We watch them dominating on the field or court, memorize their stats and analyze their games. But what about when the whistle blows and the game ends? Really, who are these guys and girls that represent out school all across the country? Here are some of the athletes that we'd want to get to know a little better.
Jason Tsirtsis
By Daniel Hersh
Besides the fact that I already have faced the NCAA champ on the wrestling mat and on the arm wrestling table (arena? court?), we would absolutely be bros. This is mostly because we are both athletic fiends; he is an NCAA champion wrestler and I am a world champion fighter when I play with Anderson Silva in UFC Undisputed 3 on my Xbox. He dabbles in guitar, I can play expert (expert!) on Guitar Hero. The only thing he might beat me out in is disc golf—I’ve never played it and his hometown is a hub for it.
All terrible jokes aside, Tsirtsis contributes to his community by helping coach younger wrestlers and is just an all around great dude. As a reporter, I have the privilege of annoying all sorts of athletes with questions they probably don’t want to answer. Jason answered all of mine with a smile on his face and at least pretended that he was interested in what I was doing. I’ll be working out in preparation of our next arm wrestle encounter. This time, maybe I won’t embarrass myself.
Kyle Prater
By Andrew Brown
Aside from the obvious similarities (tall, athletic, handsome), I feel like Kyle and I could pretty easily bond over how often we are both left out. You may have heard the chants from frustrated fans at the Western Illinois game on the 20th: “Prater’s open! *five rhythmic claps* As long as the coaching staff continues to believe Northwestern can be a power run team, Kyle will find himself running hundreds of wind sprints every Saturday with nothing to show for it. I don’t know about you, but that makes me kind of sad.
I’ve been there, Kyle. Sometimes I don’t get invited to parties. Sometimes girls are “busy” and “can’t text” me. Sometimes my friends do their best to get me the ball, but panic and check down instead because they’re scared of that little tingle they get inside when they almost feel like D-1 quarterbacks. When times get tough, I like to drown my sorrows in mint chocolate chip ice cream and watch Love Actually on the couch with my dog. I’ll save a seat for you next time, Kyle.
Ifeadi Odenigbo
By Austin Siegel
If you want to talk about the best name on the 2014 Northwestern football team, the conversation really has to begin and end with Ifeadi Odenigbo. The son of Nigerian immigrants, Odenigbo made quite a name for himself on the football field, albeit a rather unique one at that. He recorded two sacks and three forced fumbles in last Saturday’s victory over Western Illinois and has become an absolute force on the Cats’ defensive line. Oh yeah, and we’d also totally be best buds.
You see, Ifeadi and I actually have more in common than meets the eye. We’re both from Ohio, we both go to Northwestern. That’s about it. But in all seriousness, Ifeadi really isn’t that different from most Northwestern students—he turned down offers from Notre Dame, Ohio State and USC to come to Northwestern to attend a top academic institution. He cares about grades just as much as the rest of us, but he also knows what it feels likes to sack Connor Cook. Seriously, can you imagine being in a study group with this guy?
JerShon Cobb
By Jasper Scherer
In his "Know Your Cats" 15-second interview from last season, Cobb said he's competitive and loves playing video games. If I'm playing video games, I play to win, and I want to face someone with that same mentality.
You also have to love his work ethic. Cobb came back nicely from a full-year suspension in 2012-13, and his teammates have always talked about how he matured during his time off — both as a person and as a basketball player.
He just seems like the type of person you'd want to hang out with. In an interview, Cobb said if he could play another sport, it would be baseball "because Albert Pujols has got $200 million." Seems like pretty sound reasoning to me.