Before getting to the column this week, I have great news for the Living Wage Campaign. Using my contacts at the NBA, I have been in touch with "living wage" advocate Latrell Sprewell. You may remember that Latrell rejected a $14 million contract offer from Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor on grounds that it would not enable him to feed his family. Latrell has since gone into forced retirement, unable to get a contract to feed his family from any team.
I think Latrell would be a great asset to your campaign. His strategy of choosing outlandish tactics that have little chance to succeed would fit right in with your work. For further info on bringing in Spree, email me.
Now, onto the column. In my four years, I have tried to make it to every single sport we have here at the University, varsity or club. I have managed to get to the big sports: football and men's basketball, obviously, but also baseball, men's soccer and men's and women's lacrosse. I have notches in my belt for softball, men's club water polo, men's club ice hockey and men's and women's rugby. I graduate in a month, so attendance at all of them is clearly not going to happen, but I went down fighting: last Sunday, I went out to Lannigan Field and caught the Onesty/Abramson Invitational Track Meet. It was awesome.
I quickly realized track meets are the ideal sport to take a child with ADD to see. There is always a race about to go off or already going on. Someone is always throwing something very heavy or very sharp. Someone is always jumping high or far. (Or very strangely: seriously, what is the point of the triple jump?)
I have to admit, I was taken back by the casualness of the entire atmosphere. To gain entrance to the meet, I walked directly onto the track. The atmosphere was surreal: I was surrounded by athletes from 40 schools, coaches, fans, all just milling about. Imagine walking into a football game via the field or a basketball game via the court. Competitions like the 1500m would just breeze right through and all people did was get out of the way, and then go back to whatever they were doing. It reminded me of how, in pick-up basketball games, someone always pops out on the empty end of the court to shoot while the game is on the opposite end of the floor.
Track is also, without a doubt, the sport that fashion left behind. I saw uniforms from roughly forty schools, and every one of them was terrible. It wasn't just the cut or the über-short shorts. Everything about them was awkward: the stripes on the side, the color patterns, the logo placement. Uni-Watch would have a field day with them.
My favorite event to watch was undoubtedly the men's 1500m. I still maintain that running is not as strategically complex as hardcore runners would like to think it is, but I did gain an appreciation for "drafting" (like NASCAR, but with people!) or knowing when to "kick," which means hitting the gas down the stretch.
There were other notable things about the meet. One, there weren't really officials, just coaches and assistant coaches running the show. I can't imagine this working in any other sport, but for some reason it makes perfect sense in track and field. Two, track is the perfect sport to turn into a picnic and enjoy the sun. Three, the women who did discus, hammer throw, and shot put were nothing like The Trunchbull from "Matilda" (This was somewhat disappointing actually). In short, track was great. Everyone at the University should try and get to next year's big meet or at least check out a game of some other sport that does not set attendance records.
In other news, this is my last column for The Cavalier Daily. As such, I would like to offer you three simple words of advice that are usable in all life's situations: make a play. ESPN and color analysts everywhere have stolen "making plays" from me, but trust me, me and my friend Rage created this catch phrase. Need an "A" on a final? Make a play. Big project at work? Make a play. Cute girl at a bar you are afraid to talk to? Make a play. I cannot emphasize this enough: life's all about making plays, in or out of sports. So go make them.
To close, it has been a pleasure to write this column. I would like to thank my four wonderful editors who really improved my writing and made every column I wrote much better than when I turned it in, and of course all of my readers. It has been more fun than I ever imagined, and I am really going to miss checking in with you all twice a month. Have a good one.
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