The Bucknell Crew Community

Jeremy Urban, 6/17/06

The single best example of what Bucknell University means to me occurred on March 19th, 2005. The night before I had been screaming at the TV, as the 14th seeded Bucknell Men's Basketball Team upset the 3rd seeded University of Kansas in the first round of the 2005 NCAA National Championship Tournament. My excitement and pride in Bucknell lasted through the night and overflowed to that Saturday morning, however I was without any Bucknell brethren to join in celebration as I was in New York City for an indoor paddling regatta. In an unknown city, getting ready to step on the erg, and all I wanted to do was hang with some Bucknellians and celebrate the basketball team's amazing victory.

Well, as I stood behind the ergs I did a double-take and who did I see standing right next to me? Levi Chow '01, my coxswain from freshman fall! He was just as surprised to see me as I was to see him since we had not seen each other since before he graduated. Our catching up on each other's lives quickly turned to a shared excitement over the success of the basketball team the night before. It wasn't long after seeing Levi that I get a text-message from another fellow alumnus--this time sophomore year. Brian Goldsmith '02, my coxswain from sophomore fall was in the exact same mode as I was: "Yeah Bucknell Basketball! Quick, I need to find some BU friends to celebrate with!" Again, Brian and I talked and reveled in our shared excitement and joy for the basketball team, for we both knew what those student-athletes had invested and endured while at Bucknell.

I cannot say I expected to run into Levi like that, but I should have known. Bucknell University and Bucknell Crew always seem to surprise me like that: bringing me home and making me remember the wonderful community, often when I don't even expect it. And that is precisely what I treasure when I think of Bucknell University: the Crew team and the community, often being one in the same.

It was because of this Bucknell Crew community that I found myself racing south on I-476 to get to the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia, PA on May 12th, 2006. To make it to the regatta in time for the men's Varsity 8 repechage and the men's Junior Varsity 8 heat on Friday afternoon, I had to leave Ithaca, NY Friday morning--before the Varsity 8 had even raced their heat. With the utmost confidence in the Varsity 8 advancing that morning, I drove to Philly knowing that I would see them race again that afternoon.

I, and many other alumni, were heading to the Dad Vail Regatta partly to catch up with each other, but mainly to see the men's Varsity 8 race on Saturday in the semi-finals. A Bucknell men's Varsity 8 racing in the semi-finals of Dad Vails would be a tremendous success since it has not happened in a very long time, if ever. And it was to be a part of this success and for the guaranteed celebration afterwards that so many alumni were going to the regatta.

I arrived at the river just in time to stake out a good viewing spot and catch the beginning of the men's Varsity 8 repechage races (of course, running into a few other Bucknellians along the way with which to watch and cheer). Cheering and taking pictures, we watched as the Bucknell Varsity 8 raced their best race of the year but fell short behind La Salle University and the University of Rochester, finishing in 3rd place out of 4 boats, one place out of the semi-finals.

However it was to the excitement of all of the gathered supporters that the Junior Varsity 8 stepped up a few hours later to earn a 2nd place finish, a spot in the finals on Saturday, and an extension of the Bucknell Crew community's celebration for a second day. A Bucknell men's Junior Varsity 8 racing on the second day of Dad Vails was just as rare and worthy of celebration as the Varsity 8 and the gathered alumni knew it.

On Saturday, the nervous anticipation leading up to the JV8 final was felt by rower and alumnus alike, reminding us all of the Bucknell Crew community. Rain delays and schedules conspired to prevent many of the alumni from actually seeing the JV8's performance in the final on Saturday afternoon but they were present and cheering in spirit (and on cell phones in some cases!).

The Bucknell Crew community was out in force that weekend. Students, parents, alumni, and spouses enjoying the stories of the team from yesteryear while gathering to cheer on the current team. For all of us, what we treasure about Bucknell University are our experiences on the crew team and the community with which we can always remember that past while celebrating the present and future. Sometimes I am reminded of this at a time as hard to predict as when I ran into Levi Chow in New York City; other times it comes from the ever predictable thrill of watching the blue and orange blades race to the finish line. But always, it is the community and the crew team which makes me feel like I am home.

Oh, and who was that 4th crew? Who was the team that the Varsity 8 defeated in their repechage race during their best performance of the year?

The University of Kansas, of course.