Published in The Spectator
Click here for full article
It feels like a long time ago, but I remember my first time visiting Hamilton pretty clearly. I had an energetic tour guide that gushed over everything on the lush, sprawling campus. She had a particular fondness for Yodapez if I remember correctly, but she really caught my attention with her description the Citrus Bowl, a raucous tradition where students packed into the rink for the first Men’s Ice Hockey game and showered the opposing goaltender with oranges after Hamilton’s first goal. Coming from a sports-obsessed all-boys high school with a similar devotion to hockey and shenanigans, I was encouraged by the idea that Hamilton students shared my appreciation for sporting events as fun shared experiences, able to unite a community in support of the simple common idea that we all want our team to beat the other team. Four years later, I’ve come to realize that Hamilton doesn’t really operate that way—not enough of us have the interest or free time needed to sustain a sports fan culture. That’s fine, we have other thriving cultures like the arts and outdoor leadership that make up for it, but our traditions haven’t changed with our campus’ shifting interests and the Citrus Bowl has come to expose that on a yearly basis. Continued…