While some of us spent the last three weeks catching up on all of the Bravo TV shows we have missed out on at school (my favorite is clearly "Project Runway"), others were busy practicing and perfecting their athletic skills. The men and women of the various AU sports teams spent their days out on the playing fields, working hard to bring home wins so that non-athletes had something to brag about to their friends at those Big Ten schools like Michigan, Ohio State and Indiana.
The men's basketball team defeated Maryland for the first time in 80 years, becoming the first Patriot League school to defeat a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Eagles also held the lead midway through the first half of the game against eighth-ranked Georgetown, while defending NCAA National Champion Josh Glenn of the wrestling team was the first Eagle to ever win the Midlands Tournament, one of the most prestigious collegiate wrestling competitions in the country. While all of this hoopla was going down, a majority of us, myself included, were home snuggled up in our sweats doing the farthest thing from exerting energy out on the court or the mat.
To honor these hardworking AU athletes, we should start by lending our support and heading to the game. What better time to start than this weekend, when our highflying Eagles on the men's basketball team face their rival Colgate?
If lending support isn't enough of a reason to get you out there, here are 10 other reasons why you should head to the game:
1) Photo-op with Clawed. Who wouldn't want to get their picture taken with that fun-loving, feathery creature? Who knows, if it's a good one, you could turn it into your Facebook picture and make all of your friends jealous.
2) It will be a chance to break out all of those royal blue- and red-colored clothing items you have in the back of your closet. When else is it appropriate to dress up in an outfit that is almost as patriotic as Uncle Sam's?
3) The "Hey Song." Oh wait, we eliminated that.
4) Free pizza! Or free smoothies! It doesn't really matter what it is they're giving out, as long as it's free, right?
5) Body paint. When else can you fulfill your Blue Man Group calling?
6) You'll have an opportunity to make some fast cash from your friends. Take bets on how long it will be until Jeff Jones, head coach of the men's basketball team, yells at one of his own players.
7) Brian Gilmore. Enough said.
8) You'll have the chance to shake along with the dance team. It could be like one big dance party, and who doesn't enjoy a good dance party every now and then?
9) If basketball isn't your thing, perhaps math is. Take a time-out from watching the game to count the large number of empty seats in the visitor section. There are so many, chances are you won't be done until the final buzzer.
10) If shaking your thing with the dance team isn't reason enough to go to the game, how about this: An opportunity to finally use all of those cheesy toothpaste jokes you've conjured up about Colgate.
So whatever your reason is for going to the game, just do it. Now more than ever, the Eagles need our support, and it is our rightful duty as fellow students to give it to them.
