By ALEX MULHALL – STAFF WRITER
Have you ever had one of those days when everything seems to be going right? One of those days where, from the moment your feet hit the floor in the morning, you know that things are going to go your way.
Centre College athletic teams have been having “one of those days” for the past few weeks.
The Centre football team capped off an undefeated season, finshed as the 18th ranked team in the country, and was awarded the best playoff seed we’ve had in years. The Colonels will travel to play fifth ranked John Carroll University.
Centre Women’s Soccer continues to advance in the NCAA tournament after “shocking” the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) by winning the conference tournament as the number four seed and defeating the University of Puget Sound Loggers in thrilling fashion.
Centre Field Hockey has won the SAA, beat a very good Lynchburg College Fighting Hornets team in the first round of the NCAA playoffs, and swept the post-season SAA awards.
However, team was defeated in the Sweet Sixteen by the top ranked team in the country, the Salisbury Univeristy Sea Gulls.
Junior forward Julie Gates was named the SAA Offensive Player of the Year, defender Erin Mays was named SAA Defensive Player of the Year, and Head Coach Jenelle Anthony was named the SAA Coach of the Year.
I wrote in a previous column about how apathetic Centre students are about our athletics. Attendance at games is minimal at best. I’m not saying that students should be putting off their responsibilities to go watch a game.
But just because it’s not the University of Alabama Crimson Tide on the field doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be watching. This is a historic run for Centre athletics.
Unfortunately the Centre football team was not selected to host the first round of the NCAA tournament, therefore this is the end of fall home sporting events.
Luckily, however, the Men’s and Women’s Basketball seasons are just around the corner, and I wholly expect the student section to be rowdy and ready to go. Your’s truly will be there in a bright red “Beat Transy” t-shirt that was passed down from the legendary C.J. Donald (Centre Class of 2014), who served as The Cento’s sports columnist the previous year.
When you come to games, be prepared to heckle your heart out. I was at the SAA Women’s Soccer championship and watched the ladies dominate the Rhodes College Lynxesand while sophomore Destinie Graves put on a goal-scoring clinic against a conference rival, a large group of students stood on the hill and cheered on the home team while mixing in some good-natured remarks at the opposing players.
Nothing we said was in any way, shape, or form was offensive (number 27 for Rhodes just looks like someone who drinks soy milk on purpose).
We were chastised by a school official for singling out individual players on the opposing team.
That’s a problem. I understand the unwritten rules of sportsmanship. Believe it or not, I used to be an athlete. I’ve been on the other side of some very offensive heckling. I know where the line is and I never come close to crossing it.
The same can be said for most any Centre student as well. After all, if we’re good enough people to get into Centre College, we’re probably good enough people to not give this college a bad name at a home athletic event.
There is nothing inherently wrong with heckling. It’s part of an athletic atmosphere. Why do you think home field advantage plays such a strong role in determining the outcomes of games?
If the school plans on cracking down on any sort of heckling or jeering, I’m afraid attendance will drop even farther.
As long as we are respectful and clean, we should be allowed to yell “number 15 listens to Nickelback” during a game.
Even if you’re not comfortable heckling, come support your school. We are dominating the SAA in everything from Cross Country to Volleyball. Our Men’s Basketball team is fresh off an NCAA tournament appearance and our Women’s team is brimming with potential.
There’s something in the water in Danville, and for now, it looks like it’s here to stay.