By Danielle Williams 

williams11@grinnell.edu

Life gets hectic when nine guys are living together, even when you put them inside a spacious house such as the one on 817 7th Avenue. The building houses a group of seven football players, one baseball player and one hybrid player, who plays both sports.
Max Jacobsen ’14, Tom Brinkman ’13, Andrew Clark ’14, Seth Gustafson ’14, Jaryn “Kainoa” Inafuku ’14, Brian Taylor ’13 and Cody Weber ’13, Drew Blumberg ’13 and Morgan Kinsinger ’14 all call the house—affectionately named Goat House—home.

Upon first listen, one might think that the name of the house was attributed to a historical goat sacrifice or something of the sort. While that would make for an interesting story, the actual reason is a little different. The name actually came from a television show that the guys are fans of called Blue Mountain State, which is a satirical comedy series poking fun at Division I schools.
The friends decided that they “just wanted to live off-campus this year,” and it seems to have worked for them. They agree that the things that keep them together are their common love for sports and Super Smash Bros. However, these common interests do not necessarily mean that they always get along.
“Probably the worst part of living here is…” Brinkman started. “The sink, the dishes!” Weber finished from the kitchen.
Nudity has also been an issue for the group.
“Sometimes we walk around naked,” Brinkman said. “Which can be a problem when the girlfriends come over.”
Of course, there are upsides to living off-campus.
“It’s a cheaper alternative to staying on campus and it’s a lot more freedom,” Taylor said. “It prepares us more for after college… hopefully.”
“I love making my own food!” Weber said as he dug into lunch.
They all agreed that the best thing about the house are their humongous rooms which one would never expect the house to have judging by the exterior—kind of like Narnia.
“We’re big guys, so it’s nice to not have the tiny twin-sized beds on campus,” Brinkman said.
“I have a bathroom and washing machine right outside my door,” Inafuku added. “I like it a lot.”
According to the guys, the location of the house also makes it a lot easier to get to their classes, most of which are in the ARH and Steiner. And of course, the most advantageous aspect of their living situation is that it is easy to hang out with each other when living in the same house.
This is their first year living in the house, and they have high hopes about starting traditions.
“We’re going to throw a get-together soon, because it’s actually the century mark of this house,” Taylor said.
One tradition that they are particularly eager to start is a bi-weekly Super Smash Bros. tournament, in which the winners will be awarded with a trophy.
Everyone in the house is on the football team except for Inafuku, who says that he relishes the experience of living with his friends.
“They’ve been really good to me, they took me in. I feel like I’m almost on the team,” Inafuku said.