Many St. Lawrence students had Thursday, Feb. 21 circled on their calendars since the beginning of 2019. The date has an importance for ex-high school athletes and competition-hungry souls akin to that of May 5 for party-goers and February 14 for lovers.
Feb. 21 marked the beginning of the 2019 SLU Intramural Basketball season, bringing sweat and laughter to the doldrums of the North Country winter.
The sound of dribbling on the Augsbury tennis courts began at 8:12 pm and extended well into the evening. As the clock approached 9:00 p.m., the small group of short, pale freshman missing layups and three-pointers at half court grew to a small crowd of football players, computer programmers, fraternity brothers, business majors and stoners. Some stretched, others pounded their chest to Lil Yachty, and by soon, the games began.
Opening night featured six games, each of which lasted approximately 45 minutes. The games included the much anticipated matchup between Run Like The Winded and Basketball Your Eyes Out, and a battle between BTD and Colten Rock Cockets. Due to limited media accessibility, the final scores cannot be confirmed.
The scores, however, were secondary to the primary attraction: the players. Men of all shapes and sizes met between the baselines for a night of pit-stains and red cheeks. Short scrawny men with patchy beards attempted to crossover 6 ft. 7 in. athletes with hair like Wilson in Cast Away. Mustached men put their hands on their hips, catching their breath, while ex-high school players held onto the rim after missing a dunk.
In the bleachers, a small group of bored friends were on their phones and devoted girlfriends watched intently, commenting on the exhaustion of their loved ones on the court. At halftime, players visited with the crowd, barely able to talk amid the downpour of sweat and struggle for oxygen. When players did speak, they said something like “I need water,” or “the refs suck.”
I represented The Hill News on Sunday, Feb. 24 for postgame interviews with some of the players. The most exciting game was between The Ruckus Bus and Priest Gang. Priest Gang won the physical game by three points, relying on sharp cuts to the basket and a gaggle of players on the bench.
Many players were optimistic despite their physical exhaustion. “It was great to be out there,” said Ethan Eastwood ’22, combo guard for The Ruckus Bus. “My stamina was minimal but we’ll bounce back. We’re gonna be sick by the end of the season.”
Most of The Ruckus Bus team members blamed the officials for their loss. “The refs called some poor fouls,” said Wallace Hurry ’22, self-proclaimed sixth-man of the year candidate for The Ruckus Bus. “They couldn’t keep an eye on who was out of bounds and they didn’t know how to blow a whistle.”
The other team had different thoughts on the outcome. “It was the first win of my intramural career here at SLU,” said Ben Barba ’22, power forward for Priest Gang. “The other team sucked though. We have a lot better players than them.”
The intramural league, although not pretty at first glance, adds vibrance to the campus. It would be hyperbolic to say trash talk unites Laurentians, but the camaraderie creates at least a small sense of excitement. The odors emitted from the players in some way combat the increased feelings of isolation for many students around campus.
While it may be easy to dismiss the SLU Intramural Basketball League as a joke, it is important to remember why these diverse groups of men dive on the courts and sweat through their shorts on Thursday and Sunday nights: they love the excitement of sport.