Red vs. Green

Reflection: Writing a sports report is a lot harder than it may seem. You have to be creative. You cannot just write the typical story of some players running up and down a field, throwing around some type of ball, someone wins, there is lots of cheering, and everyone goes home. A good sports reporter has to dig deeper, find a hidden story under the surface, a theme or a conflict that can draw a reader in while informing them on the basics of the game. The SEM vs. Nichols game offered just that. Being a student and writing as a student it was easy to find that story, all day the school was buzzing with words about the game, the first time the SEM field hockey team was going to the playoffs. My story hit instantly, the rivalry, but really the community support. Everyone in school planned on attending the game to cheer on the girls. Not a single person was going to care if we lost, and that was truly amazing. Just the true support of all the girls made a story come to life. Writing this article I had to pay attention to small details where I could change vocabulary to sound snappy. I had to paint the image of the game in my readers head and help them to follow the events as if they weren’t there. In the end I was proud of my work, thinking I did a pretty good job of capturing the spirit of the game, while also giving a play by play of the field.

Wednesday October 29th, one of the longest days at the Buffalo Seminary. Walking into the halls at 7:55 that morning, one could already feel the pride circling each student as they buzzed with chatter. Buffalo Seminary’s varsity field hockey team had made it to the NYSAIS playoff game. This event has never occurred before in SEM’s history, the hype from the supportive SEM community was already in play and the girls were ready to get into the game.

Madison Frank, a senior at the Buffalo Seminary who has been on the Field Hockey team since her freshman year was not the only player with nerves going a mile a minute. “This game is so important to me, not only being my last for the SEM’s field hockey team, but because it is such an honor and all the team wants to do is make our school proud,” says Frank.

SEM did just that. The constant congratulations throughout the day to the members of the team by their fellow peers was reward enough to our modest Field Hockey team. The game had not even taken place, and wouldn’t for several hours, but the girls at SEM didn’t care. The strong community recognized what an honor it was for the team to make it that far, and that was reason enough for the entire school to support the girls at the game of a lifetime.

Rounding the corner of Nottingham onto Amherst, one could spot the Red versus Green.

The game was full of high tensions as SEM ran up and down the turf field at Nichols School. The girls ran fast and they ran hard, it was a blur of white jerseys and knee socks. The sticks clacking against each other, push passing and driving the ball down the field. Frank comments, “I run all the time in and outside of practice, but this was a pain I couldn’t describe, it was as if my shins were going to break.”

Nichols in the lead with two goals by senior Jessica Gates, and 13 minutes remaining in the first half. Not one second went by where the SEM players looked the least bit discouraged. Nichols was getting tired, and SEM was just getting warmed up.

The fans were wild. The cheers never ended, and the red undoubtedly overpowered the green on the sidelines. Frank makes note of the fans, “We were in the huddle with Mrs. Marlette, and I remember glancing over at our side of the bleachers. Never had I seen so many people from our school at a game. It made me proud to be a part of SEM and even more determined to make them proud of us.”

As Erica Luciano and Erin Hanretty led the Buff SEM fans in a chant of, “OO AHH YOU WISH YOU WENT TO BUFF SEM,” the second half of the game was beginning.

Suspense. Impatience. Hope. Was the mutual feeling of every person on that field supporting SEM that day. As the second half of the game got closer and closer to zero minutes on the clock, you could see the pain through the players goggles. They had worked hard, they had pushed themselves beyond limits of physical strength and exhaustion, and they were not giving up.

Bang. One more goal by Nichols.

Smack, as a stick went flying backwards you could see the angle was not going to end well. SEM senior Jane Gold was wacked brutally by a Nichols player. The field including the sidelines took a knee. Getting up, the crowd cheered widely as Gold walked across the field okay.

The cheers were up. The game counting down, and the buzzer hitting zero. 0-3 being the final score on the board. Nichols beating SEM.

However looking around at the post game action was something almost never seen before. SEM did not walk away with low heads, SEM did not just stand there, but rather they sang. The girls on the sidelines bonded together in a long line and began to loudly sing the Buffalo Seminary anthem. “We could hear them loud and clear,” says Frank. “We knew they were proud of us, and we were proud of us for coming that far, and for me, well that was pretty much all I needed to end my season right.”

And there you have it folks. The game of a life time, with some true sportsmanship and simple love for the game.