Princeton was going to lose this one, not for their coach, not on the day his son was born. He'd been there for them, and they were going to return the favor.
And so they did. Princeton rolled past the Big Green 17-7, and when it was over, a loud chant of "Wyatt, Wyatt, Wyatt" broke out from the Tiger players.
The win, by the way, clinched a spot in the Ivy League tournament for the Tigers. It's an event that the team did not qualify for a year ago, when Princeton did make it into the NCAA tournament anyway and then zoomed to Championship Weekend.
When an away game ends, pretty much in any sport, the team spends some time with family and friends who were there, at a postgame tailgate. Usually, the bus ride home doesn't start until an hour or so after the game.
This time, though, Madalon wanted to bolt immediately. He and TigerBlog hopped in the car, and away they went.
So what's it like driving with someone who is on the way to meet his baby? It's a bit different, that's for sure.
It started out as TB wrote his postgame story and updated a bunch of stuff on the webpage. His headline was "Oh Baby — Princeton, Madalon Get Two W's In One Day."
Once he published the story, Madalon's phone started blowing up. It was better than sending out a birth announcement.
The conversation wasn't that much different than it would have been on any other long trip. Well, maybe on most trips TB wouldn't have felt the need to share his best tips on diapering newborns and boys especially. It was more the general feeling of excitement and anticipation of what awaited Madalon.
And so that's the story of the time that TigerBlog drove six hours with someone whose wife had just given birth.
TB couldn't be happier for the Madalons on their new arrival. He's glad he had the chance to share it with Matt the way he did.
And he's also glad he got to hear the "Wyatt, Wyatt, Wyatt" chant from the players.
Some moments are bigger than just a celebration of a win. This was one of those moments.
They were all Madalon's boys, and they were all thrilled that someone new had joined their ranks.
By 10 Saturday night, Madalon had texted TB a picture of him and Wyatt. It was a little more than 24 hours after the text that said he was just relaxing.
It'll be a while before he sends another such message. The message yesterday was simple: Happy and healthy. That's all that matters. For the record, Ashley and Wyatt came home yesterday afternoon.
As TB looked at the picture, he thought about 10 years from now, or 20 years from now, or some point in the future when Madalon stumbles across it and remembers back to the day his son was born. He'll smile, and he'll think about what a crazy, emotional day it was. Crazy, emotional — and pretty much perfect.
