By Brittany Burke

I’ve seen a lot during my time as a sports writer for this paper. I’ve covered countless games in multiple sports, written about player arrests, new appointments, renovations, and the worst of all, the loss of an athlete. While nothing can come close to the emotion felt during the time of Rich Royster’s tragic death, last Saturday certainly climbed the list of hardest things to write about thus far.

Saturday afternoon I watched from the press box as the football team fell to the University of Albany 63-35, extending its losing streak to five games. That night I sat in the Newington Arena surrounded by Boston College parents looking on as the Eagles steadily buried the Blue Devils club hockey team, 10-3.

As a writer I had quite a few palm-to-face, shake my head, “I can’t believe this is happening” moments throughout the day, but what I felt is nothing compared to what was felt by the players.

The emotions were outpouring as the football team fought for a final touchdown, even though the game was lost, and as the hockey team took shots on net trying to soften the harsh deficit. As I was watching the games all I could think about was what was to come after the final whistle and horn sounded; the inevitable post-game interviews.

This is one of the hardest aspects of sports journalism. How do you speak to someone and ask them why and how their team just lost the game? That Saturday I ended up just speaking to the coaches of the teams rather than the student athletes, despite the fact that I hate having a one source game story.

The student athletes who represent CCSU leave everything they have out on the field, pitch, rink, diamond or in the pool, that is obvious by the pride they have. No one ever wants to talk about a loss, whether you’re playing pee-wees or professionally, it’s just human nature.

However, despite how difficult it is, it’s something that comes along with being a professional sports journalist. My job at the paper has given me a multitude “real world” situations to prepare me for when it comes time to walk across the stage in May and actually graduate.

I’ve learned a lot, and Saturday was just another lesson. While waiting for those interviews, I was able to feel the disappointment in the air, but it is something that has to be done, and I’m lucky enough to be exposed to it now.

I began this column wanting to talk purely about the hardships faced and felt this weekend, but as I write I can’t help but want to express again just how important it is to take hold of the opportunities CCSU presents its students with. I know this may sound like a broken record, but I speak the truth. The time flies at CCSU, even though some people may think otherwise, and before you know it life will move beyond Elmer’s and having fun with friends, so do all that you can while you can, and make the most of what you have.