Perhaps it is just the advertisements. There is nothing quite like sharing a bag of Doritos while an ad for the pre-dipped tortilla chip fills the big flat screen small campus-lounge screen. I was satisfied, especially since this ad was my personal favorite last year (be sure to check it out in HD!):

You can check out more ads with this sweet feature from Hulu:

Yet I am torn over the diversity of Super Bowl watching parties. Don’t get me wrong, I still engage in them and plan to host my own this Sunday, but there is something sacred, ritualistic, and uniquely satisfying about yelling at my TV with true fans alone every Saturday and Sunday in the fall and early winter that is only completed by the stark contrast of my roommate’s watching “So You Think You Can Dance” and listening to atrocious 80’s R&B. Super Bowl Sunday brings an entirely different atmosphere, and I am not quite sure I like it.

This odd day in sports got me thinking: everyone loves the Super Bowl, but is that a good thing for hardcore sports fan like myself? Should I like that I get to watch the game with a big, excited audience, even if that audience might not understand or care about the game? Do I have the right to enjoy the most important day of the sports year without the casual and less than casual fans defiling my holy day? I don’t expect Super Bowl XLIV to be much of a game, so as Peyton Manning and the Colts steamroll the new “America’s Team,” the New Orleans Saints, I urge you to ponder whether this American tradition is a good thing (feel free to add yours below!). Here are some of my thoughts on the issue:

Pros

• That special someone of yours might actually listen to your rant on whether both feet were inbounds or whether the NFL should change to the college rules. This is probably the only time, so embrace it.
• There’s nothing like a room full of people, split on the team they are cheering for, jeering each other about a topic they know little to nothing about. It’s like your very own US Congress.
• Super Bowl watching parties are like potlucks, and the less the people care about football, the more likely they are to have actually made their contribution. Homemade cookies go a very long way to making anything bearable.
• The illusion of interest. I love thinking, even if it is just for a day, that people around here actually care about sports.

Cons

• The boisterous audience during play which hushes only on a break to commercials. Really? I mean I understand that the commercials are funny, but at least during the GoDaddy.com ad, let me talk about what just happened during the game — we all know no one is trying to listen to that ad anyway.
• With such a big crowd, the networks feel obligated to have some absurd, usually bad, and sometimes raunchy half time show instead of actually breaking down the game. Must they always pander to the lowest common denominator? They should reward the true fan for a dedicated season of watching and have a full halftime of analysis.
• Snack free-riders
• “No. The tight pants are not to show off their muscular legs.”
• It’s all a lie. Next September I will be watching my Florida Gators and Dallas Cowboys alone.

But even after weighing the pros and cons, there’s still glory to be had by at least one person after the game is over — check out the poll below:

Editor’s Note: This sports column is a regular feature from “The Nightcap” crew, a group of 5Cers who air a weekly radio talk-show on KSPC. You can listen in online at KSPC.org (click “Hear us Online via Live365”) every Monday from 8-10 PM.

Andrew Cosentino (CMC JR) was named to the All-SCIAC first team for the second straight year. Photo Credit: Gary Stephenson.

Women’s Volleyball
A young team, graduating only one senior (Jamie Matusiak (CMC)) finished a rocky season at 14-15 overall and tied for 5th in SCIAC competition with a 6-8 conference record. Allie Macy (CMC JR) OH and Taylor Jones (CMC FR) S were named to the All-SCIAC second team.

Women’s Soccer
One of the most dominant seasons in Athena’s soccer included a nine-game winning streak, an undefeated SCIAC campaign, and a second straight SCIAC tournament title before falling in the round of 32 of the NCAA tournament. Laura Hagen (CMC SR) was selected as SCIAC Player of the Year, leading the league in assists, and 2nd in goals scored.  First Team All-SCIAC selections included goalie Camila Friedman-Gerlicz (CMC SR), defender Stefanie Chan (CMC JR) and midfielder Nicole Sady-Kennedy (CMC SR). Defender Courtney Funk (SCR SR), midfielder Kirsten McAfee (HMC JR), forward Giselle Galanto (CMC SR) and utility player Julia Nishioka (CMC SO) were named to the Second team.  We finished 16-3-2 overall and 10-0-2 in SCIAC play.

Men’s Soccer
After a fourth place finish in the regular season, the Stags knocked off top seed Pomona and second seed Redlands to qualify for the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2000. They continued their magic run in the NCAAs, winning at Santa Cruz before falling in the round of 32 to Whitworth.  Goalie Ryan Fahey (CMC SR), defender Tomislav Zbozinek (CMC SR), midfielder Michael Nguyentat (CMC JR), and forward Harrison Doyle (CMC FR) were named to the All-SCIAC first team. Midfielder David Taylor (CMC FR) was a Second Team All-SCIAC selection.  We finished 12-8-2 overall and 8-5-1 against SCIAC foes.

Football
After a 2-0 start, including the seniors’ first victory over regional rival Puget Sound, the Stags went into a mid-season funk, losing four of their next five games. However, strong performances by the defense, QB Pat Rooney (CMC SO) and DJ Lillard (CMC SR) helped the team win their final two games, clinching a winning season and retaining the Peace Pipe. First team SCIAC selections were running back DJ Lillard, linebacker Dan Picciotto, (CMC SR), and defensive back Brock Olson (CMC SR). Offensive tackle Matt Pautler, (CMC JR) and defensive lineman Rory Baird, JR, (CMC JR) were named to the second team. The Stags finished 5-4 overall and an even 3-3 in SCIAC play.

Men’s Cross Country
The men finished a strong season in 15^th at NCAAs after winning the West Region and SCIAC titles. All-Region honors for the men included Kramer Straube (HMC JR) 4^th, Brian Kopczynski (CMC JR), Florian Scheulen (HMC SR), Brian Sutter (CMC FR), Georgi Dinolov (HMC JR) and Matt Kurtis (HMC SR). First Team All-SCIAC selections were Straube, Kopczynski Kris Brown (CMC JR), and Sutter. Second Team All-SCIAC selections for the Stags were Scheulen, Kurtis, Dinolov, and Dillon Ayers (HMC JR).

Women’s Cross Country
The women finished 22^nd at NCAAs, besting conference rivals Redlands and Occidental in their final two meets, after finishing behind these two in the SCIAC championships   Jennifer Tavé (SCR SO) finished 27^th to become the first Athena All-American runner since 2005, also earning First team All-SCIAC honors and All-Region honors. All-Region honors for the women also included, Julia Rigby (SCR SO), and Breanna Deutsch (SCR SO). Rigby and Ashley Scott (CMC JR) were named to the All-SCIAC second team.

Men’s Tennis
Robert Erani (CMC SO) won the West Regional tournament and finished in 3rd place at the ITA nationals to earn All-American honors for the first time in his  budding career.

Olivia Sylvester (CMC FR) showed her strength as a multi-faceted midfielder.

After an undefeated SCIAC campaign, the women’s soccer team had high hopes for the NCAA tournament, where they had advanced to the round of 16 last year. The Athenas also faced the Banana Slugs but, as a higher seed than the men, had home-field advantage. Despite an early goal by the Slugs in the 6th minute, the Athenas showed composure as Julia Nishioka (CMC SO) tallied the equalizer off a Laura Hagen (CMC JR) pass just 8 minutes later. Camila Friedman-Gerlicz (CMC SR) was outstanding, stopping 11 shots on goal, and the defense held strong, continuing to give the Athenas chances on offense. Finally in the 63rd minute, SCIAC player of the year Laura Hagen (CMC JR) found the back of the net for the game-winner, as the defense clamped down to put the women into the round of 32 against Hardin-Simmons. Against the Hardin-Simmons Cowgirls, the Athenas again found themselves in a battle. The Athenas warded off the Cowgirl attack, including an 8-0 advantage in corner kicks in the first half, until the 44th minute, when Hardin-Simmons finally snuck one past Friedman-Gerlicz. The Athenas answered quickly in the second half, as Lizzie Van Buskirk (CMC JR) tied the game, but two goals within three minutes by the cowgirls was too much for CMS, and the Athenas’ season ended in a 3-1 defeat.

1. Mark Teixeira & Brian Hoffstein: The Yankees first baseman bares a striking resemblance to Stag infielder Brian Hoffstein (’12).

2. Alex Rodriguez & Jordan Rosenberg: Not only do A. Rod and J. Ros look alike, but they also both play third base.  Rosenberg (’12), however, has not been involved in a steroid scandal while playing for CMS baseball.

3. Johnny Damon & Moose Halpern: Damon was one of the top performers in this World Series with a .364 batting average.  And when he’s clean-shaven, he also happens to look a lot like Stag catcher Moose Halpern (’10).

Post your agreements, disagreements, and suggestions for more lookalikes in the comments.

Robbie Erani CM '12 clinching the ITA West Region title. Photo Credit: Jen Rosenthal

The Forum: What is the secret to winning the West Region?
Robbie Erani: It’s all about the luck of the draw and being mentally prepared.

The Forum: What is the deal with your lucky facial hair?
RE: A few of us on the tennis team decided that the left side of our face did not deserve facial hair, while the right side did and it seemed to treat the players who did it well.

The Forum: Best Stags tennis moment?
RE: Watching captain Larry Wang beat Conrad Olson in a third set tiebreaker to clinch the match vs. then No. 4 Middlebury last season.

The Forum: What are your goals for the spring season?
RE: Win the Division III team national championship.

The Forum: What would you say is your greatest training mechanism?
RE: Dominoes Pizza on Sunday nights.

The Forum: Why is it okay for fans to scream as a batter tries to hit a 100 mph fastball but when tennis players are in the middle of the point, fans have to be quiet?
RE: Tennis is more a mental sport than baseball, in that every shot, every play, every movement, counts toward the end result more than baseball.

The Forum: Favorite non-tennis Stag/Athena team and Athlete to cheer for?
RE: Women’s Rugby and Jason Toney CM ‘11.

The Forum: Favorite Male Tennis Player?
RE: Janko Tipsaravic.

The Forum: Favorite Female Tennis Player?
RE: Caroline Wozniaki.

The Forum: Favorite Video Game?
RE: Ken Griffey Baseball ‘96 on Nintendo 64.

The Forum: Biggest Fear?
RE: Sharks, I still refuse to swim in the ocean.

The Forum: Who is your Role Model?
Mike Sutton.

The Forum: If you weren’t a tennis player what would you be?
A bum.

Then, if you still want some more adrenaline, join these local skateboarders, as they race down some streets near Mount Baldy, weaving in and out of traffic. I insist that you view this video in HD.

Erani won the Wilson / ITA Division III West Region singles title two weeks ago on the Bizantz Family Tennis Courts, defeating top seeded Andrew Giuffrida of Cal Lutheran 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 in the final. Erani became the third Stag in four years to win the West region title, joining Mikey Lim CM ‘10 (2007) and Michael Starr HM ‘10 (2006).

The winner of the Division 3 event will compete in a playoff against the winners of the Division 2, Junior College, and NAIA tournaments for a wild card into the Division 1 equivalent of this event, the National Intercolligate Indoor Championships at Yale University, November 5-8.

The Stag Football team started their season on the right foot, traveling to Oregon and knocking off the Pioneers 22-7. A 95 yard touchdown drive at the end of the first half, capped by a Scott Yingling (JR, CMC) rushing TD, put the Stags up 12-7 going into the break. The Pioneer offense stalled in the second half, while the Stags added a field goal and D.J. Lillard (SR, CMC) touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Andrew Segal (SO, CMC) had 125 yards on 14 carries, and Lillard added 82 yards on 17 carries. Yingling played well, completing 8 of 14 passes for 163 yards, his favorite target being Mike Hirokawa (SR, CMC) with four catches for 101 yards. The men will take on University of Puget Sound at 12 this Saturday at Zinda Field.

Photo credit: Carl Rossi (CMC '84)

The Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams swept the Redlands Invitational this past weekend, giving Coach Goldhammer a reason to smile, as the Stag and Athena harriers did work on conference rivals Redlands and Occidental. On the men’s side, freshman Brian Sutter (FR, CMC) led the Stags with a third place finish, followed by Kramer Straube (JR, HMC) in fourth. For the women, Jennifer Tavé (SO, SCR) and Julia Rigby (SO, SCR) led the Athenas with second and third place finishes, respectively.

After a 3-0 loss at home vs. Cal St. San Marcos to begin the season, the Stag Soccer team traveled to Massachusetts to take a pair of D3 schools: MIT and Babson. Against MIT, freshman Harrison Doyle (FR, CMC) put CMS on the board first, giving them a 1-0 lead at halftime. An MIT goal in the 75^th minute sent the game into overtime, where Doyle tallied another, in the 106^th minute, giving the Stags their first win of the season. Two days later against Babson, the Stags could not find the back of the net, and Babson scored two second half goals, sending the team back to California with a split. Conference play starts tomorrow at home vs. Cal Lutheran.

The 21^st ranked Athena Soccer team, after demoralizing Pac Lutheran 5-1 to start their season, traveled to St. Louis this past weekend. Their first game was against the 20^th ranked Washington Bears, and things looked good as Nicole Sady-Kennedy (SR, CMC) gave the Athenas a 1-0 lead off a nice pass from Giselle Galanto (SR, CMC). Unfortuantely the Athena offense stalled after that point, while WashU scored three unanswered goals, taking the game 3-1. In their second game, vs. Webster college, the Athenas found themselves down 1-0. Not wanting to head back to Claremont without a win, CMS rallied for four straight goals, and the Athenas held on for a 4-2 win. The Athenas wil travel to Cal Lutheran tomorrow to begin their SCIAC title defense, and then host La Verne at 11am on Saturday.

The Athena volleyball team sits at 3-5 on the season, with a number of top 25 teams on their challenging schedule in front of them, including 6^th ranked La Verne, the nine-time defending SCIAC champions. However, the Athena team is hopeful, as they had two close five game losses which could have gone either way, including a 2-3 decision to Texas Lutheran, which knocked off La Verne the following day. Two newcomers are making big impacts for the team. Allie Macy (JR, CMC), a transfer from Concordia University, is leading the team in kills, with 75, while Taylor Jones (FR, CMC) leads the team in sets, averaging more than 8 a game. The women will host La Sierra and Dickinson this Friday at 4 and 7 respectively, before a big matchup against P-P next Tuesday.

The Men’s Water Polo team has had some encouraging results, as they prepare to take on their regional rivals. The Stags began their season at MIT for an invitational. Although holding a two goal lead in the fourth quarter, and then also taking a lead in overtime, the Stags dropped a triple overtime decision to Brown in their first game of the season. They rebounded later in the invitational to knock off Harvard and M.I.T., earning a split on the road trip. The Stags came back to California this past weekend, and dropped three contests to nationally ranked teams, including eighth ranked UC-Irvine, but also picked up a win against La Verne. The Stags will head to Cal Lutheran for a tournament with a number of top teams in the region

Follow a soccer ball through a series of feats and tricks with the CMS Men’s Soccer Team.  Wish we saw more of Hunter, but think that Mikey Nguyentat might be replacing him as the #1 hottest Stag everrrrrr.  Marshall Fisher as a close #2, but only if he also learns the cool trick where he takes his shirt off.