Pat Coleman coaxed me into listening to the end of the Webster-Maryville SLIAC men’s semifinal on Thursday night and I was glad that I did.
The color commentator on Webster’s broadcast, a young lady whose name I didn’t catch, provided quite the entertaining listen. Her commentary wasn’t so much description of game action, but rather sentiments of fanhood. Things like “Ooh…I can’t take this any more” and “I told coach not to put us through this.” When the game ended, and Webster’s unbeaten league season had gone for naught, she barely was able to speak…”No words can describe it.”
Normally, I’m not a proponent of that sort of commentary, but in this case, I thought it was perfectly appropriate. And it sums up why Saturday and Sunday are the two best days of the year in Division III sports.
When I was a student announcer at College of NJ in the mid-1990s, I was the male version of the announcer I heard on Thursday night. Except I kept those thoughts to myself and tried very hard to concentrate on just calling the plays. My junior year, the CNJ (then Trenton State) women’s team went to William Paterson for the NJAC semifinals and took a rather sizable lead at halftime. It was a dominant effort and I enjoyed every second of it immensely. I took off my headset and did something I had never done before or since.
“We’re gonna win,” I said to my broadcast partner with the great confidence and enthusiasm of someone who had followed the basketball teams as avidly as anyone on the campus.
Well, in the second half, the lead shrunk and shrunk, and shrunk, until it was no more. The likes of Stephanie Arrigo, Bridget Brennan and Kathy Sinram (It’s been 12 yrs and I still recall the names) did in my alma mater with some incredibly impressive shooting and very skilled play. I can still see the final play (a missed CNJ baseline jumper attempt to try to tie at the buzzer) like it happened yesterday.
There are moments in which I have been totally crushed as a sports fan…the Knicks losing to the Bulls when Charles Smith had 5 shots blocked in the final seconds of the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals…Carlos Beltran looking at strike three in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS…and this game would rank right near the top of that list.
That may sound silly, but to me, it sums up what this weekend is all about. We don’t have any Dukes, North Carolinas or Memphises in Division III, but we have athletes who care, and fans who care too. And that’s a great thing. There are dozens of championships decided in these next two days. Athletes will be sacrificing their bodies and their minds for the quest of something rather elusive. There are so many ways that you can follow it. If you can get to a game, go. If you can’t, watch or listen and offer support to your team by any means that you can. This is the best time to be a fan and make yourself some great, amazing memories.
I think one of the things that has kept me so into following Division III is trying to recapture the feeling from that day at William Paterson. The recollections of that day rang more clearly in my mind a few hours after listening to that Webster webcast, and I’m glad that they did. Even if it was a little painful, both for myself and the student announcer.