Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/10/04
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]At 04:22 PM 10/4/01 -0400, Barney Quinn, Jr. wrote: >I understand the economic and PR importance of collegiate >sports, but having said that I also have to say that it was very >aggravating when you asked one of the prize steers how they did in a >particular course and they replied, "The coach fixed it for me." This >happened more often than one might think. My undergraduate studies were conducted with grand grace and elegance at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. W&L had had a long history of successful competition in NCAA Division I football before and immediately after the Second World War -- after all, just WHERE do you think the "W&L Swing" comes from, and WHY do you think it was written? -- but a cheating scandal following an appearance at the Sugar Bowl in, I believe, '53, caused the Trustees to defund athletics. This meant that the Athletic Department became a normal department, such as History or Philosophy or my own province, Classical Languages; we have had no 'athletic scholarships' since then, any more than we have 'English' or 'Mathematics' scholarships. General Lee, during his tenure, had established the student-run Honor System which is still in place -- "we shall not lie, cheat, or steal nor tolerate among us those who do so", a rather odd credo for an institution which produces corporate leaders, lawyers, doctors, and CPA's, but, so be it! I didn't understand, at the time, the pleasure of taking college examinations without proctoring -- we just picked up the exam from the Professor and returned it when we were done, without let or hindrance, and we could go back to our dorm rooms or apartments or to the library or the Co-op or wherever while we took it. We simply signed "the Pledge" on the cover. I don't recall anyone ever being caught abusing the privilege during my four years' there. Sure, we had jocks. W&L dominated Lacrosse back then, and in Division I, this being the later 1960's, before Maryland or Annapolis had discovered the sport, and we were always competitive in Division III basketball and baseball and swimming. But these were guys who had earned admission to a rather tough school on their academic records and who were there on the same sufferance which permitted my remaining as a matriculated student. None were hateful. I waited tables at the student Dining Hall. My Freshman Year, Dartmouth -- which apparently does have funded sports programs -- sent their lacrosse team down, and they were seated at my table. (We had sit-down dining in those days, with a waiter in attendance who set the food before the gluttonous proles.) The Dartmouth team became boisterous -- I suspect they had been discussing their game-play with John Barleycorn before dinner -- and kept calling me, "Ajax", demanding all sorts of special services. Being a Freshman and being most observant of General Lee's prescription that, "[W]e have but one rule here, and that rule is that every student shall be a gentleman", I continued to serve them in the face of increasing abuse. Finally, the Captain asked me, "Hey, Ajax! Are you a Foaming Cleanser?" Quick-witted as always, I answered suavely, "No, I'm actually a Flaming Asshole, but not as bad as you guys", which quieted them. The more sober of the team members removed the offensive ones and apologized. That was my one experience with jerk jocks. Even in years and years of military service, I never saw the sort of abusive behavior the other members of this List are describing. Civilized sports are cricket and baseball. I was disturbed last evening when ESPN2 (a subscription channel in most parts of the US) carried the Philadelphia-Atlanta game, while the regular ESPN channel (a gimme on most cable systems) carried some hockey game. (For non-USians, Atlanta and Philadelphia are in the throes of a race for the National League Least ... er, East ... title, so this game has a lot of national interest, thanks to the preservation of the sport by the owner of the Atlanta Braves, Ted Turner. Atlanta PROBABLY decided the issue by winning last evening but they're at it again tonight, first pitch barely an hour off, though, since this game is being broadcast on Ted's WTBS, I'll be able to watch it in peace.) I see no reason to subscribe to a cable TV channel to watch, at most, three or four games during the year. Argh! My father was a fan of football -- he went to Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins games in the 1930's, when 10,000 attendance caused the owners to fall to their knees with hallelujah's of praise. Marc msmall@roanoke.infi.net FAX: +540/343-7315 Cha robh bąs fir gun ghrąs fir! - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html