Sometime in the Spring of 2025 I read a social media post from Richard Deitsch (then of The Athletic) indicating that it’d be a good idea for someone to do stories about the fans of non-revenue generating college athletic programs (e.g. lacrosse, tennis, softball, baseball, field hockey, etc.). I thought it was a pretty cool idea and resolved to try and make that a goal for Season 5 of Conversations with Sports Fans.
In this episode you’ll be able to enjoy hearing from one such fan in the first of what I hope will be a series of episodes highlighting these under-the-radar athletic programs and their fans.
Perry Nigro works in the Charles Deering Library on the campus of Northwestern University and – for reasons best left for him to explain in a fascinating story – is a big fan of Northwestern Wildcats Women’s Field Hockey team. By his recollection, he’s missed two home matches the past 18 seasons. And, to be clear, that’s not a bad team to be a fan of. The Wildcats have won each of the past two NCAA Championships, were runners-up the previous two years, and won it all in 2021 to begin the decade.
I hope you enjoy hearing from Perry and take to heart his advice about checking out your local college campus for its athletic offerings to see what might there for you to begin spectating and, of course, not be afraid to watch something you’re not overly familiar with, it could lead down some interesting – and successful! – roads.