What I’ve come to appreciate most about student athletes is the connection we everyday students have with them.
After a great win or bad loss, student athletes, including those who may end up turning professional, still have to come to class and may even have sat next to you. The common goal we all share is basically the same: to at least pass.
Right now, I’m in a Math 106 class with guard Aaron Brooks, wings Chamberlain Oguchi and Churchill Odia, running back Jonathan Stewart and wideout Cameron Colvin.
I shared a media ethics class with quarterback Dennis Dixon and guard Bryce Taylor last term.
Of course, I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. You’re in these classes and you see the student athletes balancing athletics and academics, too. It’s a task that I give them a lot of credit for.
I’m cheering for them during games so, trust me: It takes every fiber of my prudent side to keep me from pulling a freshman stunt like walking right up to Brooks and asking him about Washington guard Ryan Appleby. I’ve got to remind myself that these athletes are in the classroom, at least in part, to ensure their status as academically eligible athletes. Their academic success can dictate whether or not they are able to entertain us. Oregon lacrosse coach Jen Larsen said her players end up bringing their laptops on long road trips and doing homework on the plane or in the hotel. Most athletes do all they can to do well on and off the court or field, but being on a team can be just as fun as it is tough.
“There’s not much you can do,” Oregon guard Malik Hairston said. “You try to get ahead. To be honest, I love it. You get to miss some school. But it’s kind of tough to have to make it up but it comes with the territory.”
Saturdays at McArthur Court or Autzen Stadium are amazing, but the weekdays where we all shuffle into class are the best. When the athletes and I are in Fenton Hall for math class, we share the same coach (our math professor), practice times (10 a.m. to 11:20 a.m.), opponents (difficult exams) and challenges – like ways to cope with exponential growth and natural logs. Come class time, some of Oregon’s best athletes become our teammates.
I’m curious about what Stewart is feeling in the fourth quarter of a close battle, but I’ve never faced a 230-pound linebacker or been talked about on ESPN. We can still relate though. We’re both grinding through one more agonizing section of Math 106, and it’s likely that we’re equally excited about geometry.