College Tip 5: College Sports and Rivalries

College Tip 5: College Sports and Rivalries

As a Michigan student I know a little bit about college athletics. Surprisingly, I never really cared for college sports until I got to school, but now that I’m here the Big Ten and all of college athletics have become a huge part of my college experience. At Michigan we have some pretty big rivalries going on as well – Notre Dame, Michigan State, and of course Ohio State. Football games are honestly the thing I look forward to the most coming back to school every fall. The atmosphere is great and knowing your team has a shot at a decent bowl game always gets you in a good mood.

Now, my first tip goes out mainly to those of you who aren’t sports fans. I know it may be hard to believe, but some people just don’t really care about sports, which is fine. However, if you’re paying to go to college, especially if it is a division 1 school, you definitely need to at least attend a few games here and there. It is truly a great experience and even if you don’t understand what’s going on the entire game, it’s all about being with friends and other peers that bleed your school’s colors. Also, if you’re a froogle person, attending college sports games are basically discounted professional games, granted not every player from your school will go pro, but the few that will allow you to tell your children that you saw what’s-his-face score the touchdown that landed him the contract with the New England Patriots.

When I get to school I kind of break it down into athletic seasons. First you have football, then, you have hockey, and finally basketball. Hockey and basketball kind of overlap but you get the point. Soccer, baseball, and the other sports are all great to watch too, but I typically stick with the big three. Football season starts off in the fall and closes out with bowl games in January. The whole regular season is pretty engaging, particularly for teams that rank in the top 15. Personally, I hate the BCS system, but anyways, it’s always awesome to pay close attention to rankings and such. Another tip I want to give goes out mainly to guys, but if you’re not the greatest at being outgoing and/or making friends, having a decent knowledge of sports can go a long way in the world of men. I’ll explain this more in depth in my blog on friends, but at bare minimum, knowing if your team is having a good or bad season can kick off any conversation. Hockey and basketball are great to watch regular season, but the excitement really comes during playoffs. Clearly March Madness is a huge part of the college experience. I highly advise you to fill out a bracket and join as many pools as possible come March because really anything can happen, so you don’t have to be a basketball whiz to make a good run at some cash! Hockey is just a great sport to watch because it’s so fast paced. You can’t really argue against the fact that it’s one of the best sports to watch. But when you watch the top teams in the playoffs it really is amazing.

We all know schools have rivals and when it comes to athletics, everyone really gets pumped up for rival games. The whole trash talking for weeks prior to big games is part of the fun of college rivalries. Now, such trash talking should be done in good taste (f*** the F***eyes), but there’s a clear line as to when trash talking becomes inappropriate. I love rival games though because they expose the souls of schools. I’m sure a lot of people will disagree with me here, but I believe that college sports carry the torch when it comes to school spirit. Games are times when you can connect with people of all ages that are proud to say they support your team. They really bring people together and even though Scotty might be a huge doucher at parties, he’ll be cheering and chest-bumping you when your school wins the conference championship. 

Well, I hope you take my advice and watch some games and good luck to everyone with their first college sports experience!