Editors' Note: Former and current editors, columnists and reporters of The Dartmouth Sports section from the Class of 2009 were asked to reflect on their experience with Dartmouth sports during the last four years.
I came to Hanover four years ago thinking that the climate of the Upper Valley would not differ greatly from the climate of Boston just two hours south, but by February 1, 2006, I had realized my mistake and immediately started looking for ways to migrate south for the next winter. For me, the difference between 20 degrees and 10 degrees was too much to handle, even if my freshman winter was "mild" relative to other New Hampshire winters.
I ended up being abroad both my sophomore and junior winters (in Rome and New Zealand, respectively), and was, for the most part, unable to follow any Dartmouth sports, let alone cheer on a team.
My only regret from those terms was that I was unable to go to Dartmouth hockey games.
My freshman winter, I went to every home (and one away) men's hockey game, and loved every minute of it. I was never a huge hockey fan, having grown up playing basketball, but realized at Dartmouth how awesome the sport is.
I played hockey with my freshman floor on Occom Pond and in Thompson Arena, and began to understand and enjoy the game more and more.
When I went to Dartmouth games, I often showed up before the puck dropped and saw the team introductions. If you have never been there to see this (and I'm guessing most of you have not) you need to go, because at least for me, it was a somewhat magical experience.
The lights are turned off in the Arena as "Where the Streets Have No Names" by U2 begins to play. As the guitar and drums fade in, a student skates onto the ice under a lone spotlight with the Dartmouth flag, leading the team out of the tunnel.
Both teams skate a couple of laps on the fresh ice, and the grace and precision of this routine continually amazes me. I don't know exactly why, but to me, it is one of the most beautiful things in all of sports.
For some reason, that introduction has always stuck with me, and every time I hear U2 now, I think of that moment.
But on that note, my greatest Dartmouth sports memory was actually a series of memories, all having to do with Dartmouth hockey my freshman year.
The first I've already described. The second is of the Dartmouth vs. Princeton game that same year. I'm not sure if it had happened before in Hanover, but it was my first experience with the "white out" phenomenon where everyone in the stands wears white clothing and was the first time I took part in the tradition of throwing tennis balls onto the ice after the first Dartmouth goal (I can't get in trouble for this, right?).
The game turned out to be a thriller. After the great David Jones '08 scored late in the first period, the barrage of tennis balls that covered the rink was an awesome sight made even better by the sea of white shirts from which the balls came. When Dartmouth ended up winning 2-1 in overtime, it was the loudest celebration I've seen at any Dartmouth sporting event.
The team went on to win the ECAC regular season that year, surpassing Cornell in the standings with two wins at home in the final weekend. It was the culmination of my favorite Dartmouth sports season. Sadly, I missed the majority of the next two seasons because I was abroad, but perhaps it was a good thing because there was no way they could have compared with that first season.
