Riverhawk Nation

Michael Santorelli

Sean Conway

FYSH

22 October 2013

Riverhawk Nation

There is no doubt in my mind, I’m a huge sports fan. I rep Boston to the death of me, and there really isn’t a sport out there I wouldn’t go see. For as long as I can remember, my favorite pastime was going to watch Red Sox games with my dad. Growing up I played soccer, baseball, basketball, and ran track. My mom would tell you that I always spent too much of my paychecks in high school on sporting events. I had mini season ticket plans for the Celtics and the Red Sox during my junior year in high school. You could call it a healthy addiction. Find me glued to the television every Sunday cheering on the Patriots and whoever is beating the Jets and the Giants. Any way you cut it, I’m quite the sports fan.

Originally, when I was applying to colleges, I was looking to go to some big name Universities, out of state, with big name programs. Outside of the obvious engineering programs, I was looking for an interesting school community, a big campus, in a big city. Part of that school community I was looking for was definitely a fun sports program, maybe a ranked football team, or a Final Four contending basketball team. Evidently, I didn’t end up with that, but what I did end up with is not a bad alternative at all. What I ended up with was a Frozen Four contending hockey team, a team that held the number one seat in the nation in college hockey. I also got a very young, upcoming D1 sports program. UMass Lowell’s athletic programs are off to a start with their first year in the division 1 America East Conference. I have the chance to see some of my favorite sports played at the division 1 college level. 

The past few weeks have just been packed full of great campus sporting events to attend. I’ve been to every hockey home game so far, and I plan on keeping that streak alive all season. Hockey might be my favorite sport to watch live, full of excitement and energy. There’s no better place than the Tsongas Center either to watch such an event. The student section is loud and rowdy, exactly how a college game should be. Tsongas is also home to many concerts and expos during the year. We are lucky to have such a nice facility on campus at our disposal. My other favorite sport to watch is volleyball. I guess this came from my high school years because my high school’s girls team went undefeated two years in a row, winning the league three out of four of my high school years. I had some of my best friends on the team, and every home game was always a big time school event. Everyone went to support, and I took a huge liking to the fun of the game as well. 

I’m proud to be a part of Riverhawk Nation. Now that I’ve gotten accustomed to the campus life, living in dorms, and going to classes. I’ve taken a liking to this campus community in which I am a part of. All of us are in the same boat when it comes to classes and exams among other things. But the best part about living in this community is being a part of such a fun campus. There’s always events going on to be a part of, from playing intramurals to going to watch the hockey games as an entire school. I’m one proud super fan.