Do you root for your alma mater?

Somebody had to do it.

 

I'm trying to root for my alma mater, but they're losing to Idaho at the moment.

 

The Vandals are a power

 

They certainly were when they beat WSU my last two years there.

 

All together now ..

Hail Dear Old State
Fight for that Victory to-day
Hit that line and tote that ball
Cross that goal before-you-fall
and then we'll Yell, Yell, Yell, Yell
For Dear Old State we'll
YELL LIKE HELL !!
Fight for Mississippi State
Win that game to-day!

Take it to those AU War Eagles, boys !!
Whew, Whew .. yeeeee-ha !

 

I root for my alma mater ... root for them to lose ... and they usually do ... yay school!

 

I graduated from UCLA two years ago and I'm just as big a bruin fan now as I was then (arguably even bigger). In fact you could say that I follow the teams even more closely now than I did as a student, mostly because the majority of the games I watch now are at a buddies' place with a few other alums in a fairly laid back atmosphere, whereas the majority of my gameday experiences as a student involved getting shit-faced at the stadium.

 

I've dealt with Fabian Joseph a few times over the years and I'm sure he's happier in Moncton. Recruiting in the AUS is a real dogfight, particularly for a good academic school like Dal. In the Q, the players come to you.

 

Believe me, I know how big high school coverage is. I spent five years in the business at a shop where highs schools ruled. People cared A LOT more about the local high schools than they did even the D-II college team we covered, as evidenced by the crowds etc. But we're talking about an area where there's not a lot to do otherwise, where there's a strong sense of community and the school represents the town. In Georgia, where I'm at, Class A schools in small towns like Hawkinsville, Jefferson, Commerce, Lincolnton (Lincoln County High where the state's winningest coach in history is) and Bowdon all sort of fit that bill. Even some of the AA and AAA schools are like that.

But getting back to my BIL, Uncle Rico, we're talking a huge school in a county of 700,000 people. There's no sense of community. He doesn't live anywhere near there any more. But every Friday night, rather than taking his wife (he married way up) to dinner or a movie, he drags her all over North Georgia to wherever his crappy alma mater is playing. If his alma mater isn't playing, he'll find another high school game to go to. I live practically next door to the high school I went to (which is a an AAAA school) and could give a shit less how they're doing or where they're playing. I stopped caring the minute I got the fuck out of that place!

OK. End of rant. Goooooo GSU Panthers - when they finally get that football team Dan Reeves is working on

 

We have a bad 6A that draws maybe 100 people and a good 4A that draws maybe 1,000. So I wonder, if all the people staying at home or doing other things are choosing to read about it the next day or not at all because they really don't give a fuck to the highest degree?

Like I said elsewhere, I'm really surprised my beat exists.

 

I do root for my Ohio Bobcats, but not super-hard core. I try to follow them more when they seem to be good, and I get fired up for the occasional national TV appearance.

In fact, it is the only team in any sport that I have any emotional attachment to. I cover baseball, so I don't care about any of those teams, and I don't really pay attention to any other pro sports. I went to an NHL game as a fan a few years back and found that I was unable to generate any feeling for the team, even though I had no responsibility to be objective. I've just spent so long as a "detached observer" in the press box, that it's hard to be a fan again.

 

Nope, don't care. I actually wish I'd attended more sports while I was there, but I don't care now. Only time I ever went to games was the one year I was in band (sophomore year). We played at home football games and that was it. My weed dealer, who was also the bass drum player, goaded me into joining so he'd have a buddy to get high with before games. I must admit, the free cider and donuts we got at halftime were pretty tasty. Or so it seemed. Coldest I've ever been was wearing a flimsy polyester jacket and oxford shirt while subarctic winds lashed across the field, which occupied a plain at the base of two small hills. My sax was so cold it felt like it was burning my fingers.