This is for all the haters out there.

The ones that say that little people don't matter.

The ones that say you're not important until you're big-time.

Sam Jackson knows what I'm talking about; he even did a commercial about it with T-Mac and the Big Ticket, little people who've made it big in the NBA.

On a much smaller level come a bunch of guys who do it for the love of the game and the pure determination to win.

In Happy Valley, where sports have hit the proverbial wall, there is one program that continually produces championship banners and storied achievement.

That team is currently in Iowa, awaiting the start of the annual national tournament. It just so happens that this program is going for its fifth straight national championship. It has been ranked No. 1 for the entire season, and plays every game with a bull's-eye on its sweater. The coach describes that bull's-eye as one that gets bigger every year, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

Unfortunately, that team isn't even considered a real team by all. Some consider it a second-class citizen of the sports world, while others don't give it the time of day. It's not a varsity team, so the program doesn't deserve it. That could not be farther from the truth.

The Penn State men's hockey team is a club team, but that shouldn't disqualify it from all its accomplishments.

Now, I know all of the other club teams at Penn State complain about all of the coverage the Penn State ACHA Div. I Icers receive in The Daily Collegian, but their accomplishments have been truly remarkable considering the resources Penn State has given them -- that being absolutely nothing.

The Icers quietly go about their business without the perks that varsity teams receive, and throughout it all they continue to win.

The Icers win, even though they don't receive scholarships. They win even though they raise all of their own funding, for everything from equipment to travel. The Icers do this with the "club" title in front of their name.

For them, "club" is just a word that often gets thrown around in its improper context. For others, it means they don't matter. In reality, they probably matter more than some varsity teams.

It's true maybe only because they win, but winning is what they do. It's why players who could suit up for Div. I schools choose to play at Penn State.

When the Icers lose a game, it's big news. No other Penn State sport can be labeled with the same distinction. I'll give you football to an extent in any other year but this one, but nothing else. Some varsity teams, like men's swimming, are happy and proud to finish in seventh place in the conference. The Icers have finished lower than second in the nation in seven years.

The kicker for the Icers is the fact that they bring in thousands of dollars in revenue every season and pack the Greenberg Ice Pavillion with thousands of fans. There are plenty of varsity sports that lose tons of money for Penn State, and always perform in front of empty seats when at home.

The Icers also realize we are the student newspaper, whose job it is report athletic events at Penn State. The Icers don't work behind a closed door that's guarded by Penn State athletics, instead allowing the type of access that none other do.

Sports at Penn State are big-time. It's a big stage. There's big exposure and big-time winning.

The Icers don't fit that description, except for the winning classification.

And that's all that matters.