There is something special about a new semester at NIU.

First, my favorite: seeing actual people in DeKalb. And second: three sport teams with national level potential.

Yes, amazingly enough, outside of football, two NIU teams have amassed the players and playing style worthy of excelling into the world of tightly contested play against teams and schools that do it year in and year out.

My only real problem lies within the consciousness of this fact to the NIU student body, and the student body not supporting the aforementioned teams.

The women’s volleyball team made their first NCAA appearance in ten years last season, and men’s soccer made their second appearance in the NCAA tournament in the entire lifespan of the program.

While I’m not expecting the entire population of students to suddenly overflow Victor E. Court or become crazed soccer hooligans, I believe watching a free sporting event is exciting in itself.

On top of that, there is also legitimate talent displaying their skills mere minutes away.

Take some time from your day to see for yourself, instead of having to find out from the newspaper every morning while you sit in class.

In last season’s opening game of men’s soccer play in the NCAA tournament, hosted by NIU, there were 528 people in attendance.

Compare this to a randomly selected home game for the team that knocked NIU out of the NCAA tournament, Creighton, which drew over 5,000 fans for a mid-season game against Drexel.

While there are no guarantees from year to year in the sporting world, aside from a few key losses in women’s volleyball roster, and the obvious departures from football, most of the squads who found so much success last season are still intact.

NIU football currently has the longest winning streak in the entire country of any program.

I understand prior commitments, “extra-curricular activities” and just pure laziness, but as college students with no money. But how can you actually pass this up?

I mean, it’s free entertainment that is actually capable of providing real excitement over the prospect of doing dirty laundry at mommy and daddy’s house, if only for one game.