The Colorado College Tigers haven’t had much to celebrate since winter break commenced on December 19. The Tigers kicked off the new year on national television in borderline-embarrassing style. In Omaha, the Tigers conceded a hat-trick to the number one scorer in the country, Ryan Walters, and gave up two more goals to freshman Tanner Lane, who hadn’t scored all season. After 60 minutes of hockey, the Tigers began the 2013 season with an 8-4 loss. The next night? Same story. CC got their first goal from senior Will Rapuzzi, but allowed a shorthanded goal in the second period, and then two more in the third to go to 0-2 for their record in 2013.
Since then the Tigers have been more competitive, going 2-2 in their past 4 games against WCHA rivals North Dakota and Minnesota-Duluth. The Tigers, however, have skated off the ice victorious in only two of their last eleven games, which quite honestly gives me little to write about. I could talk about the negatives and try to make sense of the perpetual losing. I could tell you readers about how our Tigers rank close to dead last in team defense, or, I could mention the positives. I could talk about how our top line of Rylan Schwartz, Will Rapuzzi, and Alex Krushelnyski continues to tear up the stat sheet, or how Mike Boivin is putting up ridiculous numbers for a defenseman – especially on the power play.
This week, however, I’m delving into the “in-case-of-emergency” vault of column stratagem – I am going to simply write about the ups and downs of being a sports fan and the rules every sports fan must follow.
It is currently a very exciting time in sports. The Super Bowl is less than two weeks away, college hockey playoffs are on the horizon, the Knicks are winning, the Lakers are losing, and, of course, the NHL is back! Oh, and last, but definitely not least, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition comes out on February 12. During a time like this, it may be easy for CC hockey fans to stop going to games and revamp focus elsewhere. For those of you who are thinking like this, let me quote Bluto from Animal House: “Did you say ‘over’?… Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!” This is the most important rule of being a sports fan – “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
As a sports fan, it is your duty to root for your team through thick and thin; it is your duty to root for one team, and one team only. You cannot hop on and off the bandwagon based on how your team is doing, and you never give up on a team unless it is ABSOLUTELY warranted – like the ’07-’08 Knicks. I don’t care that you’re from Minnesota, or you have friends on the BC hockey team. If you go to Colorado College, you root for the Tigers, and if you call yourself a sports fan, you will not give up on this team.
Alex Woolford
Staff Writer