Belmont students gathered in the Curb Event Center Sunday night to celebrate Special Olympics and enjoy a night of fun at Battle of the Bruins — the annual talent competition among Belmont’s athletic teams.
The night opened up with a performance by Belmont’s beloved Antonio Peebles and the Southern Bruins Band. With great dance moves and a fantastic Bruno Mars medley, Peebles set the tone for the show.
The Belmont Cheerleaders kicked off the team performances with a parody of Dora the Explorer — but with a Belmont twist. The cheerleaders traveled through Bongo Java, Vanderbilt and various other locations in Nashville in search of the Battle of the Bruins trophy.
Their search proved successful, as the Belmont cheerleading squad took home the trophy at the end of the night.
Along with performances by student athletes, Special Olympics organizations also brought talent to the stage.
The Nashville YMCA Full Circle Dance Class, the Music City Miracle Choir and the Metro Parks Disability program gave heartwarming performances for the audience, all of which earned standing ovations.
A highlight of the night was the Music City Miracle Choir singing “Brave” by Sara Bareilles. They delivered a moving performance and clearly had a great time doing it.
The baseball team gave possibly the most tongue-in-cheek performance of the night, bringing President Dr. Robert Fisher out on stage for the played-out “get off my lawn” joke before throwing in a cringe-inducing reference to Chili’s Grill & Bar.
After the women’s basketball team’s Mario Kart-themed performance, the team gave all of the Special Olympic athletes gold medals.
For the night’s final performance, all of the Belmont and Special Olympics athletes gathered on the stage to sing and dance.
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Written by Caroline Cathey. Photo courtesy of the Belmont Boulevard Team.