Whether this is your first semester at CMU or your last, keeping up with your Mavericks can be difficult. That paper is looming, exams are going to be fast approaching and there are so many shows in your Netflix queue to catch up on.

I know dragging yourself away for a few hours can be difficult, but supporting athletics is a worthy investment of your time.

First off, you matter. If you’ve ever participated in any sports, you know the effects a roaring crowd can have. It can inspire, and it can drive you to do better. Without it, you’re left with a couple dozen people who clap at the sight of a family member standing on the sideline.

Next up: your social life. There are many things at a university that keep you indoors for hours at a time. However, there aren’t many that can get you to socialize like sports can. You’re standing there screaming your lungs out at the ref who just made a terrible call and notice someone a few seats down doing the same. Terrible call, right? Totally. Boom, you just made a friend. Hope you have room in your future, hypothetical wedding party.

Lastly, they deserve it. Last year was a landmark one for CMU athletics, with an unprecedented successful spring season. Wrestling rose to the top of the RMAC, our perennial powerhouse baseball team notched another 40-win season and the year was capped off nicely by the women’s basketball team’s unlikely run, which didn’t end until the D2 Elite Eight.

The growing success that the athletics program is accumulating will undoubtedly be accompanied by growing attendance numbers. The athletes who have worked their hardest to raise the standard for CMU sports have also helped make this university’s reputation rise in the process.

You made the decision to attend CMU. It doesn’t matter whether it was your first choice or your last, CMU is now your university. Don’t you want to be able to look on to its athletics with pride and have some bragging rights? You know you do, and it all starts by getting out to the games.

The Netflix queue isn’t going anywhere, and besides, there’s always winter break to binge-watch.

jdredmon@mavs.coloradomesa.edu