By Natalie May Sioco
Intramurals is in full bloom, and while everyone swears they’re there for school spirit, you’re two rows up, fully committed to decoding a jersey like it’s a research assignment.
Number 17. Surname starts with an M. Got it.
The moment there’s a clear view of their back, the phone’s already in your hand. Type the name. Add the department. Hit search. Because in our Intramurals—it’s not just the competition on the court but also scouting crushes from the bleachers.
Operation Window Shopping: Commence.
From there, it’s hard not to get carried away. The court starts to feel not only like a ball field but also like a lineup of favorite faces, with potential crush candidates popping up everywhere. Profiles flick past, some skipped, some paused mid-flash.
Clean three-pointer? Add to cart. Good footwork? Bonus points. One confident score? Pin to the wishlist. Lastly, one smirk after a timeout, and suddenly that jersey number matters more than the scoreboard.
Before you even know it, you start to take note of one particular jersey number. Somehow your eyes keep finding it again, as if a single surname stitched across the back can pull you in when no other connection exists.
And that’s only a scratch on the surface. The more you know the more you fall into this deep hole of wanting more. You catch yourself memorizing the little details, from their noticeable features, to how giddy they become after scoring a point.
Until you know just enough to spark a conversation, one where the unspoken signals do all the talking.
A brush on the shoulder? Message sent. Eye to eye across the court? Message delivered. A half-smile thrown your way? Message replied. Things that need no words, no chat bubbles, yet still keep the conversation flowing.
Every bit of interaction feels like a notification you pretend not to care much about, but secretly hope keeps coming back. Every reply feels fresh and makes your heart jump. It’s light, it’s fun, it’s intoxicating.
Operation Crush: Engaged.
From here on out, the hunt is on. The admiring, the staring—but no, that isn’t merely enough. There should be progression, and pulling just about every trick in the book does it because, obviously, it is that serious.
You pick a newly integrated one-week planner on what to wear and a seat with the perfect view of the court. All for that smile that makes you wonder what it would be like if they looked at you the same way they look at the game. Same intensity, fire, and devotion.
Somewhere along the way, that admiration twisted into obsession. You track every step, replaying and ranking them. At some point, all those tiny wins of casual exchanges have lessened the distance between you two. The jersey number that once existed only across the court suddenly feels closer. And for that, what started as window shopping begins to look a lot more like stepping into the store.
Which, naturally, leads to the next phase.
Heads-up: Background Checks Routine.
Look around. Every person has a bit of flavor to themselves, may it be red flags, green flags, or even a yellow one.
Sometimes those tiny add-ons don’t quite match the cake you’ve baked in your imagination. Some discoveries feel promising. An achiever, kind, and caring as seen in their long gratitude posts. On the other end, red flags may pop from here and there, the proud snaps of addictions, publicized offensive hot takes, and even a history of infidelity.
But nothing takes the cake more than the confusing yellow flags, the cryptic captions, the random late-night posts, or the comment sections that make you pause for a second. Nevertheless, a choice should be made.
Choose Your Ending: Final Selection.
Bounce or pursue? No matter how much your mind has been decking the halls of fantasy all week the way reality will unfold is within your hands.
Need a little guidance? Consider this your friendly tip from the sidelines: even the most logical sides of us can take a pause. After all, intramurals exist for the sole purpose of that pause: to breathe some air, and to act on those intrusive thoughts that your usual academic side may not allow.
So chase, have fun, and maybe even confess along the way. These intramurals should be your reminder that: the greatest risk is not taking one.
