Splendor on the Grass

All you have to do is look around.

They're here. Harvard's intramural athletics are now on the fields around the stadium. Soon they'll be in the squash courts of Lowell and Adams and Dunster, in the IAB, and they'll probably even be in Briggs cage this winter, or maybe next winter, or the winter after that. Who knows when the roof will really be done.

Anyway, intramural sports are a perfect opportunity to release some of what midterm pressure without assaulting your roommate. Besides, anyone can play.

"Intramural athletics are an important part of Harvard's philosophy of 'athletics for all,' says Intramural Director Floyd Wilson. "We try to provide something for someone to participate in no matter what his or her ability."

Indeed, the variety of sports offered here is tremendous. From tackle football to road runs to fencing, there are activities for the frustrated high school soccer star as well as the French Lit enthusiast who wants to know what the sword work in The Three Musketeers is all about.

After deciding where you fit into the Harvard intramural athletic scene, the only other thing is to find out what time the game starts and then go out and play.

Sure you might say you get plenty of exercise running from your room to the Hong Kong or during "indoor, coeducational, contact sports," but seriously, what about the "thrill of victory and the agony of defeat." There must be something pretty appealing about competitive sports if that guy on "Wide World of Sports" comes back every week to fall of the bottom of a 90 meter ski jump.

Think about it.

And if I haven't convinced you by this time to get out of the stacks and out into this beautiful Indian summer to play intramurals, you're probably a varsity athlete (and ineligible to play in your specialty) or you probably think that sports are only for jocks. Don't believe it. It's not true.

Look at Eliot House. The place where some people are complaining about "dripping sweats" at dinner produced the second best intramural program last year and perennially has one of the stronger programs in the college.

Intramural sports are for everyone and therein lies the beauty. The interhouse games cut across the accepted stereotypes and boundaries that separate Harvard into self-contained groups. They give you a chance to see your peers outside of classes, meals, and social functions. Somehow, it's comforting to know that the guy or girl you thought pretentious or maybe dull loves to play volleyball--just like you.

In any event, intramural athletics are there for the taking. The next games are probably posted in your dining hall or someplace you walk by every day. Check 'em out.