On Dignity

I am not a rabid fan of college football (and ignore the professional league), but rather a life-long fan of one team.  When that team is on the television I will watch and usually talk with any of the several of my siblings who are also fans (of that team in particular).  But when that game is done, I am done with football until they play again. However, football is all pervasive on television on fall Saturdays, and one cannot but hear other scores.  This weekend, four games struck me as evidence of the deep moral emptiness of much of college football.

1. #4 ranked Ohio state beat Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University 76-0
2. #7 ranked Louisville beat Florida International University 72-0
3. #16 Miami (of FL) beat Savannah State 77-7
4. #20 Baylor beat the University of Louisiana-Monroe 70-7

These were simply the most egregious examples of running up scores over clearly over-matched opponents, the Idaho State- (#17) Washington and  (#8) Florida State-Bethune-Cook games were nearly as egregious, but fell just short of the low standard set by their aforementioned colleagues.

To be blunt (as in Mack truck blunt), each of these winners (and coaches, athletic directors, and university presidents)  should be ashamed of themselves, and we as fans should be ashamed of them as well.  To applaud this kind of needless humiliation is to applaud the 6th Grader who beats up a kindergarten student, regardless of the provocation.  Just because we can do something is not reason enough to act that way.  Why should we glory in the humiliation of others?  What faith or creed not arranged by lunatics suggests that we should?  It is appalling that the NCAA permits Division I football teams to schedule opponents at the I-AA or II level.  That alone illustrates the complete moral vacuum which is the NCAA (hardly surprising I suppose from an organization which refused to issue the death penalty to a program that knowingly protected and abetted a serial child molester and rapist and pedophile).

The counter-argument, as always, issues forth from the simple-minded market enthusiasts, "those schools knew what they were doing; they were eager for the payout and the exposure."  That is true, as these schools each probably collected a minimum of $800,000 and perhaps more.  Yet, that money went to the schools, not to the players.  The screwy nature of our bizarre macho-killer-exceptionalist-shownoweakness culture means that every one of the defeated coaches has to state their public happiness at the sportsmanship of their opponents; to note their late game efforts to hold down the score! http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=332640194  is just one example.  I have no doubt that they believe what they say, which just illuminates how ingrained humiliation is in college football. This is how hegemony works, even the oppressed cannot conceive of their oppression.

It is unlikely that this pattern of behavior will change, lamentably.  But we should at least acknowledge this and work to make something positive from it.  We could start by eliminating the stats in the record books that come from these kinds of games.  The NCAA should set a high minimum payment (at least $3 million dollars) which must be made into the endowments of their opponent in addition to covering all direct costs of the game.  The DI school should be responsible for the entire cost of all injuries inflicted on their down-schedule opponent during the game.