There's nothing quite like sports to bring our entire campus together. The problem, however, is that Harvard students are notorious for being fair-weather fans. We ignore our losing teams and only take notice of our winning teams after they've accomplished a major feat on the national scale. Indeed, with the exception of certain Yale football and Princeton basketball rivalries, our bleachers usually don't need much cleaning.

One theory is that our athletic indifference stems from the increasing prominence of extracurricular activities, a trend that has taken attention away from our teams. Others have suggested that many of us don't have any school spirit, either because were too embarrassed or too cynical to be rooting for Fair Harvard. And, of course, it could be that students are just too busy.

I think the problem is much simpler: We need a Cup.

This past weekend in Brookline, the United States made a remarkable come-back-from-behind to reclaim the Ryder Cup. But even more remarkable was the pre-game hype and post-victory hyperbole.

According to most accounts, the event was Dramatic. Epic. Heroic. Our boys in red, white and blue persevered through sand and rough. Justin Leonard's 45-foot Shot Heard Round the World was a thundering triumph for democracy. Our NATO allies were sent home empty-handed.

Pardon me, but isn't this golf were talking about?

Certainly, sports-writing can tend to be melodramatic. But how the Ryder Cup has managed to galvanize such a large segment of the American populace--the event was front page news across the country--is beyond me. According to NBC, a record 55 million viewers tuned in to watch the trans-Atlantic battle of our country clubs' finest. Add to that the 30,000 fans who gathered a dozen-deep to wave and cheer America on.

What's so special about the Ryder Cup?