As the last home basketball game of the season approaches, I am faced with a harsh reality: For the rest of the season, I will have to watch my team play on TV. While sometimes this is almost as fun, the overall experience can never compare to being able to attend games in person. And I'm not talking about just basketball -- football, baseball, lacrosse, anything. We have it all, and I'm determined to see all of them at least once.
College sports bring people together. Win or lose, your school is still your school, and your fellow classmates are you fellow classmates. There are very few students who are fair-weather fans. You're all proud of your university, and sports is one of the huge ways to unite the student body. For the rest of our lives, we are going to have memories of tailgates before football games, cheering as the basketball team runs out and shading your face from the sun while you're outside watching men's lacrosse play.
As a girl who actually likes (and watches) sports, I believe that sports are a great way to be involved. For people who don't want to volunteer, or join every club offered, sports are an easy alternative to still be involved in what's going on on campus and be able to cheer on your team no matter the score. On game days at UNC Chapel Hill, you can feel it in the air. Everyone is invested, and it's pretty clear when game time rolls around and everyone on campus is wearing your school colors.
Maybe it's just me, but I think that there is something magical about college sports. Your friends, your classmates, getting to live out their dream at such a young age. And you, whether you are a quasi-fan, an athlete, or a dedicated game-goer, are still part of this amazing thing that we call sports.
