Tragedy makes game day seem even more trivial

The silence is over.

College football came back Thursday night.

But while there were crowds, screaming and yelling, you could hear a difference. The cowbells, a tradition at Mississippi State games in Starkville since the 1940s, didn't ring. The bells, which fans clanged incessantly, were banned in 1974 from SEC games. But thousands of fans always sneaked them in. Thursday they couldn't. Every bag and person coming into Scott Field was searched.

So much for college football being a return to normalcy in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But, hey, college football should never be used as a gauge for what is normal. Things have never been normal in this sport.

C'mon, more than 100,000 people clad in an eye-squinting orange slobbering all over themselves for a bunch of 18-22-year-olds running through the T at Neyland Stadium? That's not normal.

Neither is everybody knowing "Between the Hedges" means Georgia football. And more people knowing that "War Eagle" is the Auburn battle cry than "We Dare Defend Our Rights," is the Alabama State motto. Or a school (South Carolina) that has only won two bowl games in more than 100 years of football still being ranked among the top 15 of the nation in attendance each year. Or people getting goosebumps when they dot the i at Ohio State. Or Touchdown Jesus.

You know what else isn't normal? A high school coach in Memphis selling his player for $200,000 to Alabama. Think it just happens nowadays? Gomer Jones, Bud Wilkinson's right-hand man during Oklahoma's 47-game win streak in the 1950s, kept a slush fund for players in his desk drawer.

College football is far from normal. It's corruption, tradition, winning, losing, tailgating, bonding and breaking apart. It is a game. A game that is taken way too seriously by way too many people. This week when many of us stream back into the stadiums, perhaps for the first time in a long time, maybe we will finally realize that.

Just wondering

Has anyone else noticed the resemblance between the rootenest, tootenest cowboy in the West, Yosemite Sam, and Fresno State coach Pat Hill?

Take two

Real Sports on HBO aired a glowing story on Penn State's Joe Paterno this week. As a part of that report they talked about how clean the program was and has been. In addition, the program talked about how Joe Pa has zero tolerance for troublemakers.

The same day it was revealed in an Associated Press story that two Penn State football players had been arrested for assaulting a student at a party. The two players were not suspended by Paterno.

Ho-hum heartland

Think you were bored without college football last Saturday? In Kansas the fans still showed up at the stadium and held tailgate parties. KU coach Terry Allen, who had nothing else to do, even showed up with his family.

Passing fancy

The nation's leader in pass receptions is playing for the first time in four years. He's not on scholarship. He was on the scout team last season. He plays for an out-of-theway school in an even more out- of-the-way state. He doesn't even stand 6-feet tall.

But Utah State's Kevin Curtis has averaged 11.5 receptions in his first two games. He ranks 10th in the nation in receiving yards (135.50) and 49th in all-purpose yardage (135.50). Curtis had 11 catches for 171 yards against Utah on Sept. 1, then had 12 catches for 100 yards against then 13th-ranked Louisiana State on Sept. 8.

Curtis will be put on scholarship in the spring, Aggies officials said.

Oops of the week

Virginia coach Al Groh made his travel plans a little too public this week. When asked by reporters how his team would deal with security measures on its trip to Clemson the coach responded with:

"I'm not saying this to make light of it by any means, but I'm not planning on having Arabs in the traveling party. So therefore I think probably that the threat of our being hijacked is pretty remote."

The reaction by the university and public was quick and not good. Groh quickly issued an apology.

"I am sorry if my remarks were insensitive," Groh said. "I certainly did not mean to insinuate that millions of sensitive, God- fearing people of Arabic descent are terrorists.

"Like many American citizens, my emotions are near the surface after last week's tragedy, especially since 70 people in the town I lived in for four years, many of whom I know, are missing."

Decisions, decisions

Houston players, like many across the Lone Star State, have questioned Mack Brown's decision to have Chris Simms be the Texas starter at quarterback instead of Major Applewhite.

"I'm not going to hit him (Simms) hard. I want him to stay in the game, because if Applewhite gets in the game, he's smarter than Simms is," Houston defensive end Adrian Lee told reporters.

"I think they made a mistake by naming Simms as the starter," added safety Hanik Milligan. "Applewhite is more poised and smarter. Simms is just a running back out there. He's got a lot of receivers, so he's just pretty much playing street ball."

Simms has 10 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in his time as the starter. Applewhite holds 40 school passing records and is the career passing leader at UT.

By the numbers

0 - Touchdown passes thrown by USC's Carson Palmer. He is 37 of 64 for 410 yards and one interception for the Trojans (1-1).

4 - Blocked punts by Central Michigan freshman James King against Michigan State. Two were returned for touchdowns.

5 - Blocked punts King has this season. He leads the NCAA.

7 - Years it has been since Notre Dame has beaten Michigan State. The Spartans are 4-0 over Notre Dame in that time. The teams play at South Bend today.

Copyright 2001 Cowles Publishing Company
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.