Two Songs to Usher in a New Athletic Year

I’m on my computer a lot, maybe too much sometimes, and like many other people, I listen to music while I surf the web. Generally, I just open my music player and let it shuffle songs for me, which usually creates some pretty weird concoctions of music. It’s jumped everywhere from the Beatles, to the Bloodhound Gang, to Lupe Fiasco, and even Mozart.

While brainstorming for this column, two songs came up in a span of a few minutes that seemed to fit together nicely. The first of the two was Mase’s 2004 hit “Welcome Back,” and the second was “A Long December” by the Counting Crows.
Together, these two songs encapsulate the themes that I’d like to get across by the end of this column.

As you might have already guessed, the first thing I want to say is—in the words of Mase—“welcome back, welcome back, welcome back,” which is directed to all the upperclassmen (sorry freshmen, I wrote you a whole column for the orientation issue). I don’t know if I speak for everyone, but after another summer living in the “real world,” I’m glad to be back.

A few songs after Mase graced my ears, the Counting Crows popped up thinking, “Maybe this year will be better than the last.” When I heard that line, it triggered something in my head to immediately ask myself if Columbia sports fans had reason to believe that this year would bring better results than the last.

For some teams, such as the heavyweight rowing team, the men’s and women’s fencing teams, baseball, and men’s golf, it will be difficult to eclipse their successes last season. With their respective climbs in the Ivy League and the country during the 2007-2008 year, they have proven that they can be more than competitive—they can be the best.

For those teams, the goal will be to remain at the top. But there are two teams that made history last season and could be ready to make even more this year. The field hockey team had a record-setting season in the fall of 2007, as it finished second in the Ivy League. It lost three of its biggest contributors in seniors Erin Boque, Lauren Hanna, and Liz Reeve, but with a talented corps returning, the team has the ability to challenge for the league crown.

Another team that set records and lost some strong seniors is the women’s basketball team. Last season, the Lions posted a 7-7 record in the Ivy League, and it will be interesting to see if they can continue to climb the ranks of the league despite losing their leading scorer, Michele Gage.

In terms of having a better result than last season, I will be interested to see how the football team and the men’s basketball team—arguably the most popular CU teams—fare.

The football team is coming off a rocky 2007 campaign in which it was unable to win an Ivy League game. With the loss of quarterback Craig Hormann, the squad will have to turn to a new, yet-to-be-officially-named play-caller. This will be a big change, but the jury is out on how it will affect the team. There many other reasons why this season should be interesting for the football team, but those are best saved for another column.

With six seniors (four of them starters) gone, the men’s basketball team could be described as a young, rebuilding team. With exciting, seasoned players taking the reins though, this group could have some surprises up its sleeve when the Ivy League season comes around in January.

If you take Columbia sports as a whole, it’s difficult to decipher how this year will compare to the last at this point. Instead of doing all that thinking—you’ll be doing enough of that with classes starting today—take the subway up to Baker Field or just head to Dodge and see what ups and downs are in store for the Lions this year.