It's officially time to grab that net and go catch that beautiful butterfly, because spring has arrived. And it feels incredible. This weekend almost felt like the start of a new term.
If there's one thing at this school that you can't protest, it's good weather. Whenever the sun is out in Hanover, everybody just seems happier. Winter was great I'm not like Lil' Wayne, I get love from all of the seasons. But like my man Bryce Harper always preaches; suns out, guns out, and it's time to rock and roll.
Walking around campus this weekend there was a certain buzz in the air. Golfers out teeing it up at the links. IM softball in full swing. And my favorite part about the weekend, the amount of support I saw for Dartmouth athletics.
Saturday was the best day of my life. Well every day pretty much is, but Saturday was special. I've never stormed a field or a court in my life and Saturday my dream was finally realized when I thought the men's lacrosse team beat Brown University on a buzzer-beater by Chris Costabile '13.
There was no hesitation after Costabile put it in the back of the net. The crowd was storming the field and when we did, it was maybe the best feeling I've ever felt in my life. And I wasn't even playing in the game!
Even though the goal was ruled to have come after the end of regulation and we went on to lose the game in triple overtime, the referee can never take away that adrenaline rush. Before the game, the 2003 men's lacrosse team was honored for winning the Ivy League Championship and I even saw some of the alumni rush the field.
On that 2003 team was All-American goalie Andrew Goldstein '05. If you haven't seen Goldstein's goal against Syracuse in the NCAA tournament, search for it on YouTube now. It's unreal, and Goldstein wasn't only the first goalie to score a goal in an NCAA tournament game in three decades, but he was also the first openly gay athlete to be drafted into a pro sports league.
I'm not sure if Goldstein was back for the weekend and charged the field with the rest of the fans. But if he did, it would have been an honor to be with him. Goldstein revealed his sexuality to his team after the 2003 season and at the time, according to ESPN's Greg Garber, "[Goldstein was] the most accomplished male, team-sport athlete in North America to be openly gay during his playing career."
In an ESPN television showcase on Goldstein's story, "Goldie" talked about how difficult it was to reveal his secret. Back in 2003, there weren't many publicly gay athletes. Garber mentions David Kopay, Billy Bean (not to be confused with Oakland Athletics General Manager Billy Beane) and Esera Tuaolo as athletes who came out of the closet after their careers were over. And I don't know about you, but I haven't heard of a single one of them.
I have however, heard of the Washington Wizard's Jason Collins, who on Monday became the first active player in a major American team sport to announce that he is gay. Many of you reading this probably have no idea who Collins is and I don't blame you. He's averaged a measly 3.6 points per game during his NBA career. But I used to look up at his jersey, which hung up in the rafters at my high school at basketball practice.
Just the other day I was reading an article by ESPN's LZ Granderson about gay athletes titled, "No Perfect Time." Granderson argues that throughout the history of sports and other significant firsts, such as breaking racial barriers, it's not about the right time, it's about the right person. He cites Jackie Robinson, the first black player to play Major League baseball, Don Haskins, the first basketball coach to start five black players in the starting lineup and Rosa Parks, who famously refused to sit in the back of the bus. Robinson, Haskins and Parks each respectively embraced their moment. Rather than the right moment embracing them.
Could Collins, who went to my alma mater, be the right person to open the channels for other athletes who remain in the closet to come out? Goldstein's peers on the Dartmouth lacrosse team accepted him, but will the Washington Wizards and the rest of the sports world embrace Collins' decision?
Only time will tell, but hopefully Collins will fall into the same lineage that Anderson discussed. Because just like the weather is changing for the better in Hanover, potentially the world is too.
