If there's one thing that Division I schools seem to have on us it is the excitement and energy of a college game day.
The feeling of getting up early, ecstatic to make it to the tailgate and eventually to the stadium for a struggle against another well-known university seems to exist very rarely at DePauw.
Rather than support our athletics, most students prefer sleeping in and hanging around fraternities or the Hub.
Putting the Monon Bell game aside, there is very little energy at all to support our teams at the level that most Div. I students know every week.
Why is it that excitement for athletics seems to fall as schools get smaller? Div. III sports represent competition in its purest form — there are no financial incentives to play that leave some schools at a competitive disadvantage. Athletes are students first and are generally playing because of their love for the game.
This competition deserves our attention much more than those Div. I athletes playing for the scholarship with their studies second to their performance on the field.
While not all Div. I athletes fit into that category, it is easy to respect Div. III athletes that work day in and day out, on and off the field, to be a successful student athlete.
One common argument for Div. I superiority is the skill level during the games. This argument, though, discounts just how skilled student athletes are here at DePauw and our competition.
Despite the fact that the teams might have fewer resources, there is no reason the games can't be incredibly fun to watch. Think about the famous Monon field goal kick or any of the terrific moments in the history of the Monon Bell game.
It's not all about cardinal skill — relative skill and competitiveness more than makes up for the difference.
The good news for students of Div. III schools: It can all change. If the student body of DePauw were to suddenly take an interest in our athletic teams, it would be a totally different picture.
If people woke up every Saturday to tailgate and attend football games or took the time to go to a cross-country meet or two every season, we would see a much more cohesive and energetic student body.
Petty rivalries between houses on campus could be replaced by petty rivalries between schools in the NCAC, which is a pretty good trade-off in our book.
If we took the time to know our athletes and know the ‘enemy' schools, Div. III sports would be a lot more entertaining to watch. Being at a game where DePauw is playing "the blue team" is hardly interesting in the big picture.
So go to a game or two where we can come together as a campus in an adversarial role against another school and cheer on the Tigers.
It's surprising how easy it is to get hooked on a team if you go to a few games.
Give the volleyball team, the basketball team, even the debate team, a chance at least once per season and perhaps something will catch on.
The more dedicated fans the campus has, the more likely it is that a trend will develop for the campus as a whole.
— Burns is a junior from West Lafayette, Ind., majoring in political science.
— Kirkpatrick is a junior from Overland Park, Kan., majoring in political science.
opinion@thedepauw.com