At Clark, sports seem to exist in another world. Clarkies are peripherally aware of them, they know that games and practices must take place, but in their hearts, they really don’t seem to care. There is no huge football team to rally behind, and the basketball and baseball games are usually attended by people involved in some other sport at Clark. The lack of enthusiasm for the sports teams has nothing to do with their records—most Clarkies are totally unaware of each team's records. But to the people who are play sports, the team seems to encompass their entire life. They wake up early to practice together, eat together, take many of the same classes, then practice again, eat again, and in many cases, room together, as well. This leads many people to say that athletic Clarkies take their sport far too seriously in relation to the rest of the student body. If you dream of widespread popularity, fans, and praise for your athletic accomplishments, do not come to Clark.
For the less serious, yet still athletic, there are intramurals. To many Clarkies, it seems that IMs are the real sports action on campus since those competitions are the ones you are most likely to talk about with your friends or overhear people discussing in the UC. Clarkies love their IM seasons and look forward to them every year, sometimes with sinister and dramatic plans in place to assemble the perfect team and score an undefeated record. It never gets too serious, though, and that’s how Clarkies like it, since academics or relaxation are easily the top priorities for most students.