That's a RAP: Complete Your Harvard Experience by Appreciating Athletics

Countless classes, instructors and students have affected our lives here at Harvard, molding what would become our college experience.

And although we have all shared many of the same experiences in our four years in Cambridge, one aspect of college life that you many have missed proved to be one of my most cherished: athletics.

I am not a varsity athlete. My athletic career encompasses only my weekend warrior outings to the Malkin Athletic Center and various intramural sports. The college as a whole, however, is home to over 1,000 varsity athletes competing in 41 different sports--most of any school in the country.

And while it may be true that the competition level of many big-name sports here are not up to par with those among the nation's elite, in my four years, Harvard athletes have provided numerous memorable moments on the field of play. Well, at least for those who cared to watch.

Whether there as a reporter or as a spectator, I have been one of the select few present to witness the heroics of many of our hard-working classmates, often referred to as "jocks."

Jock. The word is all fine and good, but at Harvard it often takes on a negative connotation with which we are all familiar, and surprisingly not all too ashamed to use.

Nonetheless, I'll remember the performances of our remarkable jocks who balanced a Harvard schedule with a rigorous, year-round physical regimen, producing countless sports memories for less-than-supportive fans.

Last year, the women's hockey team brought a national title to Harvard after an exceptional 27-1-1 season. But despite dominating throughout the season and maintaining the No.1 ranking nearly all year, one would find more families from the neighborhood at the games than Harvard students.

The Harvard baseball team won the Ivy Crown in two of our four years, reaching NCAA postseason play, but by the looks of the crowd at O'Donnell field, it seems unlikely that anyone actually knew about it.

The women's soccer team has also been spectacular in our tenure here, winning three Ivy championships and finishing No. 9 in the country this season. But again, aside from a few games, the stands were filled with only friends and family.

Fewer still had the pleasure of watching the nation's best collegiate tennis player last year, the now-departed--and current professional player--James Blake '01, who wowed the sparse Crimson crowds en route to winning two NCAA grand slam events and finishing with the No. 1 ranking.

In fact, aside from The Game--which one can argue is never actually seen by an undergraduate anyway--athletics is largely ignored by the majority of Harvard students.

At Harvard, especially, it is often easy to forget that there are worthwhile pursuits outside of academics.

And many here, I'm sure, have noticed that there is a tendency to dismiss all that is not done in the pursuit of "higher learning." In other words, at Harvard, sports are deemed unimportant, uninteresting and, at best, meaningless.

Sure, in the end does it really matter much if the hockey team beats Cornell? No. But, honestly, it matters about as much as doing all of the problems on your physics problem set.

Not that sports are for everyone. There are far more useful things in society than the playing of games. But studying literature is not necessarily one of them.

The simple fact remains, that athletics, as much as any intellectual endeavor, can and does have a remarkable effect on those who choose to involve themselves.

Those who participate build bonds that last a lifetime while learning trust, loyalty and teamwork--all attributes that would serve anyone in life. And values often missing at Harvard.

And in a time where the distance between parents and children is often troubling, one can witness a bond form between father and son, mother and daughter, or even mother and son around athletics--whether as spectators or participants.

Additionally, there are few social arenas that break through the barriers of class, race and education than the world of sports. In fact, professional sports leagues forced integration before the government of the United States did.

Anyone who has ventured to Fenway Park to catch a Red Sox game would have spent three hours shoulder-to-shoulder with lawyers and janitors, blacks and whites, cheering and applauding together.

An experience like that is as unique as you'll find in your time at Harvard, where it often seems that academia--amidst a fairly homogenous population--is one's only road.

The point is not that all should follow sports, for as with anything else, what's right for one is not necessarily right for another.

But as we move beyond Harvard's walls we should look outside of our own focused universe to the other things the world has to offer. What you find may be more meaningful and educational than any class at Harvard has ever been.