It’s as if the Convocation Center has no memory.

As the morning hours roll around, any memories from hours prior are erased in a wash of red, gray and black.

In the middle of the arena, the floor lays barren like a dark, cement pool just waiting to be covered.

Just three hours ago, that pool was filled with chairs and screaming fans. A stage took up the west side of the floor, and a curtain blocked off any view of the bleachers behind it.

Those who came to watch Larry the Cable Guy have all gone, and you would never even know they were there.

Behind the scenes is a group of 10 people whom no one ever remembers. They do their job quietly and efficiently; often at all hours of the morning. Without them, NIU’s sports program goes nowhere.

They are the conversion crew of the Convo, and this is what they went through this past weekend.

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Thursday, Jan. 20 – Sometime in the afternoon, the NIU conversion crew wanders into the Convo to take apart the hardwood basketball court. The court is made up of 182 4-by-8 feet pieces that each weigh about 165 pounds. Overall it takes the 10-person crew two hours before they get to leave.

But all of them know they will be back soon. This weekend is different.

Friday, Jan. 21 9:55 p.m. – Andrew Collins, one of the supervisors for the conversion crew, waits in the wings of the Convo with his crew. As Larry the Cable Guy says his final farewells and trots off the stage, Collins motions to his crew and their night begins.

By 10:19 p.m. the front row of chairs is completely put away by the event staff, and Collins has two people up in the rafters to help take down speakers and lighting system where each light costs $20,000.

10:36 p.m. – Dressed in a dark green shirt, the other supervisor, Ed Dawson, strolls by to tell the six events that will be going on this weekend.

He looks over his crew and makes a comment on how they are moving around like ants. They methodically condense the entire set into small silver crates, while people constantly yell “hurry up.”

They are going to have to. Larry was just the first event of the weekend. Saturday would bring three sporting events and a banquet. Sunday is the easy day, just one sport.

It’s the first time all four winter sports will play at home at the same time since the Convo was created.

10:43 p.m. – The sea of chairs has been put away for five minutes now, and all that remains of the show is a pair of 10-foot tall speakers and the stage.

11:01 p.m. – The two workers in the rafters holler back and forth at each other with their legs dangling from the massive I-beams.

As the last speaker is carted away on the floor, their job is now done and they get to joke around, pretending to spit on other members of the crew below.

Every once in a while Dawson will make his rounds to check on the crew, but they are keeping pace under Collins. Dawson eyes the crew and even gives advice, but more or less he’s just having fun. He walks around with a smirk before he goes back to making rounds. Pretty soon he gets to leave early and let Collins take over for the rest of the night.

11:52 p.m. – The now nine-member crew finally gets their chance to tear down the stage. With a short break thrown in, the crew completely puts away the stage in 10 minutes. A spilled beverage serves as the only remembrance of the show.

12:38 a.m. – With noises from the cleaning crew in the background, a small Zamboni washes the entire concrete floor.

Meanwhile, the rest of the crew finally stops moving. Collins jokes around with the crew about what’s left for the weekend and one of the girls informs him on how one can use their NIU OneCard to scrape ice off their windshields.

12:48 a.m. – Thirteen carts, each weighing more than 2,000 pounds, get wheeled onto the concrete.

Without being told the crew starts the task of reassembling the court for the women’s basketball game only 13 hours away. Collins takes care of the baskets while the rest piece together the court.

2:02 a.m. – As the song “Heartbreaker” by Mariah Carey blasts over the loudspeakers, the court and baskets are finally completed.

Unfortunately for the crew, they still have to set up the rest of the media and scorer’s tables. By the time the crew gets to lock up and clean the snow off their cars it is after 3:15 a.m.

Saturday, Jan. 22 – After leaving early that morning, the crew comes back to assist with the banquet. Dawson opens up early and plows the parking lots before going about getting everything ready for the women’s basketball game and the wrestling meet. While the NIU wrestlers are celebrating their victory, the crew is in the background already rolling up all the mats for a banquet a few hours later.

Five hours later Dawson again finds himself sitting in the wings as the buzzer sounds on the men’s basketball game. He calls over one of his crew members to discuss a plan of attack and then goes to business; moving the court for the third time. A few hours later he allows himself to leave.

Sunday, Jan. 23 – Its the final day of the weekend. The crew hangs out for a while, every once and a while peeking out to catch a glimpse of the gymnastics meet. After the gymnasts have signed autographs and are back in the locker room, Dawson tells his crew to do their job one last time. They go through everything they went through Friday night to set up the court but they get to leave a bit earlier. It was their shortest day, but not by much.

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Overall the NIU basketball court was moved four times over the weekend.

The crew repeatedly made the court appear and reappear as if by magic without anybody knowing about it.

They hung out in the wings just waiting for the time to do their job, and when that time came nobody seemed to notice.

It’s not an easy job. In fact, most of the time it’s a pain in the butt, Dawson said. But for the members of the conversion crew, it’s one they are proud to do – whether you remember them or not.