I am standing on the beach of Lake Natoma in Gold River, Calif. The weather is stunning: 85 degrees of sun under an interminable blue sky. The tops of my feet are red, not used to
flip-flop weather.
The race has already started, and spectators crawl out from the shade of the tents into the sun. Colors blend together as fans and supporters look toward the giant video screen at one end of the beach. Blue for Yale, Cal and Michigan; red for Wisconsin, Stanford and USC; orange for Virginia, Tennessee and Princeton; purple for Williams and Washington; green for Michigan State; and brown for, well, Brown. No assigned seats here. Commingling is strongly encouraged.
I stand fewer than 100 meters from the finish line, my viewing experience limited to the giant screen, thinking positively over the public address announcer’s race call. It doesn’t look good right now. Stanford, in the banana-yellow boat, is struggling with the torrid pace Yale has set. The Bulldogs’ pace is a taxing 40 strokes per minute as they lead the rest of the boats into view of an anxious crowd …
Lake Natoma, home of the Sacramento State Aquatic Center, was the host venue for the NCAA Women’s Rowing Championships over Memorial Day weekend. Athletes from Divisions I through III came together to crown champions in the sport over three spectacular days of competition. Spectacular, weather-wise and otherwise.
My dog in this fight is the Cardinal. My cousin, Julie Smith, is the fourth seat in Stanford’s I-Eight, or varsity eight, boat. This weekend marked the first time I’ve seen my cousin compete.
… All six boats are running parallel to the beach, and Yale is still far ahead. But two boats are making waves: Virginia is on pace to challenge the Bulldogs, while Cal — the Pacific-10 Conference team champion by a half-point over Stanford — has separated itself from the Cardinal and USC …
Julie has always been an exceptional person, but I’ve admired her as an athlete for her relentless drive. She knows no gear other than overdrive, no other intensity level beyond full effort.
Small wonder, then, that Julie holds North Carolina high school records in the 50-meter, 100-meter and 200-meter freestyle swims. She won 12 state championships at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh, competing in the U.S. Olympic Trials for swimming as a 14-year-old. When decision time came, she committed to swim for Stanford, a perennial title contender in the sport.
Julie is one of the toughest athletes at any level that I’ve ever known. And she loves to compete.
… Yale looks untouchable, as Virginia cannot gain ground on the hard-charging Bulldogs. Cal’s sights are on Princeton, holding a comfortable third place. Stanford and USC are now neck-and-neck, trying to avoid the ignominy of a last-place finish in the Grand Final. The crowd continues building up the volume …
Julie left the swim team after her freshman season, for personal and medical reasons. She would not be done with her athletic career, of course; she quickly found a home on Stanford’s rowing team. Julie is 6 feet, 1 inch tall, with strong arms and shoulders; rowing was an obvious physical fit.
Several weeks after taking up the sport, Julie found herself on the Cardinal’s varsity eight, competing at NCAAs. The I-Eight won the Grand Final race, and Stanford was crowned national champion.
This year was about defending the title, and I wanted to be there. This would be the closest I could get to one of Julie’s meets within the boundaries of school.
… There would be no more position changes, as Yale, Virginia and Princeton cross the line in succession. Cal follows up the procession for an easy fourth place, with the Cardinal edging out USC for fifth. Stanford would place fourth in the overall standings, with Virginia — athletes sporting black “YL1” patches on the backs of their singlets — claiming the national title.
We write a lot in these spaces about the intricacies of sports, the politics of sports, the finances of sports, the injustices of sports, and the elite levels of sports. Every so often, we write about the purity of sports.
We rarely, if ever, write about the sheer enjoyment of sports. We write what we know, what we’re comfortable with. In the spectrum of college athletics, it’s easy to be comfortable with certain big-time sports as other minor sports struggle to draw fans. I’ve often been asked, why should we care? Why should we support the sports that do not make money? After this weekend, I have a ready answer: competition.
We should prize the ability for collegiate athletes to compete in the sports they love. We should recognize them when they compete to the best of their ability on their biggest stages. Most importantly, we should not overcomplicate matters.
As you embark on your summer vacation, I encourage you to attend a sporting event and enjoy it. Don’t think too hard. Just soak in the action, celebrate success and applaud honest competition. You should come out of the experience with more appreciation for the institution of sport.
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