College Football
The "U" doesn't have its first game until Monday. However this Saturday provides more than enough opportunities for a football fix. I'm not sure if all that many games will mean much because most of the teams schedule cupcakes for their openers.
The exception being LSU vs Oregon. Even this game has lost a little bit of its luster as there are players serving suspensions for bad behavior. I don't want to go into details because I really don't care too much about either team and if by chance they get to a post season bowl game that will be enough time to do some research.
I would like to comment on Northwestern becoming a football factory in the Big Ten, Eleven or Twelve. Big Ten Football is a good show but it also has some of the crappier aspects of major college football. All told the opportunity to market the school, entertain the alumni, and get some face time on TV with the band, tailgating and giving "the student body" an excuse to binge before during and after the game is an awfully tempting part of college football.
Unknowingly I have attended to major party schools. The University of Miami and West Virginia University made their impression on me. The University of Miami had an average team during my undergraduate days but the link between college football and social life was definitely there. I have no doubt that football players were treated differently than those that paid tuition, took out loans and worked part time jobs to pay for school. Indirectly the football games were a big deal as eventually co-workers and friends eventually spent Saturdays going to the Orange Bowl and standing in line for beer at half time. Big games, national championships, and the team were a big focus of my time outside of work.
WVU took the college football experience to the next level. The school pretty much shut down on home football weekends. West Virginia was a place that in some ways felt like a hole above ground except when it came to football. The new stadium made the immediate area the largest concentration of people in the state. The Governor, Senators, and Statewide Politicians all attended games religiously. After graduation I went to see a big game between WVU and UM in Morgantown. WVU won the game and the WVU fans did not disappoint me in the nature of their after game celebration. The goal posts were torn down and carried down University Avenue until the police decided this was going to get ugly. Old couches and furniture were material for impromptu bonfires and more than a few drunken students were subject to disciplinary hearing from the school or the police based on where the infractions took place.
And this doesn't include $100 handshakes from boosters or any of the other stuff that gets programs into hot water with the NCAA.
The exception being LSU vs Oregon. Even this game has lost a little bit of its luster as there are players serving suspensions for bad behavior. I don't want to go into details because I really don't care too much about either team and if by chance they get to a post season bowl game that will be enough time to do some research.
I would like to comment on Northwestern becoming a football factory in the Big Ten, Eleven or Twelve. Big Ten Football is a good show but it also has some of the crappier aspects of major college football. All told the opportunity to market the school, entertain the alumni, and get some face time on TV with the band, tailgating and giving "the student body" an excuse to binge before during and after the game is an awfully tempting part of college football.
Unknowingly I have attended to major party schools. The University of Miami and West Virginia University made their impression on me. The University of Miami had an average team during my undergraduate days but the link between college football and social life was definitely there. I have no doubt that football players were treated differently than those that paid tuition, took out loans and worked part time jobs to pay for school. Indirectly the football games were a big deal as eventually co-workers and friends eventually spent Saturdays going to the Orange Bowl and standing in line for beer at half time. Big games, national championships, and the team were a big focus of my time outside of work.
WVU took the college football experience to the next level. The school pretty much shut down on home football weekends. West Virginia was a place that in some ways felt like a hole above ground except when it came to football. The new stadium made the immediate area the largest concentration of people in the state. The Governor, Senators, and Statewide Politicians all attended games religiously. After graduation I went to see a big game between WVU and UM in Morgantown. WVU won the game and the WVU fans did not disappoint me in the nature of their after game celebration. The goal posts were torn down and carried down University Avenue until the police decided this was going to get ugly. Old couches and furniture were material for impromptu bonfires and more than a few drunken students were subject to disciplinary hearing from the school or the police based on where the infractions took place.
And this doesn't include $100 handshakes from boosters or any of the other stuff that gets programs into hot water with the NCAA.
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