Grey concrete clashes badly with silver steel. It looks cold and lifeless from my view in the press box. It looks even more uninviting through the eyes of a player as he runs through the tunnel onto the field of battle. His emotions at a fevered pitch, the backdrop of an empty stadium acts as an instant sedative.
Twenty-one seniors will face that reality when they peer out from the tunnel into UB Stadium this Saturday as they prepare to play what will most likely be the final game of their careers. They will be surrounded by lifeless, empty bleachers. Seven thousand people will sit in a venue that holds 31,000. It will appear as if no one cares.
I am not blaming anyone; it is not your fault. Don't misunderstand me - this is not another corny "go to the game" commentary.
There are many valid reasons that the students at this university will choose to stay home rather than see these seniors, who are part of the most successful football squad in the modern era of D-IA, one final time. These reasons range from homework to the fact that the team is simply not a contender yet. Who wants to go out and sit in the November cold to watch what in the grand scope of things is a meaningless football game?
In fact, I have often pondered whether the students of this university will ever become interested in football, even if we build a winning team. I do not think that UB is capable of generating the unabashed display of school spirit that is seen every week on ESPN's College Game Day (my apologies go out to Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity, who were personally thanked by UB's Student Relations Coordinator Rob Suglia for their rowdy behavior at the 44-0 thumping of Ohio two Saturdays ago). We have many commuters who are not going to drive long distances on a Saturday to watch a game, and many international students who may not have grown up with the tradition and spirit of college football.
But it is not fair. The atmosphere at the Army Military Academy last Saturday was pure energy. It was fun. It made an outstanding college football game even better. UB's seniors deserve one more game like that, one in a friendly environment.
One might now ask: Why do our seniors deserve anything? They have played on a losing team for four years.
I counter with: How do you build a successful college football program from the ground up? You recruit talented athletes, coach them into solid football players, and put them in the right spots where hopefully they can overachieve. A program on the rise will bring in more talented players. If UB begins to contend for MAC titles in the future we will have this year's players to thank.
The people of Buffalo love a winner. Just look at the once perpetually sold-out Ralph Wilson Stadium. Now, with a losing squad, the worst seats of the stadium, where people once drank heavily to escape the chill of an autumn afternoon, are empty. Blue and silver steel stare back at you. I have seen entire sections of the 300-level at HSBC Arena empty for Sabres games this season.
If you are not a winner in Buffalo, nobody is going to pay to watch you play. Just ask the Buffalo Blizzard.
Who?
Exactly.
Here is how it goes if you do win:
Our only newspaper, The Buffalo News, gives you more and more coverage. (Notice how the Bills were once on the front page every Monday. Now there isn't even a teaser). People become interested, and then they go to the game. They phone radio call-in shows. Sports bars come alive with chatter about your successes; "they could go all the way," people say. Pretty soon you're the talk of the town and if you continue to be successful, well, the mayor is already planning a parade.
It is a long way from the top to the bottom in this town.
I know that Buffalo, especially the people of Amherst (for whom it would cost over $200 to bring their families to a Bills game, as opposed to $40 for a Bulls contest), will come out and support UB if they have a winning program. When we are all alumni it will be hard to get tickets if the Bulls are winning.
This school, however, is just so apathetic. The cadets at Army do not sit in their barracks trying to download more porn just because the temperature is less than 50 degrees and their team is not winning. I heard one student sarcastically say, "I knew they could do it," when reading the headline of my game story last Monday. "Who cares? We shouldn't even be in D-IA," seems to be the prevailing sentiment around campus.
I will be there on Saturday, when the Bulls will have a legitimate chance to win three in a row as they face MAC East rival Akron. My colleagues will be there, and I know Alpha Sigma Phi will be there. Other than a few hundred thick-skinned college football fans, however, I will not expect to see any students there.
Prove me wrong.
