As many of you can tell from my posts, my main passion these days is basketball, not only because of the all the recent success of our Griz, but also by being able to watch regularly the incredible exploits of Steph Curry, one of the most exciting basketball players I have ever seen. And I love the coaches, Steve Kerr and Travis DeCurie, because both have brought back team-first ball-movement basketball.
But it wasn't always this way. For a good period, especially during the ego-driven, one-on-one era of basketball, I was primarily a football fan, both pro (Niners) and of course our Griz. I appreciated the team-first concept, the passion of the crowds, the ability to "belch and fart and talk about sports " with my buds. Back in the day I could have recited the two-deeps for the Griz on both sides of the ball and was even on a first-name basis with Joe Glenn. I flew to Portland to watch us play Portland Sate and (once) Oregon State, also to Denver (with a short drive to Laramie to watch us play the Cowboys.) Not to mention driving to Sacramento and San Luis Obispo on several occasions.
But the football scandal at Montana was the first of several incidents that switched me away from football. It reminded me of my own experience as a student, where several of the basketball players were friends, while the football team had a bunch of loud, obnoxious bullies. There ensued then the medical reports, especially from the NFL, about the brain injuries that were far more serious and lasting than just "he got his bell rung." Finally, as you can probably tell from my politics, I was not happy about the NFL's response to the Colin Kaepernick situation. It reminded me of the final scene in "North Dallas Forty," where the receiver is cut and he tells his buddy, the star quarterback: "Just remember. You're not the player. You're just the equipment. The owners are the players."
But I gotta say, last night, I took a night away from other activities, plopped down in a chair and switched among Utah-BYU, Niners-Chargers and South Dakota State-Minnesota. What a great fun evening it was, with the Jackrabbit game easily being the most entertaining. It all reminded me of a saying, "Time wasted pleasurably is not time wasted."
And so, here's a toast to football: "Go Griz!"
(But let the basketball season begin.....)
But it wasn't always this way. For a good period, especially during the ego-driven, one-on-one era of basketball, I was primarily a football fan, both pro (Niners) and of course our Griz. I appreciated the team-first concept, the passion of the crowds, the ability to "belch and fart and talk about sports " with my buds. Back in the day I could have recited the two-deeps for the Griz on both sides of the ball and was even on a first-name basis with Joe Glenn. I flew to Portland to watch us play Portland Sate and (once) Oregon State, also to Denver (with a short drive to Laramie to watch us play the Cowboys.) Not to mention driving to Sacramento and San Luis Obispo on several occasions.
But the football scandal at Montana was the first of several incidents that switched me away from football. It reminded me of my own experience as a student, where several of the basketball players were friends, while the football team had a bunch of loud, obnoxious bullies. There ensued then the medical reports, especially from the NFL, about the brain injuries that were far more serious and lasting than just "he got his bell rung." Finally, as you can probably tell from my politics, I was not happy about the NFL's response to the Colin Kaepernick situation. It reminded me of the final scene in "North Dallas Forty," where the receiver is cut and he tells his buddy, the star quarterback: "Just remember. You're not the player. You're just the equipment. The owners are the players."
But I gotta say, last night, I took a night away from other activities, plopped down in a chair and switched among Utah-BYU, Niners-Chargers and South Dakota State-Minnesota. What a great fun evening it was, with the Jackrabbit game easily being the most entertaining. It all reminded me of a saying, "Time wasted pleasurably is not time wasted."
And so, here's a toast to football: "Go Griz!"
(But let the basketball season begin.....)