Instead of the NIU script letters across his chest, a giant “S” would have done just fine.

It may have just been Marcus McCarty soaring into the stands after an overtime goal to beat Wisconsin 1-0 on Oct. 22, but it sure as heck looked like Superman.

The reaction of the junior forward to his sixth game-winning goal of the season is my celebration of the year.

The goal-hungry scoring machine from Texas was so pumped that he sprinted across the pitch faster than a speeding bullet, stuck one spike into the chain link fence that surrounds the bleachers and propelled his body into the arms of cheering fans.

“That was the NIU Leap,” McCarty said. “I’ve always been a fan of the Lambeau Leap growing up, and jumping into the stands just seemed like the perfect thing to do.”

The second-best celebration of the year came not from a player, but from our director of athletics, Jim Phillips.in the NCAA tournament game versus Loyola.

Together, we stood next to the goal post as Kevin Woerner prepared a long throw in toward the box. I looked over at Jim and noted that we’ve been close to scoring, but this is the type of play we need.

Woerner gained momentum down the hill, hurled the ball high in the air, and the foot of Justin McGrane deposited the ball in the back of the net.

Before I could look over to comment, Phillips was headed toward mid-field.

Running over a rain-soaked field that looked more like a kitty litter box than a soccer pitch in his nicely polished dress shoes and classy suit, Phillips greeted a huddle of muddy, wet, exhausted players that had just won a hard fought 1-0 game to move onto the second round.

My third favorite celebration came from the leading rusher in the history of NIU football, Garrett Wolfe.

In his final home game, the jitterbug steps of Wolfe were back. The elusive rushing style carved up the Central Michigan defense on the night of Nov. 17. As the Yordon Center was being christened, Wolfe trotted into the end zone and fell to the ground for a split second.

As the fireworks rose from the north end zone, the leading rusher in the nation looked up and paused.

The first thought through my head, with all due respect to the Yordon Center, was this is the house that Wolfe built.

Let’s hope that 2007 provides equally great celebrations.