Saturday, April 10th, 2010: I wake up at 11, ready to take in as many Sagehen sporting events as I can. The baseball game starts in a few minutes, but first I have an important engagement at Frary with some huevos rancheros. I tell the lovely lady working the card-swiper that I’m going to watch our mutual friend James Brunswick pitch. She tells me to cheer him on for her, and that she wishes she could watch the game (and see James and all the other guys in their uniforms). These kinds of things are what I love about athletics in Claremont. We’ve got a tight-knit community in which faculty, staff, and students from all athletic backgrounds develop personal connections with athletes.

For comparison, let me offer up the story of a friend of mine at the University of Washington who almost lost his mind with excitement when Jake Locker, the NFL-bound star quarterback of the Huskies, took a dump in his bathroom. That sort of adolescent fawning and empty adoration isn’t what Sagehen athletics are all about. The beautiful thing about our sports culture is that the athletes aren’t inaccessible superstars who take sacrosanct shits. They poop just like everyone else. Sure, some Sagehen athletes (like Drew Hedman PO ‘09, who on this very same Saturday went 3-4 with 2 doubles for the high-A Salem Red Sox and was named Player of the Night by SoxProspects.com) are legitimate superstars, but they’re integrated into our community in a way most D-I schools could only dream of. Having the chance to know these athletes off the field gives their on-the-field accomplishments more meaning, as these aren’t deified strangers we’re watching. They’re our friends, our lab partners, and our regrettable hookups. They’re people we care about.

We’re down 2-1 when I arrive at the field. Apart from the oppressive brown smog on the horizon, the atmosphere at the game is great. A good number of Redlands fans made the journey west to cheer their Bulldogs on. A father and son seated to my left wearing Redlands maroon quietly mutter under their breath about balls and strikes. My friends and I aren’t too concerned about the strike zone or the score. We’re just excited to see our buddies out there on the field.

Nick Frederick PO ’11, whom I grew to be friends with during Orientation Adventure training this past fall, comes to the plate to cheers of “NICO!” and “Battletastic Frederick Improved!” from the Sagehen bench. The father of Sagehen third baseman Teddy Bingham PO ’11 is one of many parents who pack the stands every weekend at Sagehen baseball games. Every time Nick comes to the plate he shouts out his trademarked line of encouragement, “You’re my fave, Nick!” However, on this Saturday, Nick’s suitemate/life partner Jon Gottfried PO ’10 screams it out first and beats Mr. Bingham to the punch. It’s way more fun to root for a guy you have to share a bathroom with every day than one whom you’re considered lucky to have shared a toilet seat with once.

Next inning, Sagehen starting pitcher James Brunswick PO ’10 retakes the mound. Off the field, I’m trying to get James to hurry up and finish his Peace Corps application so that we can hang out in Africa next year. I don’t mention it now, and instead send him his friend at the dining hall’s regards. When he makes it out of the inning, Alex Etzkowitz PO ’10, a friend of James since the first grade, remarks confidently, “This is exactly the kind of game our team finds a way to win.” He’s right - the baseball team has been clutch-as-can-be so far, with an impressive group of underclassmen filling in admirably for last year’s stellar graduating class. They’ve come through over and over again this year but can’t pull out a win today, as Redlands takes both games of the double header.

After the first baseball game ends I make my way down to Strehle Track, where the Pomona-Pitzer Track and Field Invitational is taking place. It looks more like a carnival than a track meet. Brightly colored tents and flags cover the grounds and hundreds of people watch and compete. In the distance, the long poles of the pole-vaulters look like the lances of knights about to joust. On the field, javelins fly through the air as the measuring crew deftly avoids impalement. Right in front of me, ringleading meet directors wearing bright red jackets and fancy straw hats shout directions into microphones and fire pistols in the air. Behind them a group of giants spin with a grace usually reserved for the ballet and hurl cannonballs that I’d struggle to lift.Sitting on the hill to the north of the track, I have the best view you could ever ask for. I can watch as the runners of the 400 meticulously adjust their blocks and get set, their every movement part of a meticulous ritual of preparation. I can see the complete contrast after the race, as they attempt to congratulate each other, clumsily missing high-fives and nearly collapsing in exhaustion.

I can also see more of my classmates competing. People like Claire McGroder PO ‘10, who Facebook-friended me before freshman year had even begun. (I haven’t forgotten, Claire!) She runs in the first heat of the women’s 400 and holds her own with an Olympian from Chad, who takes the race. Running in the men’s 800 is John Mering PO ‘10, who did 10-mile workouts in the Utah desert while we were out collecting samples with our geology class. In the women’s 800 is Elena Brandford PO ’10, who showed up at the softball field after the meet to watch my friends and I participate in one of the Claremont Colleges’ more notorious Saturday sports traditions. These kinds of personal connections are what give Pomona-Pitzer athletics their magic. There’s a sense of community here that makes Sagehen sports special like nothing else I’ve experienced.