Sacrifice Beer For A Victory

By Claire Bevan

I didn't come to Santa Clara for a basketball team. I didn't expect to attend championship games. But I certainly didn't expect our team to be an embarrassment.  

Like many, I was there last year when our team upset Gonzaga at the Leavey Center. I stood on those bleachers as they shook violently under our feet. That night, and for weeks to follow, our campus came alive.  

This season was intended to bring more victory, or at least one victory. However, our 0-8 record in conference means that no couches have burned this season, and the recent judicial violations against Kevin Foster and Evan Roquemore will probably keep your living room furniture safe for the rest of the season.  

I have taken a lot of heat from friends at other colleges for our team's foolish behavior and, frankly, I am sick of defending them. Not only were Foster and Roquemore's actions stupid, they were arrogant. 

A losing team simply cannot afford to be partying. The message sent by their actions told the Santa Clara community that they have a stronger commitment to drinking than they do to their school or their team. They abandoned us like LeBron James did his hometown in 2010 when he left Cleveland for a star-studded roster in Miami.  

Furthermore, the Bronco basketball team indirectly told the West Coast Conference that Santa Clara doesn't give a damn. Well I do give a damn, and I won't stand by a disrespectful team that doesn't seem to care. I can support a team with a bad record. If my boys are hard-working, then I will cheer for them regardless of their position in the standings. I will not sit in the stands for a team that can't sacrifice a beer for a win, though. 

There is good news. In 2004, Ron Artest, then a member of the Indiana Pacers, punched a Detroit Pistons fan in the face during a game. Now he's the National Basketball Association's unofficial "World Peace" advocate after changing his name over the summer. If Metta can bounce back, the Broncos certainly can.  

But it's going to take sacrifice and it's going to take sobriety. The time has come for Head Coach Kerry Keating and the Santa Clara basketball program to enforce a dry season. According to UC San Diego's Athletic Performance Nutrition Bulletin, alcohol "slows reaction times, delays the thinking process, suppresses the immune system, and affects recovery time from injury." These are glitches that no team can afford — especially one with a losing record. Sports teams all over the country are requiring dry seasons in order to improve team performance and unity.

If our team makes a commitment to hard work and sobriety, I'll be there in the stands to cheer them on, and I encourage you to do the same.

Claire Bevan is a sophomore political science major and a contributing writer for The Santa Clara.