Welcome to St. Olaf! Everything is awful! Ok, not really, but I can definitely understand how it might feel that way. Starting college in the middle of a global pandemic is a daunting prospect, and I’m not going to pretend that it’s going to be easy.
This is all made infinitely more difficult by sports no longer being a thing. Your first college football game as an Ole has been indefinitely delayed. Your dreams of being a freshman intramural champ this fall have been dashed.
Never fear though, your resident jaded sports-obsessed senior is here to lend a hand. While the situation surrounding athletics at St. Olaf may seem bleak at the moment, there are still without a doubt options to be had. Allow me to pass down some of my hard won wisdom to you.
All Olaf students get access to NFL Ticket for a discounted rate. If you just can’t get enough of professional football (provided the season happens), but don’t know where to watch it now that that the giant TV at the Pause has been shuttered, check out the email that was sent to us on July 29 and you can get access to all the games for much less than it would normally cost. Hook it up to your roommates TV! I’m sure they’ll be fine with it.
While almost all Olaf sports have been shut down, there’s nothing stopping you from doing it yourself (provided you do it safely, please). Take some people from your dorm, space yourselves out, and toss around a frisbee or a football. Bond and ball at the same time.
If you’re a big fan of the NBA but don’t know where to watch games, I really don’t know what to tell you. I definitely wouldn’t suggest going to r/adamsilver4live, where you can stream any games from the bubble for free. I am not at all condoning piracy. Please, do not do this. I would absolutely hate that.
Join The Mess! The sports section and the newspaper are always looking for new writers, no experience required. Come hang out on our Zoom calls and see what we’re all about. I can definitely say that it’s a very welcoming place and a great community to be a part of.