Instead of getting a jumpstart on their art history reading, most Jumbos will spend their entire three-day weekend celebrating the first week back on the Hill. The Daily suggests that these revelers kick off the festivities by attending the women's basketball game tonight at 7:00 p.m. in Cousens Gymnasium.
It's going to be a heck of a game. Currently, the Jumbos are ranked 14th nationally - the best in program history - and their adversaries of the evening, the Amherst Lord Jeffs, are ranked 22nd.
In case those stats bear no significance for you, let us rephrase: Of approximately 450 Div. III women's basketball teams in the country, Tufts is in the top 15. Both the Jeffs and the Jumbos are undefeated, so tonight one of these powerhouses will have to fold and, in doing so, relinquish conference supremacy. Is that not the very definition of competitive thrill?
Of course, if past attendance is any indication, we doubt that many of us will be there to see it. It's a poorly kept secret that sports don't exactly figure prominently into the social life at Tufts. After all, we are but a lowly Div. III institution, and nobody cares about D-3 sports, right?
On the contrary - when the Lord Jeffs host our men's basketball team in Amherst tonight, LeFrak Gym will probably be busting at the seams with screaming supporters. Apparently, the fans at Amherst aren't upset by the fact that they're watching Div. III sports; on average, the Lord Jeffs drew about 36 percent more spectators to their men's basketball games this season than their Jumbo counterparts.
It's not just the men's basketball team that's suffering. When Tufts football beat Trinity on Oct. 13, becoming just the second team to defeat the Bantams in Trinity's last 42 games to that point, how many of us can say that we were in the stands?
And when the field hockey team opened what would become a spectacular NESCAC season by defeating nationally-ranked No. 5 Middlebury - the Jumbos' first victory over the Panthers in 22 years - were we cheering them on? Will we be able to tell the grandkids that we were there in person to see sophomore Cara Cadigan of the women's soccer team break Tufts' 26-year-old single-season scoring record against Conn. College on Oct. 28?
Probably not.
Why do Jumbos lack the school spirit of their peers at other NESCAC schools? Sure, watching Tufts pull out the win over Trinity isn't exactly the same as seeing Michigan play Ohio State, but when it comes right down to it, a game-winning touchdown is still a game-winning touchdown, whether you're watching it from the vastness of the Big House or the friendlier confines of Zimman Field. (Just so you know, Zimman is Tufts' football field.)
At the moment, we don't have much of a fanbase at Tufts, but we shouldn't be afraid to start one just because we think Div. III sporting events aren't worthy of our attention.
After all, they're good, fun games and they're even important on the national level from time to time. So what are we waiting for? Let's don our best brown-and-blue gear, paint our faces, make banners, get psyched and head down to Cousens tonight to yell ourselves silly in support of the Jumbos.
It's just one game, but it's a start.
