Stop and say hello the next time you see them.
You know who I'm talking about.
That person you walk past on your way to class, that unfamiliar face. Next time you see them, stop and say hello because for all you know you may very well be greeting a champion.
Now when I say champion, I'm not talking about the face you'll see on a billboard 30-ft above interstate 280. I'm not talking about the names you see in an argument about whether or not student-athletes should be getting paid for their "services."
I'm talking about the unsung heroes. You may not know Stacie Ballou, but she just brought a huge honor to campus. You may not recognize Kerrie Kolackovsky, but she's already proven to be outstanding.
The Big East Championship victory for our women's golf team should show people that our attention has been paid to the wrong programs on campus.
The faces on that team have now all done more for this school than anybody who has ever dribbled a ball inside the Prudential Center.
But it's women's golf.
Who cares about women's golf?
You should. I should. We all should care.
Why?
Because at some point, there needs to be a little bit of pride put into athletics.
Right now I'm sure most of the population of this campus couldn't pick Hannah Basalone out of a line-up, yet the most famous name in Seton Hall athletics is a high school kid whose twitter bio reads, "COLLEGE FOR FREE."
Choose your heroes wisely.
These women play for you and me. These women play for Seton Hall.
Watch ESPN for the next couple of years. Watch the "pay for play," debates on Outside the Lines and Pardon the Interruption and Around the blah-blah-blah.
See if they quote a male golfer, or bowler or a women's cross-country star in their argument over an athlete's compensation.
If you get a chance, try and have a conversation with cross-country captain Nyala Eddings. I've been able to talk to many different athletes during my time at the Setonian and I guarantee you won't find a more perfect example of a model student-athlete than Eddings.
Given the nature of her sport, Eddings will most likely never be a household name.
It's a shame though because this is the type of athlete you and I should be looking up to.
This is the type of person that you should see on this campus and label a hero.
Gerard Gilberto is a senior journalism major from Staten Island, N.Y. He can be reached at gerard.gilberto@student.shu.edu.
