Now that spring is here and hockey and basketball seasons are officially over, I assumed that I would have nothing to write about for the remainder of the year and that my columns would just rehash old ideas and bore everyone to death until they were forking their eyes out.
If you’re like me and thought that your life as a Boston University sports fan would be finished once those two sports concluded their seasons, I’ve got news for you: that’s not at all the case. It’s exactly the opposite, actually, and spring has a multitude of options for you, some of which are completely foreign to the lifetime I spent in California.
I consider myself a pretty aware and knowledgeable sports fan, but sports such as lacrosse and rowing have failed to catch my attention for the majority of my life. But can you really blame me? I’m almost positive ESPN saves their lacrosse footage for the wee hours of the morning as a space-filler for when absolutely no one is awake, so you wouldn’t exactly call me a lacrosse aficionado.
From the limited exposure I’ve had to lacrosse, I’ve always thought of it as a mix between rugby, soccer and golf, but that doesn’t mean much coming from me. The only sports I paid attention to growing up were football, basketball, baseball and occasionally volleyball, mostly because all of those had both professional and college teams nearby.
This made those sports much more accessible and popular, two aspects that are nonexistent for rowing and lacrosse (in California, at least). And what a shame, too, because lacrosse seems to be one of the most uniquely enjoyable sports around, but only half the country is exposed to it.
I’m sure lacrosse teams are abundant on the West Coast, but I can guarantee you that mostly everyone would pick football or basketball over lacrosse any day of the week, and twice on Sundays. Why? Because it’s just not big enough on the collegiate or professional level.
It’s rather unfortunate for someone like me who has such a huge sports appetite and is eager to be exposed to different games all the time. It truly baffles me that foreign sports with such an inherently violent nature like lacrosse and rugby aren’t more popular in the United States, pretty much the breeding ground for all things aggressive (politics, football, Lindsay Lohan’s driving, etc.).
As I said before, lacrosse is a truly unique game, which is great for its appeal but also somewhat difficult when making it attractive to the casual sports fan. But think about it this way: what other game lets its players run around with masks and long, scary sticks? (Bank robbing and Quidditch don’t count as sports.)
Combine that with the fact that the BU lacrosse team recently dominated Yale and Binghamton, and I’ve officially been hooked! Congratulations guys, you’ve earned a new fan!
But for those of you who aren’t big on Bank Robber Quidditch (just go with it) like I am, spring has a few other great sports: softball and rowing.
I’m sure our softball team needs no introduction, because hopefully everyone on the face of the earth knows what softball is. But crew and rowing? Yikes, talk about a challenging subject.
You might not be aware, but BU is ranked No. 9 in the country and just narrowly defeated No. 14 Dartmouth College over the weekend. If you really think that’s not a big deal, ask yourself one question: does beating Ivy Leagues at anything ever get old? Exactly.
Now I’ll admit that I’ve never in my life watched rowing, but it does combine three of my favorite things: competition, the ocean, and muscular men. So where can it go wrong, right? Although no, we don’t have the Winklevoss twins on our team. Bummer, I know!
But have no fear! I’m sure we have plenty of talented athletes with ample amounts of upper body strength and social networking skills on our squad. And thank God, because isn’t that exactly what we’re looking for in our rowers? (I’m 75 percent positive that’s what coach Thomas Bohrer told them on the first day of tryouts.)
I happen to love aquatic sports, so rowing seems to be the perfect activity. And just in time for warmer weather, too! But I don’t think the Charles actually warms up until mid-July, so doesn’t that make their task of navigating those icy waters that much more impressive? Rowers, you have my salute!
So to all you eager, sports-loving Terriers out there, be sure to check out the sports BU offers during the spring. Just because hockey and basketball are over doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the warmer weather. And really, who doesn’t love Bank Robber Quidditch?
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Actually if you really want to know, quidditch actually is a sport now. Started in 2005 it has been named the fastest growing college sport in the USA, not to mention it is also growing in all the other populated continents. This sport is high speed and is commonly known as a mix of Soccer, Rugby, and basketball. It is a high contact sport in which players may tackle each other and the snitch can throw players to the ground, and do basically whatever it wants. If you want to learn more, go to internationalquidditch.org