
One of my favorite aspects of BU is the amount of sporting activities you can find on campus; whether it be going to the gym, playing a pick-up basketball game, joining a club team, taking sporting classes, swimming, or simply jogging around, there are activities for everyone. The particular one I’d like to address in this post is the Intramural tournaments. Intramural tournaments are organized by the BU Fitness and Recreation staff for a variety of sports. Depending on the season, you can find either flag football, outdoor soccer, indoor soccer, softball, broomball, ice hockey, mini golf, or even wiffle ball. In most sports, you will find there is a men’s division, women’s division, and co-ed division, with each of them divided in A or AA league.
During my first semester in Boston, a lot of us came together to form “International Love F.C.,” a soccer team made up of twelve players of five different nationalities. The team started as all usually do, with a couple of hiccups, poor coordination, and a reliability on individual talent rather than on the strength of team. However, by the tournament’s end it was a whole other story: we started playing a single unit, no matter who was in the field and who was out, we knew what we played and what our strengths were. In that first tournament, we managed to get through the group stage unbeaten and made it all the way to the semi-finals, where we lost to the four-time champions in a 3-1 decision. Despite not reaching the final, none of us felt the season had been a failure. After all, we lost to a team that had been playing together for four years and we had only just come together two months before. The best part about joining ILFC was the camaraderie within the team; most of us quickly became good friends off the field and, even now (as most of that first team has left), we are still in touch constantly, talking not only about how everyone is doing, but also how ILFC is doing in its second season.
Having to essentially form a whole new team for this second semester was a challenge, but sports is one of the most unifying tools there are. We’ve had our hiccups for sure, but for the second straight season ILFC just finished the group stage unbeaten, and we are now ready to start the playoffs on Monday. I know that whatever we accomplish in this tournament will be thanks to the effort and dedication not only of those playing this tournament, but also those that came before them last semester and set the basis for International Love F.C.
Playing intramurals at BU has been one of the most rewarding and enjoyable experiences in Boston, and I’d strongly recommend to any sport aficionado coming next semester to create your own team in whatever sport you like. Trust me, it’s so worth it!
During my first semester in Boston, a lot of us came together to form “International Love F.C.,” a soccer team made up of twelve players of five different nationalities. The team started as all usually do, with a couple of hiccups, poor coordination, and a reliability on individual talent rather than on the strength of team. However, by the tournament’s end it was a whole other story: we started playing a single unit, no matter who was in the field and who was out, we knew what we played and what our strengths were. In that first tournament, we managed to get through the group stage unbeaten and made it all the way to the semi-finals, where we lost to the four-time champions in a 3-1 decision. Despite not reaching the final, none of us felt the season had been a failure. After all, we lost to a team that had been playing together for four years and we had only just come together two months before. The best part about joining ILFC was the camaraderie within the team; most of us quickly became good friends off the field and, even now (as most of that first team has left), we are still in touch constantly, talking not only about how everyone is doing, but also how ILFC is doing in its second season.
Having to essentially form a whole new team for this second semester was a challenge, but sports is one of the most unifying tools there are. We’ve had our hiccups for sure, but for the second straight season ILFC just finished the group stage unbeaten, and we are now ready to start the playoffs on Monday. I know that whatever we accomplish in this tournament will be thanks to the effort and dedication not only of those playing this tournament, but also those that came before them last semester and set the basis for International Love F.C.
Playing intramurals at BU has been one of the most rewarding and enjoyable experiences in Boston, and I’d strongly recommend to any sport aficionado coming next semester to create your own team in whatever sport you like. Trust me, it’s so worth it!