Football - the bad and the ugly

Whiskey returns to campus

Monday (Labor Day) was SMU's opening game of the 2007 football season. SMU hosted Texas Tech for the home opener at Ford Field on the SMU campus. K and I decided to go; we hadn't been to an SMU game since 2003. Mom offered to keep the kids for the afternoon, so it was just me and the Mrs. Would Monday be the day that the SMU Mustangs broke their 12-game losing streak against the Red Raiders?

The McFarlin townhome where I lived during my sophomore year (1991-92)

We parked on McFarlin, a few blocks west of Hillcrest, and walked to the game from there. On our way up the street, I pointed out to K the town home where I lived during my sophomore year. I had just kind of lucked into that one... before freshman year ended, a friend who lived in my dorm offered to let me share a 3-bedroom town home with him and another guy. They charged me less rent than they were paying since I took the study (which was smaller than the other two rooms and didn't have a closet) and I parked on the street while they took the two spots in the garage. It was a great place, literally right across the street from campus -- and closer to most of my classes than I had been in the freshman dorm. Passing by there sure brought back a lot of memories.

Dallas Hall looms above the pre-game party scene...

McElvaney Hall (the freshman dorm where I lived from 1990-91). My room was on the 2nd floor just to the right of the entrance.

The stadium was all the way on the other side of campus from where we parked, so we were able to check out some of the festivities along Bishop Blvd. The pre-game setup is quite a bit different from when I went to school there; all the barbecue stands and food tents and alumni booths are lined up for several blocks along the main entrance route to campus. It was quite a "party" atmosphere -- tons of people, lots of loud music, and drunks everywhere.

opening kickoff - SMU vs Texas Tech

As soon as we made it to the game and found our seats, it started to rain. Luckily, it didn't last too long. Kickoff was at 3 pm... by the time the latecomers arrived, the stadium looked to be about 80% full. It seemed like about half of the crowd were Tech fans. I was glad to see that the SMU crowd was really into the game -- lots of cheering, lots of enthusiasm ... for about the first half. By halftime, many of the SMU fan sections, especially the student sections, were emptying out and it reminded me (somewhat painfully) of many of the games I attended from 1990-94.

As for the game itself, SMU kept up with the Red Raiders pretty well during the first half (we were trailing 21-6 at halftime) but the second half got kind of ugly. K and I left about halfway through the fourth quarter, right after SMU kicked a third field goal to narrow the ass-whupping to 42-9. I found out later that the final was 49-9, so we didn't miss anything by leaving early. I was hoping SMU could at least score a touchdown, but it was not to be.

I can't say that I was completely disappointed that we went; I just wish that SMU had been able to put a better product on the field. Tech just kind of overpowered us, and we couldn't put any pressure on their quarterback or do a good job of covering their receivers. Maybe things will turn around for SMU on Saturday when we play UNT. Then again, I seem to recall the Mustangs losing to them last year...

an SMU co-ed leaves the game early, as did most SMU fans

What probably made the biggest impression on me of all was the co-eds parading around in skimpy white dresses, wearing badges with slogans like "Pi Phi Angel". I remember the Pi Phi's of the early '90s; they were arguably one of the top houses, full of girls with high moral standards and good reputations. I'm pleased to report that some of the Pi Phi's I saw at the game looked like they just stepped off the "Girls Gone Wild" bus. I believe I heard K throwing around the term "skank whore" a few times. I guess she got an inadvertent full frontal view up the skirt of some "angel" who was climbing over a bench from one row to the next. (I was apparently distracted by the action on the football field. Next thing I knew, K was saying something under her breath like "wear some underwear -- PLEASE!" I knew better than to turn my head right then.)

Oh well, fun times. Maybe we'll go again in another four years.

By the way, SMU was fortunate (?) to gain national tv coverage on Monday; the game was televised nationally by ESPN. I recorded it and watched as much of it as I could stomach after we got home.

As close as the score would be for the rest of the afternoon...


These SMU fans wouldn't be cheering for long...

Apology for sale

Look what turned up on ebay a few days ago... an alleged copy of the notes Michael Vick used during his "apology" speech last month.

Here is the ebay description of the item up for bid:

"This sheet of paper was discarded at the podium after Michael Vick's apology on August 28th, 2007 at the Omni Hotel in Richmond. Found by an HSUS employee, it appears to be Vick's own talking points from his first public statement after his guilty plea for crimes related to dogfighting. Ironically, Vick never got to the last three words, 'dogs have suffered', which had clearly been added as an afterthought.This piece of memorabilia culminates the nation's most notorious celebrity cruelty case. It is a symbol of the downfall of a superstar's career but also of the historical event that brought light to the cruel and illegal business of dogfighting in America. "

News reports on yahoo and elsewhere indicate that proceeds from the sale will benefit the Humane Society's animal rights causes.

Better get those bids in; as I type this on Friday morning, bids are up to $10,100 with just seven days left on the auction.

WSC

np: James McMurtry - I'm not from here

nr: Ayn Rand - the Fountainhead