Everyone on this board has had the experience of watching children participate in sports. This could be Little League, soccer, basketball, or myriad other sports. To my knowledge, children have never been booed at these events. The reason is simple. Parents have their children participate for a number of reasons; to develop physically, to learn to be a good winner, to learn to be a good loser, to be part of the team, etc. While the contests are often ENTERTAINING they are not ENTERTAINMENT in the same way that a movie, play, or Viking game is entertainment. Parents would have their children participate in these events even if they were not entertaining to gain the ancillary benefits described above for their children.
I feel the same way about Gopher football. I am not naïve. I understand that universities market football as entertainment to serve their own purposes; to raise money from alumni, to publicize the school, to engage state Legislators, to relieve the financial burden of non-revenue producing sports, etc. Moreover, coaches use the players to advance their own careers and to act out their own competitive needs. Nevertheless, even with the most cynical college presidents and the most manipulative head football coaches, there is an undeniable extra dimension in college football that is not there in professional football.
College football programs take young men, 17 or 18 years old, and mold their character in much the same manner that the Marines mold character. From all accounts, (I never played D1 football) big time football is a pressure cooker. Discipline is forced on the players in most facets of their life. They have to show up to practice on time or be punished. They have to show up for study sessions, watch film, lift weights, be on their best behavior because they are living under a microscope, eat healthily and so on and so on. Many of these players, both black and white, arrive poorly socialized and emotionally immature. With out a big-time program they would have difficulty becoming productive members of society. With the discipline that a football program imposes they have a 90% chance of graduating with a college degree (Maturi's numbers for players that stay with the program) and, I would submit, the ability to move through life with a lot more discipline and purpose than they otherwise would have had. For many players, football can be redemptive.
I mentioned I wasn't naïve nor am I blind. Like everyone else I watched Weber throw the ball into the ground, the receivers run routes that were obviously wrong, the line missing blocks, the defensive backs blowing coverage, and the team making many other mistakes. I do not see how booing the team or person would be helpful. I do not see how booing furthers the extra dimension of college football, the possibly redemptive nature of the game. It is like telling a fat lady she is fat. She already knows it and she doesn't want or need to hear it from you. The players don't want or need to hear me boo. They know that they have screwed up or they soon will know when they get to the sidelines.
One last note. Professional football is a different animal. Professional football is explicitly sold as entertainment. I don't personally boo professional athletes but I don't object to people that do. I also understand for some fans Gopher Football is only about the entertainment value. They have no emotional investment either in the University of Minnesota or in the success of the young men who make up the football team, but for myself I wish nothing but the best for these young men. I will not boo them.
I feel the same way about Gopher football. I am not naïve. I understand that universities market football as entertainment to serve their own purposes; to raise money from alumni, to publicize the school, to engage state Legislators, to relieve the financial burden of non-revenue producing sports, etc. Moreover, coaches use the players to advance their own careers and to act out their own competitive needs. Nevertheless, even with the most cynical college presidents and the most manipulative head football coaches, there is an undeniable extra dimension in college football that is not there in professional football.
College football programs take young men, 17 or 18 years old, and mold their character in much the same manner that the Marines mold character. From all accounts, (I never played D1 football) big time football is a pressure cooker. Discipline is forced on the players in most facets of their life. They have to show up to practice on time or be punished. They have to show up for study sessions, watch film, lift weights, be on their best behavior because they are living under a microscope, eat healthily and so on and so on. Many of these players, both black and white, arrive poorly socialized and emotionally immature. With out a big-time program they would have difficulty becoming productive members of society. With the discipline that a football program imposes they have a 90% chance of graduating with a college degree (Maturi's numbers for players that stay with the program) and, I would submit, the ability to move through life with a lot more discipline and purpose than they otherwise would have had. For many players, football can be redemptive.
I mentioned I wasn't naïve nor am I blind. Like everyone else I watched Weber throw the ball into the ground, the receivers run routes that were obviously wrong, the line missing blocks, the defensive backs blowing coverage, and the team making many other mistakes. I do not see how booing the team or person would be helpful. I do not see how booing furthers the extra dimension of college football, the possibly redemptive nature of the game. It is like telling a fat lady she is fat. She already knows it and she doesn't want or need to hear it from you. The players don't want or need to hear me boo. They know that they have screwed up or they soon will know when they get to the sidelines.
One last note. Professional football is a different animal. Professional football is explicitly sold as entertainment. I don't personally boo professional athletes but I don't object to people that do. I also understand for some fans Gopher Football is only about the entertainment value. They have no emotional investment either in the University of Minnesota or in the success of the young men who make up the football team, but for myself I wish nothing but the best for these young men. I will not boo them.
