We just witnessed arguably one of the best fall sports seasons in Brown history. Even moving past the obvious accomplishments of the Ivy champion football and soccer teams, both the volleyball and field hockey teams had great seasons - the former finished with its best record since 2001, while the latter had its best conference mark since 1999. Meanwhile, the men's water polo team emerged from the pool with 20 victories and a national ranking, and the track teams both improved their standings at Heps, with captain Owen Washburn '06 missing the individual crown by two seconds.
As nice as those accomplishments are, the aftereffects of this fall will be even better. Ask members of the senior class why they don't attend football games and they are likely to point to the team's abysmal 2002 campaign when the team lost its first eight games before beating Dartmouth and Columbia to finish 2-8. By that point the damage had been done - the legacy of a bad football team had been established in the minds of wide-eyed first-years.
For '09ers, I hope the opposite is true. You've been privy to possibly the greatest season in Brown football history, along with outstanding years from other teams. For me personally, I know that the excitement and energy in the win over Stanford University by the men's soccer team in 2003 was one of the reasons why I still go to soccer games, and hopefully some first-years had similar experiences this fall that will stay with them throughout their years at Brown.
Don't expect next year to be a letdown either. The soccer team returns its top seven scorers, the entire defense and both goalkeepers. Their biggest offensive threat is a first-year, and if that isn't scary enough, according to Head Coach Mike Noonan there are still guys in the class of 2009 who are talented but have yet to get on the field.
People might be quick to dismiss the football team because it will be losing its all-world running back along with nine other members of the class of 2006 who were All-Ivy performers this season. However, with All-American linebacker Zak DeOssie '07 returning from a knee injury to wreak havoc on defense once again and numerous starters on offense coming back, the Bears should once again challenge for the Ivy crown. The X-factor may well be running back Brandon Markey '07, who has shown flashes with the touches he has gotten and could end up having a very successful senior campaign.
Other thoughts this week:
What happened to the men's ice hockey team? Last year the Bears finished 16-14-3, but this year it will be a fight to get back to that mark, with Brown already posting a record of 2-7-1. What's even stranger is that despite losing their top two scorers from last season, the Bears still returned a very talented group of juniors and sophomores, including goalkeeper Adam D'Alba '08, who many fans were welcoming as the second coming of Yann Danis '04. The biggest change this year? The Bears are letting up nearly one goal a game above last season's average, while scoring almost one tally less per contest.
The winter indoor track season will be a very interesting test for new Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Craig Lake. While no one questions what Lake did in her years in the Big Apple, she does not have as much experience coaching the field events, which are key to capturing the indoor and outdoor Heptagonal titles. How she handles the expansion of her focus will ultimately dictate how Brown track and field will do in the future.
Finally, for those of you keeping track of the football game notes by Senior Sports Writer Charlie Vallely '06 this season, opposing cheerleaders did 189 pushups - one for every cumulatively, in the game - in games against the football team. If the Brown cheerleaders had been doing the same ritual, they would have done 1,391.
