The Passion of Yale Athletics

The following is a response to an opinion piece that ran in the Yale Daily News last week (View Article Here).  I decided not to submit my response, and instead posted it here:

The interesting thing about the discussions of Yale athletics that have raged in the YDN’s opinion section over the last year is that no one seems to be able to hit on exactly what the real value of athletics at Yale is.  Some non-athlete submits a piece about how Yale athletics should be abolished or turned into something bigger, and then the athletes of Yale respond with their sometimes sarcastic, often insightful articles.  But, the one argument I have yet to hear clearly made, though it is there if you can get past the outrage and sarcasm, is the one that I think is most important: Yalies play sports because it is their passion. 

 It is often said that college football and basketball are much more exciting than their professional counterparts, since college athletes play for the love of the game.  But it is no secret that big time college sports programs generate huge streams of revenue for their universities, and that their athletes are essentially paid through scholarships.  And who is to say that those athletes are not simply playing because they intend on making a career of it.  Now, I do not mean to suggest that those athletes do not love their sports, simply that there are outside incentives as well.  The same could be said of high school athletics.  Many athletes play sports in high school because their school requires them to or because they think it will help them get into college. 

 Now tell me, what incentives are there for Yale athletes?  Sure some of them might not have gotten in to the university without sports (as Mr. Fulmer so eloquently stated last April), but what is to stop them from quitting the second they step on campus, nothing.  There is no risk of losing scholarship or financial aid money.  And sure a handful may be able to continue their sport at the next level, but those spots are reserved for the Righi’s, Lavarnway’s, and Lee’s of the university.  So again I ask, why do Yale athletes play sports here?  The answer is, truly, the love of the game.  I would argue that at no other level is the game played for pure passion, then at a university like Yale.

 Sure, Yale athletes do not have time for other extra-curriculars, but to say that is to miss the point.  They do not care.  Some students run around this campus involved in multiple activities never fully committing to one.  You would think that they would have learned their lesson from the numerous admissions talks they went to when applying to college.  “Don’t just fill your resume with activities, find one, maybe two things that you are passionate about, whatever they may be, and pursue them.”  Well guess what, that is exactly what Yale athletes are doing and that is exactly why they got admitted here.  They have found their passion and they will continue to pursue it for as long as they are students here, even if the only incentive for doing so is the simple love of the game.

So let’s once and for all put an end to these pointless discussions.  Yale athletics is not going to change regardless of how many opinion pieces show up in the YDN.  Yale athletics is here for the same reason academics, drama, music, and debate are here.  Everyone has their own passion and that is why people come to a place like Yale, to pursue it.