If Northwestern plays a football game in Purdue and nobody watches it, does it still count in the Big Ten standings?
After the Wildcats blew a fourth-quarter lead to Minnesota for their second straight loss, thus dropping Northwestern to a 2-2 record, you could feel the air being let out of the balloon. The students were there. They were loud and wearing purple. The freshmen might not have known the words to the fight song, but they knew to cheer on 3rd down.
And for a while, things looked good. The Brendan Mitchell touchdown pass to give the ‘Cats the lead sent the student section into a frenzy. But that lead was quickly reversed, and soon enough the students emptied out of Ryan Field muttering things like:
“That’s typical Northwestern.”
“Why do we always suck?”
“Am I still drunk or did we just miss another tackle?”
“Do you think that girl was digging the way I sang ‘Hey Baby’?”
Unfortunately, the Wildcats’ disappointing performance Saturday was probably the last one that some students will witness. It’s tough enough to get students up to Ryan Field by 11 a.m. when the team is playing well, but if the ‘Cats continue their recent slide, only the diehards will remain for games against Miami (OH), Indiana, Penn State and Wisconsin.
That brings us to this week. One of the ways I judge interest in the football team on campus is the number of people I either hear discussing the team or asking me my thoughts on the team. If people are talking about the team this week, they’ve been whispering around me, because I’ve heard nothing.
There aren’t even many people talking about how poorly the team has been playing, or lamenting the fact that the Wildcats are no longer even expected to go to a bowl game.
The biggest sign of apathy is that nobody is even discussing how porous the defense has been lately, or whether the ‘Cats can turn things around. You better believe that Illinois or Michigan State students are panicking about the terrible start for their schools’ squads. In typical Northwestern fashion, our conversations are limited to formulas, midterms, the Starbucks in Norris and the hot TA who you think you have a chance with if you just raise your hand a couple more times during discussion section.
So I highly doubt many students will wake up to watch the Wildcats battle Purdue on Saturday morning, even though they can get the Big Ten Network in their dorms on NUTV, in their off-campus houses or in Evanston bars. They’ll probably choose to sleep and then catch up on homework or something equally as exciting.
I’ll be at the game in West Lafayette, and won’t be surprised when I get back Saturday evening only to be asked whether or not Northwestern won. Maybe if the ‘Cats win out from here until Halloween, students will be back for the Penn State game.
But I won’t bet on it.
Apathy Rating: 2
Students would rather eat off their hangovers at Clarke’s than turn on the Big Ten Network for the game.
[...] YOU CAN READ THE LATEST RANT HERE. [...]
…at least basketball season is on the way, there’s nothing that gets the student body to don purple quite like a trip to welsh-ryan arena.