Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/10/04

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Subject: [Leica] College Sports
From: Marc James Small <msmall@roanoke.infi.net>
Date: Thu, 04 Oct 2001 18:32:57 -0400
References: <46204721.1002194769@sgathan.reid.org>

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!

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