By Michael Krauza, contributing writer, baseball
“How do you walk away from something that has been part of your life for the past 20 years? That is a question that many senior, student-athletes, including myself, were abruptly forced to answer this past Thursday when the majority of NCAA athletic conferences (Including the Atlantic 10) decided to cancel the remainder of the winter and spring athletic seasons. I can only speak for myself, but I am certain that my experiences over the past few days are not unique.
Many people find it humorous or even troubling when college athletes discuss their challenges. In light of real-world problems, I would have to agree with them. Participating in college athletics is time-consuming, but not life threatening. College athletics are serious but not solemn. After all, we are all just playing a game. While I have always believed it to be true: that we are in-fact just playing a game, it did not make last Thursday any easier on me. Perhaps, it made it worse. As someone who has always recognized sport’s place in the societal hierarchy of importance behind military careers, medicine, accountancy, parenthood and so much more, I was suddenly met with the realization of just how much this sport has meant to me. The decision to conclude NCAA competition too closed, for many student-athletes, a chapter of their lives. The understanding of such unprecedented action’s necessity does not protect a student-athlete from the grief that ensued for most.
I know that personally, the news came as my teammates and I were about to board a bus for a weekend series in Maryland. Each athlete responded differently, but my initial response was numbness. It was not until I reached the bottom of a glass of rum with Coca-Cola mixed in that the gravity of the events hit me. I cried. Not because I believed competing in sports to be more important than saving lives that could occur because of its ending. Rather, I cried because something, albeit a game, that I have sweat for, bled for, lost sleep over, and grew as a man because of, was coming to an end. This week without any sports has left me realizing that while these games are not larger or more important than life itself, they are one of those countless things that make life worth living. So as I reflect on my own gratitude for God’s allowing me to play this game over the past 20 years, I hope too that he will be as generous in his guiding and protecting our country, our world and all its people during these difficult times.”
krauzamw17@bonaventure.edu
