Rants
On Trying — And Failing — To Be Good
By Cole Stallone, Opinion Editor
I played baseball for eight years growing up. It was one of my favorite sports; it consumed my free time and occupied my dreams. I loved baseball but baseball did not love me back. I was terrified of getting hit by the ball; I’d been hit a few times by a wayward pitch and it is not a nice feeling. When I was playing in the field, my coaches put me on third base; we’d really have to be losing for me to be able to make a decisive play. Eventually they felt my talents were better suited for the outfield, where all Little League hopes and dreams go to die. Despite the demotion, my dwindling passion for the sport was sustained by one person: my mom. No matter the weather, location or time, my mom drove me to every single game and cheered me on the whole way through — even after I’d strike out. Her support lasted until high school, where being good at baseball became an actual factor in whether or not you got to participate. Shortly after, I figured my skills were more suited for another sport: bowling, which I did for the entirety of high school. In other words, I guess it makes sense that I’m a history major.
On NYU’s Never-Ending Football Jokes
By Abby Hofstetter, Opinion Editor
I am here to say one thing and one thing only: I have had ENOUGH of the NYU Football jokes. One joke would suffice — perhaps two. But it’s gone too far. The NYU Bookstore has more apparel dedicated to NYU Football than they do to Liberal Studies. I get it! We don’t have a football team! We also don’t have a reasonable tuition rate, but it’s not like the bookstore carries FAFSA jerseys. Not only are NYU Football jokes lame and unoriginal, they’re also just not funny. Please, anyone who still makes them: get a better sense of humor.
Raves
On the Joy of Covering Sports
By Bela Kirpalani, Sports Editor
I always tell people that one of the reasons I love writing about sports so much is that sports touches upon almost all aspects of life — race, politics, entertainment and incredible feats of human achievement. As a kid who grew up reading ESPN religiously, I never could have imagined that I would one day have the opportunity to tell the stories of inspiring athletes or analyze the problems with sports culture. I feel pretty lucky to be doing what I love with the support of some amazing people at this newspaper.
On America’s Favorite Pastime
By Benjamin Michael Davis, Deputy Sports Editor
My favorite sport is baseball. This is a generally unpopular opinion, and given the joint occurence of Staff Rants and Raves being about sports and the most exciting season in MLB history currently sliding into the postseason, I would like to take this time to say that people who don’t like baseball are really dumb and should change their minds immediately. They say the game is slow, but that just gives you time to check Twitter while watching. They say the game isn’t exciting, but in the past year alone, four teams broke the record for home runs in a season. Name something more exciting and fast-paced than a home run. I dare you. There is no reason not to watch baseball this October. It has all the storylines and drama of any other sport. Younger underdog teams are trying to take down historical and recent juggernauts. Unexpected players like Jack Flaherty on the St. Louis Cardinals, Hyun-Jin Ryu on the Los Angeles Dodgers and DJ LeMahieu on the New York Yankees are having incredible years. Unexpected teams like the Minnesota Twins and Tampa Bay Rays have been able to take what seems like a collection of nobodies and turn them into a playoff team. NYU students even have the opportunity to see a lot of Yankee games in person — if you consider the two home games they’ll play before getting swept by the Twins as a lot. We’re in the middle of a new golden age of baseball, and more people need to take notice.
Opinions expressed on the editorial pages are not necessarily those of WSN, and our publication of opinions is not an endorsement of them.
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