New York, NY -- I'm going to put aside the video game talk for a little while and talk about something a little more pressing: NYU sports. Check in next time for a column about professional gaming.
Still with me? Great.
I love hockey. I've loved hockey for a long time. My father played hockey, my brother plays hockey and I would play hockey if I didn't have the athletic ability of an immobile jellyfish.
Thus it was needless to say that when I came to NYU as a journalism major, I was going to write sports. I applied for the hockey beat, and as the only other people that care about hockey are the players and their girlfriends, I got the job.
So almost every home game, I see NYU's hockey team play against other schools. Sometimes they do bad, usually, they do pretty friggin' good. That's how it goes.
Yet I feel as if every time I come home, I have a story to tell someone. Especially after the NYU hockey brawls that occurred Oct. 17 and Oct. 19 - I told my friends about broken noses, players ejected from games, goalies taking swings and a freshman player who likes to call himself "Black Ice." And I always hear "Oh, man, I wish I was there for that" or "That would've been cool to see" or "We have sports?"
Naturally, when it comes to students at NYU who don't care about sports, I have a large supply of "I don't give a rat's ass" for them. That's cool. If you want to say that sports deride the educational experience, feel free. I'm not twisting your arm to get some free weekend entertainment. But when I hear people say that they wished they were there, I've got to ask myself: Why weren't they?
C'mon, folks. NYU sports are not these mysterious and well-hidden activities. Most dorms and the two gyms have postings all over the place for sports teams. The postings have dates, times and even details for people who want to join teams that haven't started yet. The teams are all readily available, and tickets are free. You don't pay anything to get in. There's no cover. There's plenty of seating.
Contrary to popular belief, the NYU sports teams do not all suck. Our hockey team is currently 5-1. Last year, our swimming teams performed fantastically. Our fencing team is Division I and hell, after seeing "Kill Bill" twice, I might even become a fan.
Now, while I can't speak for all sports, NYU hockey players are tough. There are a lot of hits on ice. Violence may not be a regular occurrence, but when it happens, our players hold their own. Hell, even our goalies aren't afraid to get into the mix. These are games worth seeing.
When I do see NYU students attend the games, few leave early. There's screaming and shouting and it's good entertainment.
And with games like Sunday's, where the gloves come off, it's just plain fun. So next time you pick up the paper and see a sport you liked in high school, how a good team is playing, or an epic battle between the metropolitan forces of NYU versus a scenic Pennsylvania valley school and you wish you were there, take note. The home games are nearby (hockey games are at Chelsea Piers) and the teams are better than you think.
Sure, apathy may be in style at NYU when it comes to sports. But apathy won't let you see Kristopher "Black Ice" Marsh beat the living bejesus out of a Lehigh University player who made the mistake of touching NYU's goalie.