Soccer is to the small town of Yarmouth, Maine as football is to Texas. Like a scene out of Friday Night Lights, the Yarmouth High School stadium bleachers fill with the rumble of proud students, parents and townsfolk, eager to watch their state champions play for them. Will Bergesch, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ‘13, places himself back as player in this scene as he recalls the overwhelming spirit in the quiet, individualized community of the FCLC McMahon Hall dorm building.

“In Yarmouth, if there’s an event, you go because you’re a Yarmouth kid,” Bergesch said. “At Fordham, if an event is thrown, well, only slivers go.”

Bergesch grew up in a tight-knit town where everyone knew each other. His town was so small, in fact, that he graduated with most of the kids he had known since third grade. Bergesch began playing soccer at an early age, when he joined peewee leagues and club teams, but it was not until high school that he learned what being a part of a team meant for his place in the community.

“Soccer got everyone out. For such a small town, we had a very over-funded soccer team—an Olympic-sized soccer field with high quality AstroTurf and lights,” Bergesch said. “For a small high school, I always thought it was really cool because you could always tell when there was a soccer game going on. You’d see the lights lighting up the night coming off the highway. You’d drive into town and you’d see cars parked, lining up the road. That was any game.”

Despite his love for being on a team sport, the sophomore admits that playing soccer also made a kid popular in his cliquey high school. Every sport had its ranking and cross country was the least admired. Bergesch participated in four others: crew, baseball, track and soccer, which was the top tier. Although he hated that it had a social hierarchy that almost reached the level of Mean Girls-esque designated lunch tables and glorified athletes, it was not entirely unwarranted.

“Put it this way, I thought it was really fake but I learned to play the game. I liked our soccer team because there really was a spirit. We had a reputation. We were very arrogant about it. But we learned to back it up,” Bergesch said. “To the degree that we were jerks about it, we really did work amazingly hard and cared about each other. Pride isn’t a sin. In fact, I think it’s healthy.”

At Lincoln Center, Bergesch is a philosophy and history double major who focuses more on mock trial, practicing classical piano and staying fit. He has a strict schedule of waking up at 4 a.m. four days a week which starts with going for a run, playing the piano for two hours and then heading to class. Although he does not play soccer as often anymore, he still misses the sense of pride and togetherness that being on a sports team brought. In fact, to him, the clubs at Fordham create a sense of fractiousness. He said thatThe special interest clubs, such as the various ethnic clubs, only attract those who can identify with it.

“There’s only one event that I can think of [that brings all students together] and that’s Midnight Breakfast. I think we could do better at coming together as a school if we had that influence over everything,” Bergesch said. “We don’t have anything that runs on Fordham spirit because there is no Fordham spirit. I don’t know how to fix the problem but I know how it looks like when it’s working.”