Katie Jensen
Equinox Staff
Two days ago, every Keene State College baseball fan had their T.V.s on, watching the Red Sox take their fourth World Series Championship.
According the 2017 Keene State College Factbook, approximately 43 percent of out-of-state students are from Massachusetts, which adds up to a lot of Boston Red Sox fans.
Although sports are competitive and controversial at times, it truly brings the community together to celebrate. The topic of sports appeals to all types of people, whether it’s going to the game, watching it on TV or creating a fantasy league with friends. When someone chooses to support a specific team, they automatically become a part of a community.
Sports are a topic that many people can bond over. Many of us grew up idolizing certain athletes like Lebron James, Michael Phelps, Shaun White and many more. This is often what drives a person’s interest to learn more about a sport. Eventually, the more they know, the more they can engage with other people about it.
Last year, the 2018 Super Bowl brought New England Patriot fans to their knees when the Philadelphia Eagles won the game, 41-33, in a crushing fourth quarter. But win or lose, the important thing is that friends and family had the opportunity to bond over common interests. When there are a group of people watching a game, it often comes with a lot of cheering, high-fiving, hugging and nacho-eating. High stakes games provoke a lot of tension, however, nothing beats screaming at the referee through the T.V. with all your friends backing you up.
In my experience, having knowledge about sports has helped me break the ice and develop deeper friendships over the years. It may also benefit you in unexpected ways, which I realized through the course of my summer internship last year. On the first day of my internship, my boss brought the other interns and I out for lunch. It started off as a very awkward lunch, since most of us were too intimidated to speak. However, my coworker, Casey, broke the ice by talking about a Celtics game he recently watched on T.V. Eventually, more people chimed in to comment about the game, as did our boss. This was a very smart move on Casey’s behalf since he demonstrated confidence and social skills by introducing a conversation. Even though I did not have much to say, sports is a topic that most people can relate to and easily converse over.
Many colleges and universities in New Hampshire celebrated last Wednesday when the Red Sox won. Thousands of people gathered at the University of New Hampshire on Main Street, cheering and setting off fireworks. Plymouth State University also celebrated the win, but things eventually got out of hand when students threw bottle rockets and started vandalizing school property. It’s good that no such occurrence happened at Keene State College and that we reacted with pride and dignity. So to every KSC sports fan, keep watching and keep cheering with your friends!
Katie Jensen can be cotacted at
kjensen@kscequinoxcom
