So the weekend has passed and the excitement has finally died down, and all is left is the aches and pains of the battle, and some trophies. Roses 2011 unfortunately slipped away from the Red Rose this year, but as Vice President (Sports) I don’t think I could be prouder of the effort put forward by Lancaster’s teams. You fought with vigour and confidence, and some of you were successful and truly destroyed the White Rose. However, overall, we were left wanting. That doesn’t mean I’m not proud of you at all.
The fact that LUSU transported just over 750 students to York last weekend shows me one thing: we care more about Roses than ever before, arguably more than York, whose support over the weekend was extremely bare as everyone could see. To the captains and players who have trained so hard over the past few weeks, thank you. Your dedication towards the cause this past weekend has been admirable and inspirational. The way you carried the University on your shoulders is something you can be very proud of: I know I certainly am. To the staff of LUSU who have been nothing short of fantastic in the past few months dealing with a Roses-obsessed Handley, thank you. The effort put up by Lancaster couldn’t have happened without you guys making sure I wasn’t being an idiot about things and making sure I kept on going.
However all is not lost, there are only approximately 348 days until Roses 2012 and there are a few plans already in motion for it. We have a fantastic new Sports Centre to look forward to and having our students show off our facilities and destroy York is going to be something I cannot wait to see.
York are already resigning themsevles to the fact that they will probably lose next year, and it is only a few days after their win, so who knows how nervous they’re going to be come next May. We may have lost this battle, but the war is still to be won. Roses are red, end of.
