Towards the end of last semester, on the weekends, there was one place you could count on me being — Francis Field, watching the WashU women’s soccer team absolutely dominate.
As the soccer season carried into the cooler months and my halftime snack went from a hot dog to hot chocolate, excitement in the stands grew. With the team’s sights set on the program’s second-ever national championship, every playoff game brought higher stakes. Would the Bears keep up their unbeaten regular-season streak? Would they make it to finals? Would they surpass their runner-up placement from the year before?
But I noticed, when I left the bubble of the bleachers, something strange happened. It was like the Bears’ incredible run wasn’t happening at all. There was little fanfare about their remarkable successes, and when I did hear someone talking about an upcoming game, it was almost always an athlete on another team.
When I talked to friends about the women’s soccer season, they often had no idea that the team had even been doing well. So here I am, to make an argument that many have made before, to tell you that this is the semester you need to start being a die-hard WashU sports fan.
I could relay statistics for days about how a stronger sports culture fosters community, a sense of belonging, and institutional pride. But I don’t think I need to — we all know the feeling of being part of something bigger than ourselves. We feel that camaraderie in extracurricular clubs, in struggling through exam prep with classmates, or even when everyone descends on Mudd Field for WILD.
Standing in a crowd as everyone focuses their nervous energy on a moment that will make or break the whole season is as good as it gets. And trust me, those moments happen here. Take, for instance, last year when the men’s basketball team sank the game-winning shot in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with two seconds of overtime left on the clock. It was a nail-biting finish that sent the Bears to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2009, and sent the crowd straight to storm the court.
If WashU teams were constantly struggling to get a win under their belt, I would understand the indifference. But our teams are just plain good.
In fact, every winter sports team at WashU is currently ranked in the national Top 25. Women’s soccer wasn’t the only team to win big this year — the women’s track and field team took first at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Our women’s and men’s basketball teams both made the NCAA Tournament last year, and the latter entered conference play fifth in the nation. Individually, our athletes set division-wide records, earned coveted national awards, and hit major career milestones.
I don’t believe the popular narrative that WashU students are, at baseline, too dorky to care about sports. Instead, I see the problem as a lack of social momentum that brings people to watch the games. Attending sports games is part of a larger culture, and the less enthusiasm we see from the people around us, the less likely we are to care about making the effort. As members of this community, I think it’s more than time to turn that around.
Students often lament, understandably, the death of third spaces where they can socialize in an affordable and accessible manner, while continuing to overlook games for what they can really be. Want to socialize but still go to sleep early? Watch a basketball game and be in bed by 9 p.m.? Not old enough to go to bars? The only ID you need at the Field House is your WashU-issued one. Hate paying for an Uber to Pyramid events? Students get into all home varsity games for free.
And I wouldn’t be doing my job as a Student Life editor and enthusiast if I didn’t note here that we make it easy to stay updated and invested in the world of WashU sports, with game recaps, Athlete of the Week interviews, and long-form pieces about interesting sports news.
We cannot continue with this age-old excuse that WashU simply isn’t a sports school. It’s uninspired. So set the culture yourself — wrangle a group of friends, dig up a green or red shirt, and bring the energy.
There are only two things necessary to make a college into a “sports school”: great athletes and great fans. WashU athletes have shown us, time and time again, that our school has the first part in spades. So, when are we going to finally show up with the second?
Tags: bears, campus, culture, school spirit, Sports, washu bears
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