Requiem
For a Fan?
I was recently asked “why do you
spend the energy to care?” concerning my disapproval and disappointment to the
current state of University of Virginia football. That’s certainly a fair question, and I’ve
been thinking about it for the last few days. To understand, I need to take you
back to my childhood. My father graduated from UVA in 1970 and was a lifelong
fan until his death in 2018 (literally the day after the infamous UMBC game).
Most of my memories of my father
involve Wahoo sports. We attended or watched hundreds of games together; and if
we didn’t watch together, the most recent game was certainly the topic of
conversation when we spoke. I share many traits (thankfully) with my dad, but
also quite a few differences. We didn’t always agree on politics, I prefer the
Grateful Dead to Motown, and he was significantly more punctual than me. But
the one thing that always brought us together was UVA sports. The phrase “I was
born into this” absolutely applies to me.
My first memory of going to
Charlottesville for a game was in 1983. I was 5 and UVA was playing Virginia
Tech. The Hoos lost 48-0 and to add insult to injury, I puked in the car on the
ride home. Sorry Dad! I don’t remember anything Wahoo related before this game,
but pictures and home movies show me as young as 2 in full UVA gear singing the
Good Ol’ Song. I knew who Ralph Sampson was before I knew anything about
basketball.
As a kid, I never remember going
to Scott Stadium thinking a win was impossible. I was always optimistic. It
didn’t matter if the opponent was ranked or had a better record. And for my
formative years between 1987-2000, they won more than they lost. Little did I
know, those were the golden years. I can be honest enough to admit, UVA
football was never great. But I’d argue it was decent. The 14 seasons I
mentioned included 11 Bowl games, 2 ACC championships, and believe it or not: a
winning record vs Virginia Tech.
The post Welsh years have provided
a few moments of joy, but far too often I’ve left Scott Stadium or turned off
the tv wondering if I just wasted 3+ hours of my time. How can something so trivial be so important
to me? I haven’t really thought about it
until recently. I still care because that’s all I’ve known my entire life. You
like what you like. When I was 10, my favorite things were pizza, playing with
my friends and UVA sports. At 46 my favorite things (other than my family) are
still – pizza, playing with friends (now with alcohol!), and UVA sports.
Full disclosure. I just deleted
about 4 paragraphs of tying in my dad and how UVA sports connects me to his
memory. While that is true, it might not be true in the ways I thought, and I
am going in a different direction.
The University of Virginia is not
committed to fielding a competitive football program. As an outside observer, it appears to me that
they are stuck in a limbo of wanting to be Harvard Monday through Friday and Florida
on Saturdays. UVA is a top tier university, but they are much closer to
University of Florida during the school week and better than Harvard on Saturdays,
but let’s cross the Charles River and say Boston College on Saturdays. UVA is
very strict on transfer credits, and they have every right to be this way. Like it or not, the transfer portal must be utilized
to field a competitive program. There were reports that over a dozen players
were denied admission to UVA last season because their credits would not
transfer over.
I used US News rankings of the top 8 public universities to determine
a reasonable peer group for UVA. (let's not get into how accurate these
rankings are, just go with it for a few). I left out #6 UC- San Diego.
1. UCLA
2. Cal
3. Michigan
4. UVA
5. UNC
7 (tie). Florida
7 (tie). Texas
You can argue to take Michigan, Florida, and Texas out of the
equation here, since they've had successful football programs for quite some
time. But let's leave them in for this debate. What has Florida sacrificed
academically to sustain continued athletic success? If anything, Florida has remarkably
improved its academic standing over the last 30 years which coincides with
tremendous success in football and basketball. I guess that's my question -
what would be "lost" by following a similar model to the universities
listed above?
I think the counterpoint to my argument
would be that high quality students are going to choose UVA regardless of athletic
success. I believe that is a valid point,
but would retort with that's fine,
but they shouldn't be surprised when kids who'd normally go to UVA opt for
Michigan, Chapel Hill, Florida, and UCLA where they can get both. To add insult to injury, don’t be surprised
if Virginia Tech creeps up that list as well. These are models to show academics
and athletics can coexist without damaging the brand.
I will
never say, I’m fully done with UVA sports. It’s all I’ve ever known and not watching
or even picking another team seems impossible (although, LSU football is a lot of
fun to watch – thanks Bz). If I’ve learned anything in the past 5-6 years,
it’s that saying, “it doesn’t have to be this way” and taking actions to improve
your life is the most empowering self-belief I’ve ever experienced. This could be as simple as getting in shape
or as complex as having to hire an attorney. In my case, I did both. My next self-improvement project: caring less
about UVA athletics. If the university doesn’t want to put forth the max effort,
why should I?
Until next time, go hoos (lower
case).
BD
Update: A sizeable donation
was made days ago which should help football tremendously.
“I’m Back”
Michael Jordan
BD
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