Saved By The Bell: Hey Hey! Ho Ho! Where are the Fans?

Those of you who were too busy protesting in Mass. Hall to take in yesterday's Red Rolfe Division showdown, take heart. The twinbill may have determined the division champion, but you protestors-and the thousands of other students who didn't show for some reason-didn't miss much.

The first was just an extra-inning classic that featured a gutsy complete-game from senior ace John Birtwell. The second was only a Ben Crockett no-hitter. Those happen all the time.

So I guess it shouldn't be surprising that nobody saw them.

Well, not quite nobody.

A decent number of Dartmouth students made the two-hour drive to Cambridge to support their squad after seeing Saturday's games in Hanover.

As for the Harvard section, let's just say that if you wanted to say hello to second baseman Faiz Shakir's parents, you didn't have to squeeze past too many people to do it. Several players' families were present in the stands-they were the few, the proud, the fifty-somethings. There were also a few scattered pockets of undergraduates.

And there was space. Lots of space.

But it was only the final home game of the year. What else could be expected?

I'll drop the act. The lack of fans at O'Donnell Field yesterday disgusted me. I cannot understand how people can celebrate the return of spring and baseball over the sports page in dining halls and not even consider showing up when high-quality baseball is happening-for free, mind you-a short walk away.

To be fair, I should note that a few more groups of students did wander in at the beginning of the second game. It was, of course, the only game of the weekend that didn't matter in the standings.

To make things worse, the fans started leaving once the Crimson was up 7-0 at the end of the third. As a result, they missed Crockett's masterpiece. Way to come through in the clutch, fans.

I may sound a bit more bitter than I should. Maybe it's unfair for me to expect big crowds at a sport that never attracts the following of football or basketball.

But I can't understand why. If I do sound harsh, it's because I went to the games in Hanover on Saturday as well. The place was jumping. The Big Green faithful knew the gravity of the moment and came to do what they could. And they heckled, churning out such winners as "Trey Hendricks! What's your real name?" and "That's not the real Javy Lopez! I know Javy Lopez!" When someone with a less colorful name came up, they would result to the generic, "Get involved!"

At one point, I found myself surrounded by a bunch of green-clad three-year-olds who kept asking to "go poopie." The maturity dropoff wasn't that great. Most of the Dartmouth fans were loud, classless and pretty dumb.

But they were there. They recognized the gravity of the contests and came to do what they could. They also came to applaud their seniors, who played their final home game that day.

But what about our seniors? Look at Birtwell, for example. After pitching two innings of emergency relief in the second game on Saturday, Birtwell went right back to work in yesterday's opener. Incredibly, he went ten more solid innings before surrendering the winning runs.

A class act and a great competitor, Birtwell deserved more than two runs of support. He deserved to go out with a win.

He also deserved more than a handful of home supporters.

If you missed Birtwell's final appearance at O'Donnell, you may have missed Ben Crockett's as well. The junior has been scouted heavily ever since he excelled in the Cape Cod league this summer. He is a legitimate Major League prospect, and his no-no may have put the exclamation point on his collegiate career.

While his potential finale lacks the sentimental appeal of Birtwell's, it's something that deserved to be seen by more than a handful of people. There's something tragic about a no-hitter that nobody sees.

There is also something tragic about a great athletic program that not enough people see. Prior to last year, Walsh's teams had won four straight division titles and three Ivy championships. Good things are happening at O'Donnell Field. It's sad when no one is there to watch-especially when it's a pretty popular sport. This isn't our awesome women's squash team I'm complaining for here. It's the national pastime.

Members of the PSLM, I may not disagree wholly with your tactics. But I admire your commitment, and I can understand why you didn't show up at O'Donnell this weekend. Put that on your "Wall of Support" if you like.

As for the rest of you, what was your excuse?

Get involved.