This past Sunday, students anxiously awaiting the first snowfall of the year were finally granted a taste of white weather. From my warm vantage point in a Harbin common room, commanding a view of the entire football field, I was treated with a scene that delighted the sports fan within me.
It wasn’t the phallus that spanned much of the field, although its artists should be commended on the skill with which it was created, if not on the subject it depicted. What delighted me was the irregular pattern of hundreds of footprints across the snow, evidence that despite her best efforts, Mother Nature could not possibly bring an end to outdoor sports.
Whether inspired by the ongoing conference championship games or simply by a need to be out in this year’s first substantial snow, football games, soccer games and the like raged all across Harbin and Kehoe fields on Monday.
Consider the advantages. Warm, puffy clothing acts like football pads, making it safe to practice your best Brian Urlacher tackle on your roommate. With a soft, snow-covered playing surface, you can do your best Peyton to Marvin impression and lay out for a catch without fear.
Not a football fan? Snow is the great leveler of every sport. The soccer game that I watched might have had five Ronaldinho-caliber players in it, but I couldn’t possibly tell as each person was equally humbled by the slippery snow.
Add to this weather-induced equality the constant possibility of a random snowball fight, and you have what is probably one of the greatest winter activities imaginable.
The short burst of flurries in the NFC Championship was the last snow football we will see on television this season, as the Bears and Colts will travel to sunny Miami for the final encounter. But there is no reason why the next big snow shouldn’t set the stage for any number of mock Super Bowls on Harbin Field.
It’s easy to shy away from the wet and cold and stick to the television this winter, but the real sports fan knows that snow is nothing but a natural padding for the would-be all-star in all of us. So lace up your boots, zip up your snow pants and tackle somebody.
