One girl’s “take” on NU football

On Sunday evening, I walked into Norris, about to grab a bite to eat before hosting The Sportsvoice on WNUR. I was still riding somewhat of a high from the football team’s win against Purdue, which I witnessed firsthand.

The game, of course, was going to be the topic of the show. My mind was a mix of X’s and O’s, fumbles, field goals, failed short-yardage situations, and the Northwestern fight song. That’s when a girl walked out of Norris on her cell phone.

The volume with which she spoke made it hard for me not to eavesdrop momentarily on her conversation. Below is my best paraphrase of what she said:

“Yeah, I went to the Bears game today. It was my first one and it was awesome. I’ve never been to a real football game before, only Northwestern games, which don’t really count. I mean, the team is awful and the games are so boring. Also, our coach is really conservative so he doesn’t make the games exciting at all…”

I couldn’t catch the rest of the conversation, unfortunately, but I imagine if I had listened to much more I would’ve grabbed her phone, thrown it in the Norris chili pot, blended it in the Jamba Juice blenders and then launched it into Lake Michigan.

I have issues. I know.

The girl on the phone is typical of the Northwestern student when it comes to knowledge of the school’s athletic program. She has no idea what she’s talking about, so she just assumes all of the teams are bad.

I desperately wanted to stop her and give her a nice lecture on the recent successes of the football team. I wanted to tell her about the win, even if it was ugly, over Purdue on Saturday. I wanted to explain to her the magical feeling of 10,000 Northwestern fans walking along the Riverwalk of San Antonio, all clad in purple for the Alamo Bowl. I wanted to let her know who our “conservative coach is,” the guy who lives and breathes Northwestern and who is the best ambassador this school could possibly ask for. I wanted to tell her all the reasons she was wrong.

Of course, I did nothing of the sort. I smiled to myself and grabbed my dinner, withholding this story until now.

My naive friend, sadly, reflects the general mindset of most students in regards to the football team. Some students know that Northwestern beat Purdue on Saturday. Most don’t know the Wildcats’ opponent this Saturday (it’s Miami. The one in Ohio). Even more probably won’t show up for the game.

I doubt apathy on campus went down from last week, when most students had given up on the season after the Minnesota loss. A win over lousy Purdue won’t do much to change that opinion, and a win on Saturday against Miami (OH) probably won’t do much either. Unless the Wildcats win two of their next three games leading up to the Penn State game on Halloween, the large majority of the student body won’t jump back on the bandwagon.

Listening to the girl on the phone Sunday evening taught me a lesson, which I hope others can learn as well. The only way students will become more knowledgeable about the football team is if someone tells them. Leaving it up to media outlets or athletic department e-mails isn’t enough.

That’s why it needs to start from the bottom up. Northwestern athletics needs an Obama-like grassroots campaign to mobilize the troops. I’m guilty of listening to a girl hate on Northwestern football without saying something. I hope not to let it happen again. Northwestern students need to start educating their own.

Don’t be that girl on the phone, because I will find you. And your phone will be sitting at the bottom of Lake Michigan, covered in chili.

Apathy Rating: 3- Because it can’t be a whole lot worse than last week.

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