2011 Troy – In the beginning there was merely a few friends whose birthdays happen to all lie at the start of October. Rather than having separate celebrations, the group made the varsity decision to dedicate one weekend to smash all their birthdays into. As the first beer was cracked, the legend of BSW was born. We were young, we we were ambitious, and little did we know how quickly it would grow.
2012 Troy – The 2nd BSW saw rapid expansion in not only participation but also room for activities. The booming, Friday night house party was followed up by Saturday afternoon hungover apple picking and a classy night out on the town that evening. New members brought new blood and life to the event. Plans began to grow to continue to keep the tradition alive. We had successfully smashed for a second year straight, but we knew, no we believed we could smash better.
2013 Troy – How do you follow up a bigger and better round two? Surprise birthday, anything but a cup, toga, Dexter Boom room party, that’s how. Oh, and a freaking limo. We partied on with our togas on, played boom is a sea of das balloons and bubble wrap, and drank out of buckets, pumpkins, vases, shampoo bottles, and anything but a cup. On Saturday night, we got dressed up, took the limo out, and we got messed up. Who know limos had so much room for activity and that mechanical bulls could be wrangled. The magic of the weekend surpassed every and all expectation. How could we ever top it? How could we keep the smashing going? The weekend was a milestone, but questions about the future filled everyone’s mind as it came to a close.
2014 Troy – The fourth round looked to be the last. The friend group had begun to move on from the Troy area and the pressures of school and work had picked up. Only a few BSW founders were able to attend and keep the smashing going steady for another year. The weekend was low key, but those who made it out took an oath to ensure this would not be the end of birthday smashing.
2015 UMich – We’re not Detroit! BSW roared back with vengeance. We got jobs, we got money, and we want a destination BSW. Next stop, the University of Michigan. Thanks to the ever-expanding BSW crew, the legend took on a new form in a new state. House party, check. Apple picking swapped for tailgating the Michigan State, UMich college football game, fair trade. Bright orange, tech shirts honoring the BSW tradition and featuring Blade Runner font, yeah buddy. The cherry on top was discovering the BSW anthem as we made our way downtown . . . .Downtown . . . . . DOWNTOWN! The fuel had been thrown on the fire and it raged and burned against the October sky. BSW would come around again, guaranteed.
2016 Boston – The Olympics may have not worked out quite as planned but we still partied hard enough to earn gold, silver, and bronze. The Michigan crowd made sure we were rolling in style with a freshly designed, homemade t-shirts. Boom was shared by all and introduced to many. The party bus proved to be a blast and definitely turned heads all around Boston, while also being the perfect backdrop for the ever sought after, but rarely witnessed in person, silent boot. To top it all off, the weekend was blessed by the BSW gods as our anthem blared non-stop all weekend (no prompting necessary from the BSW crowd).
2017 Boston – The head count was low but the birthday smashing was high. Friday night partying in Somerville was splendid as per the usual, the visit to Six Flags during Fright Fest was fantastic, and the Saturday night house party and fire was a blast. Granted, we did almost die from blunt force trauma from a rollercoaster projectile (sorry about your phone bro), have to defend BSW honor on the streets of Boston (Excuse me Becky!), and leave a good chunk(s) of the partying on the side of I90. Good times for the small batch crew.
2018 Boston – Another small batch BSW, but epic nonetheless. Some old faces were able to return from retirement, while some new friends from across the pond were introduced to the birthday smashing. Friday night was kicked off by the Florence & The Machine concert plus tiny basketball at all the dive bars (Sorry Becky, your 3 point game sucks!). Not to be outdone, the fire and party Saturday night in the Ham Sandwich city was just as a much of a blast. Overall, an impressive recovery year for BSW.
2019 Boston – If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Although this year was basically last year on repeat, but with worse weather, it was great to see folks still willing to make the effort. This was probably the most low key BSW so far, but we still got the house party and bar hopping in. Bonus points: apple cider donuts made a return as well as a trip to the apple orchard. “What’s Behind the Barn Door?” ended up making a decent splash too. We’ll come around again next year.
2020 Virtual – It may have been a single night rather than a full weekend, but it was great to catch up, grab some drinks, play some games, and hang out with everyone for a few hours. From MA to NY to VT to MI to WA to NC and even to London and China, BSW was out in full force again in this year. It was great to hear that everyone was doing well, but more importantly that folks were safe and healthy. The event may have been virtual, but the hangover the next day was definitely real. As crazy as it sounds, next year already marks the 10th anniversary of BSW! Hopefully things will be closer to normal, and we can go big in 2021.
2021 New Jersey – 10th anniversary? Check! Boom? Check! Ding dong ditch? Check! New Jersey…um…ok…I guess so…if we have to? Check! Pork roll? I mean, Taylor ham? Wait, what? Only in New Jersey? Why? Check! Everything you could have wanted and more for a ten year milestone. The crew might have been minimal, but the birthday smashing was maximum. Who knew New Jersey had farms? Last but not least, the oversized champagne bottle finally found a new home, and it only took 34 days to be found. Always good to see folks hanging in there, especially as the COVID times continue.
2022 Troy – Headed back to burn it down! Troy may be trending upwards, but the BSW crew returned to drag it back down into the dive bar that it truly is. Sure we are a bit classier now too, I mean the AirBnB had a sauna and a hot tub, but certainly not classy enough for a traditional downtown Troy drunken scavenger hunt featuring all the hits: shotgun a water, plank a bar, 300 in skiball, piggy back beers, cheap ass whiskey shots, Al Bundys, eat that burger in one bite, make love to EMPAC, roll in some leaves…the usual shenanigan stuff. By the end, we were asked to leave. No matter, next year is a return to MI to celebrate an official BSW wedding.
2023 MI – BSW goes full Birthday Smash Wedding this year. The animals return to the UMich campus, and guess what? We brought our damn boom table! BSW, a wedding, and a German beer advent calendar, what more can a crew ask for? Who knew a Dodge Caravan could hold so much beer? What did they do to my boy, The Circ? I wonder how many more times we could have stopped at that bar for random shots? Did that fight at Costco ever get resolved? All we know is, congrats Andrew and Chrissy! It was an honor for BSW to officially sponsor your wedding (only the best signs that CVS can print). Can’t wait to see where BSW goes next year.
2024 NA– A decade+ is a pretty good stretch of BSWs. We’ll come back around next year.