WU athletes deserve our support
Wednesday, January 26, 2011 at 9:48PM By David Thackham
thackhamd@mytjnow.com
The Winthrop Coliseum easily holds more than 6,000 raucous Eagles fans.
You would think that during a five game winning streak, you would see the home court packed. You’d be wrong. Only 188 people in attendance for a January 11th matchup against Gardner-Webb. Not even the pep band turned up.
The Winthrop Coliseum easily holds upwards of 6,000 fans. So why was there so little interest?
It’s not as if this game was on any sort of school night: Winthrop had recently been blanketed in snow, causing a three- day cancellation of classes, from Jan. 10 to 12. Perhaps you want to play the poor college kid card and talk about how much money it costs to get to games. That’s covered for you, too.
Students get into regular season home games, to EVERY sport for the low, low price of $0. From baseball to track, if you have a ride, you have a seat.
And don’t tell me you “have too much work” to go out and see a game when you know you never will actually start that essay you’ve wasted your time telling everyone about.
How can you ignore so many possibilities to support your athletic peers? Aimee Kline, director of Event Management and Promotions sends out an e-mail each and every week with the scores from all athletic events as well as a detailed schedule for the upcoming games.
As if that doesn’t pull you out from your stuffy room and into the stands, athletics offer students even more incentive, offering prizes for the more games and events you attend (double points for a track meet).
And don’t delude yourself into thinking Winthrop is “not that good anyway.” Our 2010 Big South season champion men’s basketball, women’s soccer and men’s and women’s tennis teams would like to remind you that their work is real, legitimate and keeping Winthrop the “Campus of Champions” that we always pride ourselves on being.
Nevermind that we have two of the fastest track athletes in the Southeast in Jeanne Stroud (3rd place finish in the 5,000 meters at the Hokie Invitational in Blacksburg, Va.) and Keary Simms (defending Big South indoor champion in the 55-meter hurdles).
Never mind that the baseball team is in for a season for the ages as they take on the likes of University of Florida and Notre Dame before a tripleheader over three days against our storied rival, Coastal Carolina.
The passion is intense, the love for the game, abundant. But one question remains for athletes who look up into those empty seats.
What’s your excuse?
