What’s not to love about college football season?
A GRIP ON SPORTS • College football really gets going tonight. And we couldn’t be happier. Read on.
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• College football has a place in my heart – and my memory banks. With the 2015 football season kicking off tonight – locally in Moscow with the Vandals hosting Ohio and around the nation with key games, including Michigan at Utah – we thought we would take a short trip down memory lane. You are welcome to come along if you want but make sure you wear boots. We may have to walk through some pretty thick “stuff.”
• We start in 1964, long before Nehru jackets and tie-dyed underwear. It was the year of Notre Dame’s revival, the Era of Ara as it was known. The Irish, off the national radar for a decade, were back under first-year coach Ara Parseghian, heading into the Coliseum 9-0. For an eight-year-old upstanding member of the Catholic elementary system, it was heaven. Everyone at St. Rita’s – and I mean everyone, even the Protestant kids – had become Notre Dame fans. Father O’Malley and Father Callahan – yep, those were the two priests – wouldn’t have it any other way. USC? Hated them. After all, Notre Dame was headed to a well-deserved national title. The Trojans were just a speed bump on the way. When the Irish jumped ahead 17-0 at halftime, I figured it was over. But then USC started to chip away. I got nervous. A bad holding call on Notre Dame made me angry. And when Rod Sherman broke free in the endzone on a fourth-down play as time wound down, I got positively apoplectic. Sherman’s catch (pictured) of Craig Fertig’s pass gave USC a 20-17 win. It cost the Irish a national title – and one L.A.-based fan. I remember running to my bedroom, crying. I couldn’t understand how this could happen. I had gone to mass that morning, hadn’t I? Shouldn’t that have meant something? I looked in the mirror and vowed – actually making some sort of movement with my hands – I would never root for Notre Dame again. They had let me down. That’s it. I’m done. And I’ve kept that vow for more than 50 years. It’s what college football does to you.
• Just a few years later, my sister attended UCLA. It was the time of Gary Beban (pictured), 1967 Heisman Trophy winner and all-around All-American kid. He was my hero. So was my sister. Especially when she took me to UCLA’s last game of the season. The Bruins had lost the week before 21-20 to USC (damn those Trojans) and had dropped out of the No. 1 spot in the polls. Even worse, with Syracuse coming to the Coliseum, Beban was banged up – he played the week before with bruised ribs – and wasn’t expected to play. He didn’t. And UCLA lost again, this time in a 32-14 rout to Larry Csonka and the Orangemen. Beban had suited up but stood on the sidelines, leaving the field with the rest of the battered Bruins. No matter. The rooting section, of which I was a part, standing the whole game next to my big sister Linda, wouldn’t leave. The chant of “Beban-Beban-Beban” began and wouldn’t stop. Finally, he came out of the tunnel and walked back across the field. I stood, mesmerized, as he addressed his peers. He started crying. So did my sister and just about everyone around me. He spoke of what it meant to be a Bruin, a football player, a student. How these were the best years of his life. How much he loved UCLA. And I vowed then and there I would someday be the quarterback that would lead UCLA to the national championship. I told my sister as we walked out. She smiled. I played right guard and center the rest of my football life.
• As much as I loved college football, I attended a college – UC Irvine – that didn’t have a football team. Ironic, huh? But what’s even more ironic is this: When I joined the Fellowship of Christian Athletes group, our mentor was assistant athletic director Rod Sherman. Yep, same guy. I was still pissed, 10 years later, despite the “turning-the-the-cheek” stuff. It took me about a year before I could tell Rod why I was so short with him. He laughed.
• From then on most of my college football memories revolve around work. I covered the 1982 Rose Bowl and wrote a sidebar story on freshman running back Jacque Robinson (pictured), the breakout star for Washington. Years later I interviewed his son, Nate, and mentioned that his dad was the subject of one of my first really high-profile stories. He was not impressed. In the 1990s, I got to know Steve Emtman well when he was a high school star in Cheney and watched him turn into a beast at UW. I rooted for him to do well, though I had given up actually rooting for teams long ago. In the first decade of the new century I was given the privilege of covering Washington State’s football team. My first game was in Wisconsin. I still have the T-shirt I bought heading in and will never forget the feeling of the stadium bouncing as the fourth quarter began. And then there was 2008, the year the Cougars suffered through, arguably, the worst season of their history. And, yet, after a season of 66-3, 63-14, 66-13, 69-0, 58-0 and 59-28 losses, I still retained my love of the game, if not the way it was played that year. It’s a love I’ll never give up. No matter what.
• FYI, I have decided to spend another year explaining what just happened to the Eastern Washington radio audience after the Cougar football games. Yep, starting sometime around 3:30 Saturday afternoon, I’ll be back on the air taking phone calls and trying to sound somewhat educated. This year, though, I’ll have a new partner. Dennis Patchin has moved across the border to call Idaho football games, making him person non-grata to me. (Just kidding.) I will be teaming with KXLY’s Derek Deis, who also hosts the pregame show. We’ll be broadcasting from the Martin Stadium press box this week, taking the sober thoughts and questions of Cougar fans as they drive home from the game. Be nice.
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• WSU: The Cougars’ preparations for Portland State are winding down, but that doesn’t mean Jacob Thorpe doesn’t have a whole bunch of stories for you. He had the centerpiece of our football section today, a feature on Joe Dahl, the offensive lineman from University High in the Valley. Jacob also has a series of preview notes in the section on the 2015 Cougars . ... In the paper, Jacob has a story on running back Gerard Wicks and his Pac-12 picks for this week (don’t be put off by his 34-48 record from last year; it takes a while for a guy to build a new winning culture within a beat). On the blog, Jacob has the news WSU is giving away tickets to those affected by the recent wildfires, practice notes, a transcript of yesterday’s live chat, video of a Mike Leach interview and a morning post with links. ... I presume there will be some Cougar fans that will never fly Alaska Airlines again. ... Don’t miss this story on Stanford’s Kevin Hogan.
• Gonzaga: Tired of football? Cleanse your palate with Jim Allen’s soccer notebook, which leads with a look at Gonzaga’s coach, Einar Thorarinsson.
• EWU: With the football section dominating today’s paper – just pick up the print version, you’ll understand what I mean – it stands to reason Jim has a few Eagle stories. He does. He has one on offensive line coach Aaron Best, another on the new-look Eastern offense and finally, a preview of the Oregon game. ... On the blog, Jim will hold a live chat today and already has a post with some answers about Oregon as well as a morning post with links. ... The Eagles know they will have their hands full with Vernon Adams and the Ducks. ... Southern Utah opens tonight at Utah State.
• Idaho: The Vandals open the season tonight against Ohio and Dallas Sandberg will be there, anchoring the offensive line. Sean Kramer has this feature on Sandberg and notes on the Vandals’ season.
• Whitworth: The Pirates have upgraded their offensive line, a key component of their offense. Tom Clouse has that story as well as notes on the upcoming season. ... Tom also has a story on an incident among the women’s soccer team.
• Indians: The race for the postseason is over. Everett took a 8-5 12-inning victory at Avista last night, ensuring the Indians will not be playing after the regular season ends. Chris Derrick has a story and blog post on the sloppy game.
• Preps: There is more high school football stories than I can count, so I’ll just link them and credit writers Greg Lee, Jim Meehan, Chris Derrick, Tom Clouse and Jim Allen. There are stories on 4A GSL, 3A GSL, Great Northern League, Northeast A, Northeast 2B, Northeast 1B North, Southeast 1B, Northeast 1B South, IEL 5A, IEL 4A, White Star League, Intermountain League, Central Idaho League and Idaho Independents. ... Greg also has an advance on this weekend’s games, though the schedule may be disrupted by a possible strike in Spokane schools, as well as a feature on Central Valley’s Scott Peck. ... Greg has his weekly picks with Sam Adams.
• Seahawks: The Hawks play their fourth, and final, preseason game tonight. The stars probably won’t play much, the offense has been and will remain under wraps and the hope is no one gets hurt. Why do they play these games again? ... Bob Condotta has some thoughts on Kam Chancellor. ... Does Jesse Williams make the team? It is sort of hard not to root for the guy.
• Mariners: The M’s won a series against a good team. There’s no need for major changes, is there? Just kidding. Despite the 8-3 rout of Houston, thanks in large part to newcomer Shawn O’Malley’s outstanding hitting, the M’s are still in full rebuilding mode. ... Jesus Montero was sent to Tacoma for at-bats and, well, I’m not sure why else this time of the year. ... James Paxton had to be taken out of his rehab assignment with a blister.
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• We’ll be on the radio today with Rick Lukens and Keith Osso, filling in on 700 ESPN for Dennis, who will be calling his first Idaho football game. It’s win-win-win. Dennis wins because he gets to do play-by-play, something he loves. I win because I get to fill in for Dennis. And everyone else wins if they listen to the three hours between 3 and 6 p.m. because they get to laugh at my foibles. Until then ...
