On November 12th of this year, a Pomona-Pitzer men’s basketball team score showed up at a rather atypical location: ESPN’s “BottomLine” sports ticker. Perhaps more impressive was the result; the Sagehens kept the D1 Pepperdine Waves to within 10 points, and had even led with eight minutes to go. Exactly one week later, the Sagehens took the defending D3 champion St. Thomas Tommies into double overtime. Earlier in the year, Luke Sweeney was profiled by the Los Angeles Times as Division 3’s leading rusher, and Heidi Leonard broke the Sagehen career digs record. It’s an electrifying time to follow Sagehen sports to say the least.
Despite these achievements, I must ashamedly admit that, like many of you, my attendance at athletic events this year has been poor. As Pomona students, we can easily turn to the convenient excuses of papers, applications, and extracurricular commitments. As Sagehens, we need to recognize that these are selfish arguments to make.
This time, it’s more than just witnessing the incredible personal and team efforts going on this year. It’s more than just supporting your friends. At a time when divisive issues are tearing at our sense of community, we need to unite and realize the things that make us a community in the first place. As groups like “Pomona-Pitzer Super Fans” pop up, we see the piece of Pomona that wants to restore Sagehen pride and solidarity.
Now is the time to go out, get a little crazy, and scream for your fellow Sagehens. I’m challenging us all to put down our books, if for only an hour, and watch as they chase down new records and head for excellence. We all need this, now more than ever.