The Dinos mens soccer team

By Kris Kotarski

The most entertaining team on campus is back and ready to go and instead of babbling about “the Dinos hope to get X wins and this will happen if Y steps up,” I will instead say why this team is worth watching.

One: Head Coach Andy Gibbs is a riot. This applies to watching Gibbs berate referees from the sidelines, listening to his post-game ramblings or visiting his practice. No other coach on campus has managed to build up this sort of camaraderie with his players and no other coach ever will.

Two: Last season’s Dinos divided themselves into three separate groups. Each posse had their own name and their own personality, and these groups competed for fanfare from the Gauntlet and from the fans. The three groups are The Tigers, La Familia and The Dinos Protection Agency. The Tigers are a bunch of pretty boys (see fullback Andrew Zakaluzny), La Familia includes most of the team’s visible minorities (see midfielder Luis Morales) and the dpa is either retired or injured this season. The Dinos also feature the most popular man on campus, Tiger Matt Houston.

Three: Hard to believe, but the Dinos have the talent to compete in the notoriously tough Canada West Conference. They have a core of about ten veteran players (such as former Calgary Storm player Brian Newmarch) who can compete with anyone in the country. Supplementing the vets is an exciting array of rookies who will feature with prominence because so many of the veterans are hurt. This mix will make the season an exciting adventure–something the campus has come to demand from this multicultural mix of "personalities."

The soccer boys begin their season with two 2 p.m. games against Saskatchewan and Alberta on Sept. 14–15 at Foothills Athletic Park.