[NU Sports] excellent point on tradition, Steve

[Brad Wilson]

In the midst of a generally terrific post, SjT made a
superb point about the importance of tradition in
college football, a point often ignored or underrated.

I started following college football in the early
1970's as the son of a fanatic Penn State booster.
Early on I paid attention nationally. And what did I
see in 1970 or so?

The best team in the East was Penn State. Today, the
best team in the East is ... Penn State.

The best teams in the Midwest were Ohio State and
Michigan and Notre Dame. Today, the best teams in the
Midwest are ... Ohio State and Michigan and Notre
Dame. 

The best team in the old SWC was Texas. Today, the
best team in the old SWC is ... Texas.

The best teams in the PAC-8 were USC and UCLA. Today,
the best teams in the Pac-10 are ... USC and UCLA.

The best teams in the SEC were Alabama, LSU and
Tennessee ... and today the best teams in the SEC are
Alabama, LSU and Georgia/Auburn.

It works pretty well with the bad teams, too; bad then
(Kentucky, Washington State, Wake Forest, Mississippi
State, Rice, Indiana) bad now.

I realize you can't push this too far -- Miami's rise
is an obvious flaw, ditto Arkansas' fall, and I know
some teams have had rises and then falls (hello,
Kansas State) - but you get the idea. As Steve notes,
those that fall from the heights without NCAA
probation (SMU, Alabama) or administration stupidity
(Nebraska) are pretty rare.

As a sportswriter, I see many, many CFB articles from
around the nation, from all sections and conferences,
and almost every Northwestern mention, even
complimentary ones, makes a reference to "traditional
doormat" NU or "traditional Big Ten cellar-dweller" NU
or some such thing. This, despite three BT titles
since 1995 -- more than anybody but Michigan -- and
four bowl games! Just ask Barry Alvarez who's a
doormat, say. But because, from 1974 to 1994 NU was a
laughingstock, we're still the "traditional" doormat.
Heaven help us. This kind of thing does not help
recruiting.

I work with an otherwise bright guy who says teams
like NU and Indiana have "no right" to be good and
when they are they "ruin" his enjoyment of CFB
"because people only care about Penn State, Ohio State
and Michigan, the traditional powers" (as you might
guess he's a PSU fan). 

It takes a very long time in CFB to shake the
deadening hand of tradition. NU may, at last, be
starting to in football. But never undestimate the
power of tradition to help the top teams (Penn State,
say) and hurt the weaker ones in ways you may not
imagine; Coach Roy's theory on why Michigan gets calls
vs. NU ("NU can't be this good") is a good example.  

Brad Wilson  



"Entertainment is what which you receive without effort. Art is something where you must make some kind of effort, and you get more than you had before." -- Charles Wuorinen

"Quis ipsos custodes custodiet?" -- Juvenal


	
		
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