Approximately three months from now, I'll compose one last sports brief and that will be it. My reign as one of the creepiest people on this campus will be over.
After covering DePauw athletics for this publication for over three years, I've become well-acquainted with a number of student-athletes, coaches and members of the athletic department. Admittedly, though, a good chunk only know me as that girl from The DePauw who stalks them by phone and by foot, recorder in hand.
I've come pretty far since my days as a timid freshman reporter, when stringing together a few insightful paragraphs about a tennis match required hours of agonizing over word choice. Beyond learning about field hockey penalties, Monon Bell records and the best ambushing strategies for post-game interviews, I've realized something far more important – it's not just about me.
I used to wonder why, being the sports nut that I am, I passed up going to a large, public university for a Div. III school in rural Indiana. During my stint as sports editor, I wondered why few people could be bothered to read my section. I hadn't even considered how our student-athletes must feel when they look up and see 20 people in the stands.
Sean Sornsin, a baseball player at Cornell College in Iowa, wrote an article about his experience as a Div. III student-athlete. It has since become the mantra of Div. III student-athletes, coaches and athletic conferences across the country.
"It's not about getting a scholarship, getting drafted, or making SportsCenter. It's a deep need in us that comes from the heart," Sornsin wrote. "We need to practice, to play, to lift, to hustle, to sweat."
If you look beyond the surface level – past Blackstock's small capacity and no-frills scoreboard, the forest surrounding Boswell Field that swallows up every errant soccer ball and the rumored holes in the roof of the Lilly Center – the distinct charm of DePauw's athletic program is there, waiting for us to recognize it. So too is our university's success on the field.
By my count, student-athletes in the class of 2011 alone have been a part of 23 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference titles and made 30 NCAA Div. III tournament appearances. That's in addition to five straight SCAC President's Trophies and countless individual accolades and achievements, and I'm not even including this year's winter and spring seasons.
"We train hard, lift, throw, run, kick, tackle, shoot, dribble, and lift some more, and in the morning we go to class," Sornsin continued. "And in that class we are nothing more than students. It's about pride – in ourselves, in our school."
If Sornsin's words ring true, and I believe they do on this campus, then there are certainly ways we as a community can show greater support for our student-athletes, coaches and athletic administrators. Strike up a conversation with the golfer in your biochem class. Listen to this weekend's broadcast of the basketball games on WGRE. Heckle the outfielders on the opposing team (within reason).
As for me, I can only express my appreciation for the small role that my reporting – however creepy – and my spectating have been fortunate enough to play during my time here.
Whether you're the ultimate DePauw sports fan or someone who doesn't know a touchdown from a turnover, we all have something to learn from our university's strong tradition of athletics.
— Gaber is a senior from Granville, Ohio, majoring in English writing. sports@thedepauw.com