SOCIAL MEDIA

WHY ROW?

For a crewman, there is no reason to row. He may approach the sport to test his strength, for he has heard it requires power. He may seek in it a place to belong, noticing the natural camaraderie which is common to oarsmen. He may endeavor to unlock the secret of its beauty, seeing the rhythm and synchronization of an “eight”. But once he is a part of that unique fraternity of athletes, he no longer wonders what, why or how. He simply knows without explanation.

Yet we could say that it is the realization of the existence of these attributes, without flaunting them, that causes a man to sacrifice himself for crew. He feels power in the flex of the oars, hears it in the unified snap-click of the oarlocks. He trusts every man in the boat to do his best, fully aware that they are depending on him for an equal output. An “oar” does not seek glory, for he is but one of nine working to perhaps grab fleeting fame as a unit.

The strange grace and beauty which belongs to the sport is more of a feeling than a sight. Who but an oarsman can comprehend all the literal blood, sweat and tears that culminate in an eight going all out with a precision, finesse, and smoothness unusual to an individual - fantastic in a nine-part unit? Who but an oarsman could know what self-denial had to be practiced having that bow surge so cleanly, so powerfully over the water? Spectators watch, sigh and exclaim, applaud, and cheer, but they just do not know, they cannot know what their brief plaudits are for.

With all the anonymity, with all the sacrifice, with all the laborious tedium involved: why does a man row?

Because he HAS rowed.

Stanley “Stosh” Becchetti ‘66

Captain - Marist Varsity Crew

    1965-66 Season

*as published in the President’s Cup Regatta program April 30th, 1966