When I was eight years old, I played on a Little League baseball team, whose name I don't remember. I made the League's All-Star game no big deal and at the end of the game the coaches gave the players a baseball scorekeeping book. I was thrilled since I could now watch games and write down the stats of every player.
Naturally, I whipped out the scorekeeping book for the World Series. My hometown team, the Florida Marlins, was playing against the Cleveland Indians and I found it necessary to finally put the book to good use. I convinced my parents to let me stay up late so I could write down all the stats that happened during game one of the Series. After the game finished, I was so proud to have all the details and was excited to show my friends.
The next morning, I opened the sports section of the newspaper and saw something I guess I had heard of before a "box score" and it had all the stats I had stayed up writing. I obviously was livid and could not believe I wasted almost four hours of my life writing down numbers that people were already getting paid to keep. My father, however, convinced me that I had demonstrated I was a real fan because I paid attention and watched the game, even if I couldn't go. That's right, I was a true fan.
When I arrived at Dartmouth, I quickly realized the student sports fan base was almost non-existent. Games that are known as rivalry games in other larger schools draw thousands of fans, who tailgate prior to the game and get raucous during the action. The Big Green fan base, however, is usually quite disciplined and well-behaved during these games, apart from the handful of students who actually understand the meaning of being a true fan.
The idea of being a fan isn't getting up the next morning and reading about the events that occurred during the game the night before. If the opportunity to show your team pride is present, as it is for every Dartmouth student, then a real sports fan should attend the game, belting out chants and cheers to let his team know that he's rooting for them.
Think back to your high school graduation and how your family showed up and shouted like maniacs for you. Now imagine another scenario you're walking up to receive your diploma and no one is there to cheer you on. Sure, you'd be happy that you're graduating, but who's there to see it? This is what Dartmouth athletes face every time a weak crowd shows up for a game.
Granted, the performances of the Big Green teams recently haven't exactly riled up Dartmouth students. We might be experiencing the worst season of athletics this school has seen ever.
Nevertheless, we should stand behind our teams, because when you lost the spelling bee in the fifth grade by misspelling the word "friends," your classmates still clapped for you as you sat back down. We, the students, are those classmates. Although our peers may have misspelled a word or allowed three goals in a period we need to show our appreciation for the efforts they give.
There have indeed been flashes of great student support and excitement. Shirts and signs were made for the men's hockey game against Princeton a couple weeks ago. The struggling Big Green lost that game to the Tigers, but the crowd was into the game and provided the enthusiasm that is usually absent.
Dartmouth attempted a comeback in the third period, cutting the deficit to one goal. I'm not saying the crowd was the reason for the second burst of energy, I'm sure it made a difference.
If I had a crowd cheering for me, I would at least check an opponent into the boards and discretely flash a thumbs up to the crowd. Then again, I don't play hockey you win some, you lose some.
Dartmouth students should continue going to big games, because those are the ones that our peers prepare for the hardest. If students go the games, hang out and get involved as a united crowd, who knows? Maybe victories might start piling up, and soon the Dartmouth sports arenas will be packed with students cheering on their peers. And although I'm not saying we should all take scorekeeping books like I did as a kid, we should at least bring our school pride and powerful lungs to support our fellow student-athletes.
