Hello, my fellow Red Dragons! My name is Lauren Bentz, I am a senior sport management major, student football manager, a resident assistant, as well as the Vice President and Treasurer of Newman Club on campus. As someone who has grown up around sports, I know the influence they can have on an individual.
Whether you are an athlete, a superfan, or somewhere in between, sports play an important part in our life. Though I love all sports, the two that played a major role in my life were football and soccer. That role is comfort.
The passion and love for sports begins at an early age in life. For me it started when I was 5 years old and has developed each year. When I was five, a family member of mine got drafted in the first round of the National Football League (NFL). That following fall I went to my first NFL game in Baltimore, MD. From that moment, I knew that I wanted to work in sports.
The energy, excitement, and culture surrounding the game kick started my realization that football is more than a game and hobby. There is a sense of belonging rooted in love with a feeling of home filled with family and friends.
I was 6 when I started playing soccer. For years it was an aspect that consumed my life. In school, soccer was the only thing I wanted to write about, whether it was about practice, or a game, or about me loving soccer, I wanted to write about it. During recess if a boy grabbed a soccer ball, I was ditching those monkey bars, grabbing my soccer teammates and we were playing soccer.
My love of sports was rooted in football and soccer very early on and continued as I grew up. Sports gave me a piece of mind.
When I turned 8, my whole world got flipped upside down. My mom had passed after fighting a genetic disorder, Neurofibromatosis (NF1). Through the difficult years and learning what I thought at the time would be a new life, sports helped me stay grounded.
Through my love of playing soccer, I was able to forge meaningful friendships with my teammates. These connections helped me get through terrible times but also made our young, vulnerable team strong.
My love of football grew my family and I closer. We would watch the game(s) every Sunday. My brother Mike and I would always make sure we at least watched the Ravens game. Football drove a stronger connection between me and my brother and also with me and the game. The comfort I got from watching the games with my brother is a feeling that I still get today.
As my love and passion for sports, mainly football, flourished, it ultimately lend a hand in my choice of major.
I arrived on campus in August of 2021 ready to take what Cortland was going to throw at me. Little did I know I would end up being a student manager for the football team.
The past three years have been truly unbelievable and unforgettable. When I first started I was on top on the Chugger Davis building, learning to film, what type and when to film. Seeing football from another perspective gave me a newfound appreciation and love.
I grew to love the program, team and everyone involved very quickly. Being around the game and learning something new each day was rejuvenating and allowed me to be reminded of what I love.
The summer of 2023, I lost my grandfather. His loss was extremely difficult for a multitude of reasons. When August came back around, I genuinely did not want to come back for football camp or school. I had already made a commitment and I am not one to break commitments or let people down.
Once I got back to campus on August 9, 2023, and practices started shortly after I was happy again. Even though being back in a place where I love and doing what I love, there were some difficult challenges.
There were many ups and downs for me throughout the fall semester, but football was always there to help get through. Filming the practices and games gave me joy and happiness. The connections and bonds made during this season are unbreakable.
The National Championship Game was a whirlwind. I was anxious, nervous, excited, joyous, and in the end just speechless. The air was filled with emotions, everywhere you looked our Red Dragons were hugging, crying, and holding that trophy with humble dignity.
