You all have picked quite a time to hop on the party train here at UCSB. I’m sure there are all kinds of rumors floating about amongst the new recruits as to the status of your Daily Nexus sports section, so allow me this space to quell some rumors and instill in each of you a sense of confidence about this year’s coverage of your favorite athletic events. Or at least ramble for a little while.

First of all, we don’t have a football team. Now stop your whining for one moment, and let me tell you why that’s not the worst thing in the world. Reason number one? No football team, no football fans. Just wait until your friends who go to USC start. They won’t stop, I promise. It’s awful. Reason number two? Soccer is better anyway.

Go to one of those soccer games. UCSB is damn good at it. Like, top ten nationally good. You’ll be at Harder Stadium, among 10,000-plus crazy fans, feeling a Pacific Ocean breeze and you absolutely will not feel like you belong anywhere else. I promise.

And then you’ll throw a tortilla on the field, because we do shit like that here. Or rip the goal out of the ground, drag it to the cliffs of Del Playa, and then toss it in. Because we do shit like that here too. It’s awesome.

I’ll see you there.

– Mark, Sports Ed.