Student section didn’t care when Kaepernick wasn’t there
Nevada students stand and look on apathetically as the Wolf Pack beats Utah State 44-17.
Greek students are good for something other than hilarious chicken-salmonella-themed parade floats — classy, ATO.
They also do their research before coming to a Nevada football game, something I can’t say about the rest of the student body.
On Saturday, I attempted a prince and the pauper experimental switch.
I climbed down from my press box perch and watched the game in the student section.
Ah, the student section. Home of belligerently drunk students and girls who claim they aren’t cold while they wear booty shorts in 40-degree temperatures.
I sat in the middle of the student section at the beginning of the game, about six rows up, and witnessed something very disturbing. Nevada quarterback Nick Graziano was starting for the Wolf Pack.
Where was Colin Kaepernick? Is he injured? Is he sick? Is Nevada coach Chris Ault nuts?
The answer was the latter. Kaepernick was benched because he wasn’t prepared for the game, Ault said.
But Kaepernick’s tardy entry wasn’t the only thing that shocked me. It was the apathy in the student section that disturbed me most. One of the best athletes in the nation wasn’t starting and no one noticed.
Maybe it was because they were too busy bragging about the two girls they “almost” slept with the night before, or the mind-erasing amount of alcohol they had earlier that morning.
The display of lackadaisical fan devotion convinced me that cannon fires after a touchdown are more for alert than tradition.
Bang!
This means its time for you raise your hands and shout a four-lettered epithet followed by the word “yeah.”
After halftime, I sat next to Greek students. I was amazed how I could carry on a conversation about Nevada football and talk about a mutual hatred for Nevada Southern.
One Greek student compared UNLV to a community college with a football program, while another tagged it as the University of Maryland Parkway.
Terms like the “Chris Ault special” — a run play up the gut on third down and long — were also comically discussed.
The Greeks knew the Nevada players’ names and they also knew actual statistics. Amazing.
This was better than the drunken meet-and-greet from a conglomerate of apathetic fans.
I would never join a fraternity. It is an archaic establishment that time will soon abolishe. But at least fraternity members go to a damn football game with emotion for the field and not for a 10-minute high-five lap around the student section.
Mackay’s Obstruction
You’re in irritating hands with Allstate Insurance.
This season, Mackay Stadium placed two poles in front of the student section so every time kicker Brett Jaekle misses an important field goal, a net will catch the ball.
The insignia on the net has two hands with Allstate printed above it. The poles hold up a net that catches the ball before it flies off the field.
It may save a few balls, but it also forced my neck to pivot more than George Bush’s economic policies.
Are a few bucks from Allstate and a few saved footballs worth altering the view of fans?
I say no.
Ault, if you seek a solid fan base, if you seek prosperity for your passionate Wolf Pack cheering sections, if you seek liberation from obstructed views: Come here to these poles! Mr. Ault, let us watch your games without obstruction! Mr. Ault, tear down these poles!
Emerson Marcus can be reached at emarcus@nevadasagebrush.com.
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on Monday, October 20th, 2008 at 11:47 pm and is filed under Football, Sports.
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