A few weeks back, writers across the country welcomed the start of springtime with the advent of baseball season. Especially in Boston, the American ritual of opening day is linked directly with the renewal associated with the warming of the weather. The question rings throughout Beantown: "Can the Sox finally do it this year?"

The tradition of hope extends from generation to generation all the way to time eternal. At least the Curse has gone on for so long that it seems like an ancient rite.

Even I, a lowly Mets fan from New Jersey, have always observed opening day with reverence, but the temple was not Shea Stadium, but Albion Park in Clifton, N.J. Baseball season was not baseball season and springtime had not yet sprung unless I, too, was on the ballfield.

Whether it was Little League, or simply having a catch (and yes, we "have" a catch, not "play" catch), there was something about being on the field that was always blissful. Even after my inability to hit precluded me from joining a team, I would still saddle down to the local park on occasion to reconnect to my playing days.

And so, now that the weather has warmed up, I feel officially in springtime because intramural and Crimson softball season has picked up. Intramural athletics receive almost no attention in the pages of the Crimson and on some level that is unfortunate.

In the name of good sportsmanship alone, Harvard students do dedicate themselves to athletic excellence. The same is true of JV sports. These people show up day in and day out and receive barely a whit of credit in front of the larger student body.

As someone who used to run this sports section, I can only say that with 41 varsity sports, our staff is taxed enough to merely get the latest fencing results, and then to try and put them in some form of a readable article.

There are countless stories that go missed, barely reported, or worse, relegated to the pages of the Harvard Independent. Nobody is writing about sophomore Neil Shah being voted the most improved member of the junior varsity men's hockey team and the effort that took.