A light rain falls purposefully down from a lint-colored sky turning the thick grass field into an iceless slip-n-slide. Most of the players aren’t wearing decent shoes; and their battle is thus waged on two fronts, against the ball and against their environment.

While their bodies are covered in mud and slime, their hearts are soaked in desire and emotion. This is the romanticized version of the intramural soccer athlete.

In reality, this description doesn’t hold true to the casual observer. Instead what we see is a reflection of every lost dream, broken promise, and unfulfilled passion. Varsity sports are a cruel, political world, and at one point or another the typical IMer becomes disillusioned with it.

Yet each one of these athletes has persevered and found an alternative way to continue their soccer legacy. In the world of intramural soccer, everyone is a hero, for any hint of soccer talent is a commodity and the life-time JVer can flourish under generally inexperienced competition and lackadaisical officiating.

Yet with past disappointments serving as a humbling mechanism, egos do not abound as they often do in more organized athletics. Each team is required to play at least two women who frequently outshine their male teammates.

This may be a recipe for a bitter battle of the sexes or shameless excuses on why you just got burned by a chick, however everyone is equally respected and given fair credit for their varying levels of skill.

While some may argue that intramural soccer is not a legitimate sport, a more accurate statement is that it is a more convenient and pressure-free alternative to the rigors and commitment of varsity athletics.

Many players dropped the varsity sports they were planning on playing, opting instead for the intramural alternative. Others are turned off by the weight room scene and drift to the friendly soccer field on Thursday and Friday afternoons.

Whatever their reasons, intramural has provided an outlet for even more Pomona students to not only reap some physical benefits, but also to experience, at least for a moment, that feeling of solidarity and confidence that being involved with a team brings.

As I write this article, I have my four best friends yelling, playing, and studying in other parts of the room. We are all together, and as this time happens often and seems status quo, it will always be in high demand and a rare experience.

So as I chose to write in the presence of my own ‘team,’ the IM athletes chose to invigorate their bodies with their fellow soccer comrades.

It’s a lonely world and good friends and general camraderie are in short supply. Intramural soccer is simply one way to combat the solitude that is all to easy to succumb to at this college where sports and the healthy social interaction that come with both playing and spectating are taken too lightly and often substituted for the loose pleasures and superficial merrymaking of the ever-present bottle of beer.

So to those who never gave up hope, never stopped loving the sport, and never neglected the importance of being a team player, I’ll raise my can in appreciation and drink to you.