That's right, no more Dartmouth football. I'm sure this news will come as a shock to the student body, because we have so many adamant fans. Just look at how many came to the games last year!
What's up with Dartmouth sports fans (or the lack thereof)? If you think about it, we fans comprise a weird cross section of the campus community. There are the hard guys who are always drunk at the football (and hockey) games, even if the kickoff (and face-off) is at noon on Homecoming Saturday. And then there are the friends of athletes who awkwardly hang out in the squash stands with their buddy's mom who came up for the weekend, to whom they ineffectively try to explain the reputations of AD versus Chi Gam. And of course there are always the older community members who bring their kids to see a soccer game but sit too close to the student section too close for their kiddos' impressionable young ears.
Despite the interesting dynamic at most of the games, the student body could obviously breed better fans. But what makes fans "better?"
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Numbers. Why don't more students bother to attend a game or two? We can't complain that the athletics facilities are too remote take it from a hockey fan who lives in the River. Even at Michigan and Cal Berkeley two universities with massive campuses countless numbers of fans show up to support their teams, from football to women's lacrosse.
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Intensity. Sure, we may not be as competitive as Michigan or Cal football, but we aren't trying to be. We are a small liberal arts college in the Northeast. Please acknowledge this and then get serious about the kind of competition we do have other equally (ill)equipped colleges who hate us and an Ivy League full of kids who are bred to think their "shit don't stink." The potential for really intense fans is there. Just look at our recent hockey game against Yale.
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Willingness to watch new sports. I just started going to squash matches this year, and I love it. If you're looking for something new, check out rugby we compete with America's best teams in the College Premier League, which includes Penn State, Ohio State, Army and Navy.
Watching sports is a good thing. It is the "alternative social space" that no one talks about. Frats and pong and sketchy dancing may seem like enough to sustain a social life, but if you are looking for a place that is just as open for hanging out without alcohol (re: sobriety at sporting events April Fools!), then go to a baseball game.
Here is the Dartmouth sports fanscape that I dream of: Students of the future will attend as many sporting events as pong tournaments, and they will exude enthusiasm (meaning that they talk trash directly to whomever we are playing). Fraternities, which currently only endorse drinking before hooking up, could help to reshape our sports culture to include drinking before watching sports. If you easily tire of being the belligerent drunk that no one likes at the party, try being a belligerent fan.
Great fans are what make many college sports more fun to watch than their professional counterparts. According to squash player Chris Jung '14, "The fans definitely play a part in some of those close wins."
I was kidding about the football team being cut by the way. Will you be at the next game?
