Call me a hater if you must. Yet, to my dismay, the worst time of year has come again. Yes dear friends, the time of year when a third of the Marquette Tribune is devoted to varsity sports.

All complaints aside, I love the Tribune. In fact, it gives me something to do in my Tuesday/Thursday classes. But in all fairness I believe that the proverbial little guys are being left out.

I know as a Marquette-loving, all-American girl I should support the stellar men and women of Marquette basketball, soccer and tennis — and I do. But would it be so hard to cut out the oh-so-inspirational picture of Tom Crean yelling at his players, or female volleyball player X spiking the ball to create some space for an article on club sports?

Granted these fine young athletes of club sports such as men and women's rugby, crew, fencing, baseball, softball, men's volleyball, football and the recently-formed hockey team may not have their tuitions paid for or receive weekly stipends for their "groceries," but they still play with the same intensity and fire as varsity athletes — maybe even more.

These teams practice, play and win. The men's club volleyball team — along with a record of 16-4 in tournaments — placed fifth in the nation last year. The men's crew novice team placed first, second or third at each of their regattas. Marquette women's track has held the title of conference champs for the past four years, yet they don't get a tenth of the coverage varsity sports receive.

The kicker to all of this is that besides actually having to pass classes out of their own merit, these club athletes have to raise money to keep their team afloat. How many bake sales or taco dinners have you seen over at Humphrey Hall for men's basketball? Also, I'm willing to bet the farm that Coach Crean isn't paying for all those basketballs out of his own pocket.

I digress. I respect the varsity players and the Tribune's sports section. But once in a while it would be nice to have a special two-page section on the women's rugby placing nationally for the past eight years, or more than a one-inch blurb about how the club hockey team split their games this weekend.

These teams play their hearts out, and most people don't even know they exist. All I have to say is that club sports have feelings too, and they deserve a little respect.

Serena is a senior advertising major.

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