2008 Woodie Awards
My Call to Sports Fans
Rollins may never see this again, ever, so pay attention!
John Ferreira
Issue date: 11/19/04 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 2 next >
Being a Tar Fan is not an easy thing. It is not for those who like the trappings and grandeur of the spotlight. It is not for those who want a team that will always win, or a team that is sure to win. There are bad seasons and there are great seasons, and the worst thing is that we have no idea which exactly is coming. In a school this small, Rollins still stands as one of the most dominant schools in the Sunshine State Conference, consistently placing teams in the SSC tournament and usually having at least one team that makes it to the big stage of the NCAA Tournament.
Since becoming sports editor for this fabled institution, I have been able to learn more about the inner workings of the Rollins Sports World. The word "world" is not an overstatement; the Alfond Sports Center is a universe unto its own. It runs parallel to the rest of the school, which seems to be so worried about books and studies. Sports is much more than leisure to the great people who work night and day to maintain the Rollins sports tradition, which I have detailed in a piece earlier this year.
This is why I am still confounded that sometimes sporting events are not even bleeps on the Rollins Radar. Sometimes I can understand why fan interest is low. Rollins' major sport is golf, which is not exactly a great fan sport. Golf fans are known for being quiet, not for being rowdy. Rollins golf gets much attention from those outside our school and those who know golf, but to the average Tar the team is unknown. Sometimes it is not the team that will attract fans. The new soccer stadium did a great deal to bring in new fans for the soccer teams, and all of the games I attended this season had a good turnout. Yet the people hollered at the game seemed to forget what they saw at the games. What is missing from Rollins is "sports talk." You don't see people excited and talking about our great sports team. If you ask the average Rollins student what the men's soccer team did this year, most will answer with a shrug. The men, by the way, got to the NCAA Tournament, into the second round and won the SSC for the first time in history. They are simply oblivious to the Rollins Sports World, because no one talks about it and no one really seems to care.
Since becoming sports editor for this fabled institution, I have been able to learn more about the inner workings of the Rollins Sports World. The word "world" is not an overstatement; the Alfond Sports Center is a universe unto its own. It runs parallel to the rest of the school, which seems to be so worried about books and studies. Sports is much more than leisure to the great people who work night and day to maintain the Rollins sports tradition, which I have detailed in a piece earlier this year.
This is why I am still confounded that sometimes sporting events are not even bleeps on the Rollins Radar. Sometimes I can understand why fan interest is low. Rollins' major sport is golf, which is not exactly a great fan sport. Golf fans are known for being quiet, not for being rowdy. Rollins golf gets much attention from those outside our school and those who know golf, but to the average Tar the team is unknown. Sometimes it is not the team that will attract fans. The new soccer stadium did a great deal to bring in new fans for the soccer teams, and all of the games I attended this season had a good turnout. Yet the people hollered at the game seemed to forget what they saw at the games. What is missing from Rollins is "sports talk." You don't see people excited and talking about our great sports team. If you ask the average Rollins student what the men's soccer team did this year, most will answer with a shrug. The men, by the way, got to the NCAA Tournament, into the second round and won the SSC for the first time in history. They are simply oblivious to the Rollins Sports World, because no one talks about it and no one really seems to care.