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Volume CXXXII, Number 11 |
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Intramural ballers better than varsity
J.P. BOX
COLUMNIST
If you're looking for the best basketball players at Bowdoin, you won't find them in the gym five days a week. They're not sweating in the weight room, they're not getting their ankles taped before practice, and they're not wearing any team jacket. They are the Bowdoin College intramural all-stars.
The intramuralers are a collection of former high school athletes who have witnessed the decline of their athletic peak. Their skill and fitness level can no longer match their intensity on the court. But it doesn't matter to this rugged group-their love for the game has grown exponentially, pushing them when exhaustion creeps.
Each player has dealt with athletic failure, but the experience makes them stronger players. Some were never given a chance in high school to showcase their skills, their heart, and their hustle. They spent long hours upon the bench, dreaming of their next chance.
Others were cut in college-they weren't good enough, fast enough, strong enough, talented-enough to play at the next level. But it doesn't matter-their passion, their love, their inner strength has carried them to the land of intramural basketball where pride, passion, and hustle take center stage.
Few players will consistently knock down a jump shot from behind the arc, few players can grab rim or even dunk, and few players can curl off a screen and knock down a jumper with a defender in their face. But it doesn't matter-talent and skill are commodities, not necessities.
Instead, the athletes proudly wear their floor burns like badges of honor, they battle for precious baskets, they fight through moving screens, and they play defense with their pride and heart on display. Every battle becomes personal-a loose ball, a rebound, a contested lay-up, or a drive is an individual test that showcases a player's will to survive.
It showcases desire, passion, inner toughness, and a whole host of intangible qualities that don't appear in the box score after the game. It is precisely these attributes that make the intramural all-stars the best basketball players at Bowdoin College. Their unparalleled intensity carries them into battle and assures their success against more talented teams.
If a group of intramural all-stars were to play the Bowdoin Men's Varsity Basketball Team, they would win. Sure, the real team has better athletes, pure shooters, superior ball handling skills, and a definite size advantage. However, you cannot measure the size of a person's heart until you step out on the floor with them and are willing to battle.
I challenge the varsity squad to a game of five-on-five after their season comes to an end. The real challenge is not in the NESCAC or in New England. The true test quietly resides at Bowdoin College against a group of intramural basketball players.
We are waiting.
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