What’s the Score: Fun to Fun
One of the constants of Grand View’s campus life is intramural sports. Each year, a variety of sports— basketball, flag football, wiffleball and badminton, provide students and staff members with a plethora of options for some friendly competition. But just how friendly are these competitions? Many feel it depends on the level of intensity of the participants. Most play enthusiastically with the spirit of fun in mind, yet some take it to an extreme level.
“Depending on the sport, I would say more than 75 percent of people who play play as hard as they can,” Randy Brigham, a senior who has been a referee for three years, said.
Others who approach intramurals with a relaxed perspective; winning doesn’t mean everything.
“I always like to say that the score is fun to fun,” Robert Secrets (Jr.) said. “I think I have a calm attitude playing because I know it’s not that big of a game, and if we lose, it’s alright because it’s intramurals.”
His sentiments are not shared by everyone, however. Some have only one setting for any competition in sports or in life: full throttle.
“As a wrestler, I love to go hard and never quit or give up,” Ernesto Escobar (Jr.) said. “I do get frustrated sometimes with others’ efforts, but I channel that to help me play harder.”
Director of Residence Life Adam DeMars also plays with reckless abandon.
“For me, to compete at the highest level is where I find the most enjoyment,” he said. “Winning isn’t everything, but I want to push myself to be the best, and that means going all-out.”
It is not uncommon to leave an intramural game with an injury. Bloody noses, sprained ankles and dislocated appendages are a testament to the competitive spirit of these games.
“I was going for a ball, and my left index finger got completely bent out
Pedro Cardoso (Jr.) and David Calderon (Fr.) go head-to-head during an intramural soccer match. // VF File Photo by Mike Kelly
of its socket,” Isaac Lopez (Sr.) said. “I tried to pop it back into place, but it wouldn’t move. It required going to the emergency room.”
Of all the intramural sports, men’s basketball is by far the most intense and draws a large crowd of fellow students. Although the games have been mostly fun and relaxed, things can get chippy.
“Most of our crazy moments come during basketball season,” Brigham said. “That’s when there’s a lot of testosterone on the court and everyone wants to be Michael Jordan.”
Technical fouls, arguments, and even an occasional fight, have all been a part of intramural basketball history. Brigham also said part of the problem with the aggression and fighting came from the fact that anyone, not just Grand View students, could play in the league. This inspired a change in the rules, making participants provide a GV student ID in order to play. The new director of intramurals, Eli Nicholes, said he’s kept the structure mostly the same but hopes to mix things up with new sports and more coed competitions.
So if you’re thinking about participating in an intramural sport this year at Grand View beware. Expect to have fun, expect to be competitive but also expect the unexpected. It’s great for intramurals to be competitive but also its important to remember that, in the end, it’s “fun to fun.”
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