The intramural basketball season ended Thursday night with its own version of March Madness. All season long, the social club teams lagged behind the non-club teams, kind of like how I am lagging behind in my homework and classes at this point in the semester.
But if intramural basketball can tell us anything, it’s that it’s not how you start, but how you finish. Some teams just happen to be late bloomers, and there’s nothing wrong with that. At least that’s what I was told back when I was 14.
Soccer also started this week, and the usual suspects are at it again with a couple additions and subtractions. This next month will be the time when, much like with the U.S. men’s national team at the World Cup, Americans and ACU students will pretend they like soccer.
Women’s Champ Basketball
Not even this intramural expert would have guessed we’d be seeing everyone’s favorite rivalry in the final this year. But I guess when you back a Siggie or a Kojie into a corner, you might find that she’s got more fight hidden in that massive Michael Kors purse than you could possibly imagine.
LEGIT and The Has-Beens stood atop the standings all season, with only one loss between the two teams on the season, which in their head-to-head matchup. But the Siggies battled the Has-Beens down to the final buzzer and came away with a three-point victory.
Knowing they couldn’t allow Sigma Theta Chi to own all the intramural glory, the Kojies went ahead and one-upped their rival club and defeated top-ranked LEGIT by an even smaller one-point margin, 43-42.
So what is it about the Siggie-Kojie rivalry that makes it so entertaining? I asked Siggie basketball player Mary Kate Rotenberry how the two teams always seemed to end up playing each other in the biggest games.
“It’s rigged,” Rotenberry said.
I’d agree with her, but I just can’t see Emily Sears and her GATA teammates purposely losing all those games just to accommodate the ACU intramural bigwigs.
Rotenberry was careful not to expose any other Siggie secrets in the days leading up to the big game, but she did hint at celebration plans if the Siggies could pull off the victory.
“I’m only answering this so I don’t get fined,” Rotenberry said, “but you will probably find out where we go eventually on Instagram.”
That makes sense. I could give you a Siggie’s entire life story based on her Instagram.
Men’s Champ Basketball
This one might not have been as much of a surprise as the women’s league, but the final was certainly a crowd-pleaser.
Sub T-16 and GSP snuck into the championship game as the third and fourth seeds defeating Drain’n 3’s & Drink’n DPs and Skillz that Killz, respectively.
The Subbers found themselves down 13 points with 10 minutes to play, but chipped away at the score and the poise of Drain’n 3’s until Sub T had a five-point victory and a frustrated opponent.
GSP followed suit by knocking off the freshman superstar team Skillz that Killz. Despite all the Skillz talent and overly ambitious fan section, the Gammas were able to ruin the high school heroes’ dreams of a championship and possible start to an intramural dynasty. Because once you’re out of high school, an intramural championship is often the highest you can reach.
As for the championship game itself, the crowd in the gym was very one-sided. On one bench you had GSP, everyone and God’s favorite team, while on the other bench, you had Sub T. Sub T, their own favorite team. Actually, even Sub T might hate Sub T, I’m not sure.
Women’s Champ Soccer
There are six teams in the league this year, including the regular four club teams. Joining them are B.O.B and Doomsday Divas.
As of Thursday afternoon, Alpha Kai and B.O.B each gained their first wins of the campaign, while Doomsday Divas and GATA each had a loss.
Men’s Champ Soccer
Absent from the men’s soccer ranks this year are Trojans and Galaxy. Maybe those are the only two clubs actually willing to show they have no real interest in soccer, or maybe they were tired of losing. I don’t know.
Venturing into the Champs League world is Frater Sodalis. The Frats and Friends team put down their gaming controllers long enough to kick a ball around, and so far, it’s looking like it was a good idea. They destroyed Bink Squad 9-2 in the first game of the year.
Frater Sodalis captain Drew Martinez said it shouldn’t be a surprise his team joined the Champs League for a season of footy.
“I’m not going to lie,” Martinez said. “Frats wake up every morning and live out the word excellence. The gold, white and blue of our club’s crest demand the respect of opposing teams on the soccer field.”
Because the Frats only entered a Champs team in soccer, they have plenty of time to practice and develop special strategies.
“Our strategy is a very old and effective style of winning,” Martinez said. “When the game of football first came into existence, men won games with one creative strategy “” score more goals than the other team before time runs out. As for special plays, all I have to say is the ‘Shake’n’Bake’ from Talladega Nights is usually most effective when we need a quick score or a defensive stop.”
