This weekend marks a special occasion. Tufts alumni will come from far and wide and undergrads will drunkenly stumble down to the hardly-ever-visited football field to watch the Tufts football team battle the ruthless Bowdoin Polar Bears. Sounds epic, doesn't it?
In the spirit of homecoming, we have compiled a list of celebratory, laudable, epic homecomings. That way, just in case your Jumbo enthusiasm doesn't involve attending sporting events, when Saturday rolls around you'll have 10 un-sports-related homecomings to drink to.
1. Odysseus: This guy had perhaps the longest and hardest road home of anyone in the history of mankind. After fighting a war, the poor man just wants to go home to his wife, but instead gets swept away on a journey that includes lotus-eating, cyclopses, enchantresses, cattle from hell and many, many sacrificial lambs. And, after all that, the dude still finds his wife being pursued by that jerk Antinous.
2. The Wizard of Oz (1939): Despite the awesomeness of flying monkeys, Munchkins and singing animals, Dorothy spends all of her time in Oz trying to return home to Kansas. Guess there really is "no place like home" - even if home is a black and white farm in the middle of nowhere.
3. Salmon: Every year salmon march in Mother Nature's homecoming parade. Those sporty and delicious fish swim upstream and return to the rivers in which they were born to make little salmon babies. Sadly, this natural homecoming ends morbidly for Pacific salmon who die after spawning. Waaaaaah.
4. Now and Then (1995): Four childhood best friends reunite in their hometown in this '90s feel-good, retro, chick flick. At this homecoming, the four ladies discover that they no longer have anything in common but chill in a tree house for awhile reminiscing about a time when they did. Plus, a post-"Casper" (1995), pre-Eminem music video Devon Sawa bares his butt on screen for a precious few seconds.
5. Prodigal Son: In what is one of the most famous homecomings in the Bible, a son who has spent his youth chasing women, fame, and money returns home after seeing the folly of his wanton ways. What's the best part of this story? When the prodigal son returns home, they celebrate with the slaughtering of a 'fatted calf.' And we think throwing a few beers back constitutes a quality celebration? Traditions these days just don't have enough sacrifices anymore...
6. High School Reunions: Some people dread them, some people can't wait for them, and too many movies have revolved around them, but these inevitable homecomings are looming in our not-so-distant future. Whether you pretend that you invented Post-its or just show up to see if your old crush has started balding, high school reunions are epic homecomings we can all relate to.
7. Simba in the "Lion King" (1994): What homecoming is more memorable than Simba's return to Pride Rock, when he finds the demise and destruction his evil, British uncle Scar has wrought upon the once-paradise? With the initiative to restore "circle of life," Simba's homecoming is certainly no tailgating party, but at least Timone and Pumba give this epic a little comedic relief.
8. Eric Cartman: Whenever Cartman struts about South Park, he's either raising hell or going through it, but not when he's within the confines of his own house, where only he is king. The bliss of watching "Terrance and Phillip" and stuffing his fat face with snacky smores or cheesy poofs while ordering his poor mother around suits him quite well. So if you're friends ever give you a hard time, just shrug them off with a royal "screw you guys, I'm going home."
9. E.T. (1982): The lost alien known as E.T. captured the heart of America with his touching eagerness to return to his home planet. Who would have known a turd-like extra-terrestrial with glowing fingers and bike-riding skills would become one of the most memorable characters in film?
10. Homeward Bound (1993): This film features the most emotional homecoming of all time. From porcupines to waterfalls to evil pound employees, these three courageous house pets brave the wilderness in order return to their beloved familiy. After having survived so much, the situation turns bleak towards the end.
As Sassy and Chance bound up the hill into the arms of their loving owners, young Peter stands alone, staring into the forest, hoping, pleading that his beloved golden retriever is not dying alone in a muddy pit underneath railroad tracks. Finally, Shadow limps up the hill and into Peter's arms, just barely preceding a collective tearful outburst from the audience. If that isn't epic, we don't know what is.
-compiled by the Daily Arts Department
