Warning: What you are about to read might sound like the sentimental ramblings of a college senior trying to hold on to his glory days as they slowly come to an end. But it’s not.
College is an awesome time and it goes by too quickly and as a senior you will sit wondering how you got to your final year without realizing where it all went. Sports-wise this is equally true and as a sportswriter entering my last year of school, I like to look back on the excitement of the past three years and reminisce. I also have to wonder where this year will lead, because our teams are showing a lot of promise.
Now you might not think this now, but college is one of the last times that you will have a chance to go crazy about sports and feel free to do so. This is your school and the sports teams that represent Georgetown will come to mean a lot more to you than just entertainment. These are the teams that you will brag about at parties when your other friends from home, who go to their obviously inferior schools, try and talk smack about G-town sports. These are the teams that you will shed your blood, (maybe that’s pushing it), sweat and tears for as you follow them throughout your life. These are the teams that during your four years at Georgetown, you will no doubt make a fool of yourself for. Don’t regret it. It is your duty as a Georgetown student and a pre-requisite for graduation as far as I’m concerned.
So for all you first-years, this article is a warning. Don’t let your first year of school go by without getting out to a Georgetown football game. There is nothing like getting up at 10 in the morning after a night of partying and throwing back a few refreshments with friends as you watch your school’s team kick the crap out of their Patriot League counterparts. It’s truly an awesome sight to watch and the best cure for a morning hangover.
Don’t let your first year go by without getting out to a basketball game at McDonough or the MCI Center. You can see the Hoyas take on opponents like the Ukrainian National team or go four OT’s against Notre Dame. That game, while being a heartbreaker, was a match you would have remembered for the rest of your life.
Don’t let your first year go by without traveling to an away game or a tournament game (God willing) and wearing your G-town colors in a sea of opponents who are all yelling at you to go home and take off your face paint. And let them know what you think about them when the Hoyas beat them in their own stadium.
Don’t let your first year go by without playing an intramural sport. These four years might be your last chance to play sports competitively before you are playing in the 40-something softball leagues or the retirement community tennis and golf tournaments.
Don’t let your first year go by without getting out to one of the many sporting events happening in the D.C. area. The teams might not be great, but if you’re from Philly or New Jersey, which most of you are, then you are used to that already.
And last but not least, don’t let your first year go by without sitting up late one night, or many nights, talking to your friends about sports. It is the ultimate bonding experience and one which has brought me many a friend during my time here.
Scream loud! By season tickets for any Georgetown team’s games, because they are all awesome! Piss off people with Duke shirts and people who think that UConn and Syracuse are the teams to be feared in the Big East. Tell a few Notre Dame fans that you think Rudy sucks and so does their basketball team as the final seconds tick off the clock when Georgetown beats them this year. Join Hoya Blue. Or don’t join Hoya Blue and show them that you don’t need to sit in the front row to make your voice heard. Come to homecoming and cheer the football team. Be the fan of the game at a basketball game. Be the fan of the year. Write about sports for one of Georgetown’s papers. Write to one of Georgetown’s papers to tell them they don’t know jack about sports. Whatever you do, make sure to get involved in Georgetown sports because you will not regret it. Have a blast at Georgetown and I look forward to seeing you at one of the games. But don’t let me find out that you aren’t coming out or I’ll have to come and find you because I don’t want you to miss out on the fun.
