There are eight seconds left. Your team calls a timeout to set up the game-winning play, except you really have no idea who should shoot the ball. Regardless, you tell your teammate with the hot hand that it's up to him. You run out to the court, inbound the ball, and your teammate airballs the shot. Game over. Thanks for playing.
Does this sound like one of your classic high school basketball games? It probably does, but this is not any silly childish basketball game. This is a typical situation seen during intramural games. Although a trip to a high school district championship game is not on the line, intramural games still mean a lot to students who decide to partake in these athletic competitions. You'll see students laughing and not taking games seriously, but you can also definitely count on students lunging their bodies just to get a loose ball.
Bruises and scratches are a small price to pay for playing the sports you love with your friends. There are several aspects of intramural games that make them as exciting and meaningful as we take them to be. Allow me to tell you why these games matter almost as much as pong games to those playing in them.1. Pride
One of the main reasons why students sign up for intramural sports is to play competitive sports against their friends. You've definitely traded stories with your friends about how you played against your high school's rival and performed at an elite level. It's not that we're living in the past when we talk about our glory days, but it's that we're all extremely proud of our achievements, and the only way to put the skills you've talked about so much to the test is to compete against your friends and see who comes out on top.
Even though we've all lost a step and perhaps lost some of that muscle that made playing sports an effortless affair, we're all committed to giving it our all when we're playing against our friends. Cramps ain't no thang when it comes to getting that "W" because it's all about pride. You surely do not want to lose and then have to put up with all the smack talk that will certainly come your way if you tally up a loss in an intramural game versus your friends.
Another factor of the pride involved with intramural sports has to do with team names. If you take a gander at the list of teams, you will without doubt see an assortment of names that are associated with dorms, class years, fraternities, sororities and then of course the random and supposedly witty names. You definitely want to choose a name that will make your opponent weigh their chances of winning, because "Freshmen Boyz" is not scaring anyone.2. Exercise
Lifting and running on the treadmill can get somewhat dull after a while, which is why intramural sports is a welcome change. Lace up your sneakers, cleats or skates and you'll be ready for some fun exercise. You may not know exactly what the total distance is that you ran or skated, but your body will be definitely let you know you just had a great workout when you wake up the next day and your whole body is sore. If you're a student who has let gym time fall to the wayside, intramural sports are the perfect opportunity to break a sweat and get your weekly exercise.3. T-Shirts
Let's be honest if you don't have an intramural sports champion shirt yet, you will definitely want one. Even though wearing the shirt out in public might be frowned upon, it's still a classy shirt as long as you don't wear it in your fraternity's composite picture. Wearing it means you are a champion you played enough games to receive a shirt in your Hinman box for having played for a championship team. Professional athletes receive championship rings after winning it all, but I'll settle for an "Intramural Champion" shirt and call it a day.
Intramural sports mean a lot to me and I'm sure they do to you, too. When I receive the blitz regarding the time for the next intramural game, I drop everything on my schedule to make sure I'll be at the game. Play more intramural sports and give yourself a chance for a championship. Still, don't substitute intramural sports for pong. Come on, you have to have priorities in life.
