Student apathy at Tufts sporting events

In my three and a half years as a sports writer for The Tufts Daily, I have witnessed the highs and lows of many teams. Unfortunately, sometimes it feels like I am the only person outside of the actual team members, coaches, and family members who has been there to witness them. And, in my last sports column of the semester, I'd like to address the problem of apathetic or non-existent fans here on the Hill.

This fan apathy is not limited to one team. I have covered women's swimming, men's basketball, women's basketball, men's tennis, men's cross country, women's softball, men's soccer and I have written about or attended a number of other sporting events and noticed the same problem _ nobody goes to the games (or the events).

Perhaps, this apathy, this lack of togetherness, stems from the fact that the Tufts campus itself is fractured _ half of it is in Medford, while the other half sits in Somerville. Maybe people at Tufts are not interested in watching athletics. I've heard people say that if they wanted to go out and support the school teams every Saturday, they would have gone to a Division I sports power.

Could it be that students at Tufts don't have time to attend sporting events because they are too busy studying? All you need to do is take a walk down frat row Thursday through Saturday to put that thought to rest.

I suppose having a fairly large city like Boston just minutes away is not conducive to fostering a frenzied sports environment. Students at Tufts have options not available to other NESCAC opponents or many Division III schools for that matter. Hell, why watch the good old Jumbos when you can just take the T to town and watch the Bruins, Red Sox, Celtics, or go the MFA, Faneuil Hall, the Boston Commons, etc.

What does someone at Williams, for example, have to do on a Saturday morning other than walk around the approximately one street that comprises Williamstown? Answer: not much. So I guess it may partially be the lack of a city that causes students at Williams and other small schools to attend their school's sporting events, but I don't think that's the only reason.

What it comes down to is the fact that students at Tufts have no school spirit.

To be honest, I think that many people at Tufts view their four years here as a breakdown on the road "bigger and better" things. Why immerse yourself in the community when you didn't want to be here to begin with? You just sort of ended up here because our competition down the street couldn't find it in their hearts to accept you. Now, you are doing the time and then getting the hell out.

So because you are bitter, you choose not to embrace your University. Let me tell you a few things, and in the process I'm going to give you all a much needed self-esteem boost. Tufts is no slouch of an institution _ embrace it. Secondly, you are not too cool to go to a Tufts sporting event, either as part of your weekend, as a nice evening event or a precursor to bigger, drunker festivities later in the evening. Watching sports at Tufts is free (except when the University tries to charge a few dollars for big games _ but I won't go there in this column), fun, and worthwhile.

Only two times in my nearly four years that this University have I felt a part of something huge on this campus _ during my freshmen year when DEF Jam was broken up by the cops and the party moved outside. TUPD stood around the congregation of hundreds, not sure what to do as we shouted, "Hell no, we won't go." Sure, this was a near-riot (or as close as a couple hundred smart kids could get to having one) and pepper spray was used (though definitely not needed) on the crowd, but it was awesome. Tufts students actually chose be a part of something bigger than themselves.

The second instance was an event that was probably viewed a lot more favorably by TUPD, the administration and the parents of underage students. This event to which I refer was the 2000 NCAA Division III Women's soccer finals _ a game in which Tufts came seconds away from winning the national championship. There were thousands of people at the game.

People who didn't give a rats ass about soccer came because they wanted to be a part of something big. Even, our most famous student, Jessica Biel (who may or may not be a soccer fan) made an appearance. I thought that that school pride, that desire to be a part of something would carry over to other sports _ but it hasn't.

Sure, it's Division III, and the athletes on these teams don't get paid, don't get scholarships and for most of them, it's their last hurrah in the wonderful world of competitive sports. In other words, they compete simply for the sake of competing. Who wouldn't want to go out to the courts or the fields to watch that. Imagine people competing because they like to. Well, open up your eyes _ no imagination is required.

And guess what? We actually do have some pretty good teams, athletes and coaches. The sailing team competes in Division I and is consistently ranked as one of the best teams in the nation. Nate Brigham recently placed 11th at Division III Nationals for Cross Country, the women's soccer team made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Last year, Dan Callahan was drafted in the 21st round by the Arizona Diamondbacks and this year Brian Shapiro, who also plays on the basketball team, might follow Callahan's lead into the world of professional baseball. New women's basketball coach Carla Berube was a teammate of Rebecca Lobo on UConn's 1995 undefeated National Champion team.

These are just a few names and highlights. Chances are good that you've missed most of these events or haven't gotten a chance to see these athletes or coaches perform. So next time you are complaining that you are bored or that there is nothing to do at Tufts _ take my advice _ gather some friends, paint your bodies brown and blue and head to a Tufts sporting event.

We might not have huge stadiums or 40,000 students, or a smorgasbord of future professional athletes, but there is no reason we can't turn Tufts sporting events into campus wide parties _ or at least preparties.