Ryan ChartrandI remember three years ago when I first arrived in San Luis Obispo. “This is it?” I asked my road-trip buddy when we reached the Monterey Street off ramp on southbound U.S. Highway 101.
Before checking out Cal Poly, I had already seen Texas and UCLA. Cal Poly was far different from either of these campuses, but something about the laid-back atmosphere and the homely feel caught my attention. I loved the campus and the town and made my decision: I was going to Cal Poly – and all the better because I signed the papers to enroll one month prior to the visit.
Now I’m one-and-a-half weeks from graduation and wishing I had a few more “SLO” days to live. Oh wait, I’ll be back next year working for Cal Poly’s sports information department – OK, so this farewell address isn’t an end-all moment for me, but it is the final frontier for Frankly Speaking.
This column began as space filler last year. As the sports editor, I had the duty of filling the sports section with meaningful information on a daily basis. One Wednesday in October, I found myself short on material and said, “Hey, I know what to do . I’ll write a column!”
It was that simple.
Over the last two years, I’ve witnessed some of the biggest moments in Cal Poly sports. Amid the many amazing contests I watched, one stood out as a defining moment for me as a Cal Poly sports fan – the volleyball team’s win over Michigan at Mott Gym in the NCAA Tournament.
I’m a die-hard college basketball fan and football is a close second in my spectator sports rankings, but there was something magical about that night in Mott. Growing up, I envied Stanford’s “Sixth Men” and Dukes’ “Cameron Crazies.” I saw those sold-out games and rowdy student fans and wanted nothing more than to experience that type of college sports environment.
When I first arrived on campus as a junior transfer student, I didn’t know the first thing about college volleyball and I certainly didn’t expect to get my ultimate fan experience from a women’s volleyball match. More than 3,000 fans packed into Mott Gym and many were standing for the duration of that Friday night match. A group of men’s tennis players piled in with body paint, signs were strewn throughout the crowd and the Mustang Marching Band rocked out to no end. Before the match began, a group of my track teammates and I started a “Let’s go Poly” chant that spread across Mott as the teams took the court.
I will always remember the only sold-out crowd I witnessed in Mott Gym as a student – Cal Poly’s volleyball team on Dec. 1, 2006.
That game was my favorite memory as a Cal Poly student-fan, but it isn’t without company. Watching Cal Poly’s football squad post an 18-14 comeback win over Southern Utah last September gave me chills as the Mustangs posted 15 points in the fourth quarter in front of a capacity crowd.
I also had the privilege of watching both of the men’s basketball team’s wins over UC Santa Barbara this year. I joined the Mustang Maniacs at both games and did my best to contribute to their madness.
At times it was difficult doubling as a journalist and an athlete. On a few occasions I had to write less-than-flattering articles about people I saw in the weight room every morning at 7 a.m.
There are still athletes who give me dirty looks when I’m walking around Mott Gym.
Let’s make this clear: I rooted for every team on this campus – I made it to wrestling and tennis matches, to women’s and men’s basketball games, to futbol Americano and soccer contests; when the time came, I put the reporter’s cap on and went to work. I understood the commitment I had to both Cal Poly athletics and the newspaper and had to respect both sides.
Hopefully the followers of this column had as much fun reading as I had writing. Each Wednesday I tried to top what was written the previous week. From references to “Borat” to random ramblings about playing tennis with Carol Erickson or wrestling with Darrell Vasquez, I weaved whatever came to mind into these stories in an effort to entertain and inform.
To close this column, I’d like to give a shout out to all the Cal Poly athletes for putting up with my attempts to weigh in on Cal Poly sports. I also want to thank Tristan Aird, this year’s sports editor, for giving me a chance to continue writing the column. And, finally, a big shout out to roommates Greg, Dustin and Mike for putting up with my constant jabs in the column.
Thanks for reading, Cal Poly.