Cornell football ambivalence

[billhoward]

Even for a hockey site, the fate of the football team seems to be of only passing interest. (Al DeFlorio, you still care.) Could it be that we've come to believe that never, ever in our lives will we see a Cornell team be the undisputed Ivy champion? Do students still care about football? The two early season games I saw in Ithaca had nice turnouts but the weather was okay and for one Cornell was giving out free food in parking lot. (Actually, come to recall, it was raining off and on, but it was nice at the end of the game.) It was probably not such good turnouts in November.

Here we recall who hit the freakin' goalpost in a game ten years ago that kept us from advancing in hockey, but hardly any talk of football present or past. What gives?

[Beeeej]

Personally, I think I care a little bit less about Cornell football every time someone claims that people don't care enough about Cornell football.

I also tend to roll my eyes at posts on any discussion board or mailing list that, instead of try to jump-start discussion by offering a topic, a question, or a reminiscence, ask why nobody else is offering topics, asking questions, or starting discussions.  But maybe that's just me.

[Dpperk29]

[quote billhoward]
Here we recall who hit the freakin' goalpost in a game ten years ago that kept us from advancing in hockey, but hardly any talk of football present or past. What gives?[/quote]

We like hockey more than football?

[Rosey]

Here's my perspective.

Football below the professional level offers me very little: I have a hard time enjoying college football in general, and Ivy League football is several rungs below Divison 1-A college football... and the gap between even the best college teams and the NFL is absolutely glaring.

I don't get that feeling from watching college hockey.  I don't get the feeling that the worst pro team would annihilate the best college team.  Maybe it would, but the point is that the game is as enjoyable as, and seems just as fast as (and in some cases faster than) the professional game.  It doesn't seem like I'm watching something second-rate.

It's also significant that Cornell is actually nationally-competitive in hockey.  If Ivy League football were actually competitive at the national level, I might be interested in it: but the fact is that they are not.  They would get their asses whupped, without reservation or doubt on my part, by any of the top teams in Divison 1-A.  As a result, Ivy League football is somewhat like my own hockey leagues: fun and rewarding for the players involved, but not really qualifying as a spectator sport deserving of outside attention.

Kyle

[Robb]

[quote Kyle Rose] They would get their asses whupped, without reservation or doubt on my part, by any of the top teams in Divison 1-A.[/quote]

I'm too lazy to look it up, but it was, what? 66-14 to Stanford?  And they're generally a laughingstock within the Pac-10, which is either the 5th or 6th best BCS league (ACC doesn't have a USC, but is slightly more sold top-to-bottom).

I really think that my high school team in Tennessee (38-2 in my four years, with a front line that averaged ~270) could have give Cornell a run for its money - both on the field and in attendance.

[Chris '03]

In a world without postseason eligibility, there's not a whole lot to talk about once the football team loses twice. Couple that with the complete lack of Cornell football tradition and the fact that the uneven financial playing field will have a tremendous impact on football (to Cornell's disadvantage) makes it difficult to really get into bad college football.

To me, Cornell football was summed up to me at the end of the first game of the '02 season at Bucknell. I was at the game with about four or five other Cornellians and we were making noise behind the Cornell bench and Angry Pete Combe turned around waving a towel and said something to the effect of, "Cornell football. We may suck, but at least we're fun to watch."

[French Rage]

[quote Robb][quote Kyle Rose] They would get their asses whupped, without reservation or doubt on my part, by any of the top teams in Divison 1-A.[/quote]

I'm too lazy to look it up, but it was, what? 66-14 to Stanford?  And they're generally a laughingstock within the Pac-10, which is either the 5th or 6th best BCS league (ACC doesn't have a USC, but is slightly more sold top-to-bottom).[/quote]

56-6.  To be fair, that was 1991 when they were 8-4, ranked #17, went to the Aloha Bowl, and were coached by Dennis Green (OK, the last part isn't really a plus anymore), as opposed to the Walt Harris coached 1-11 crapfest from two years ago.  And that year UW split for the national title, so the Pac10 was a little better.

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

We play crummy teams, and they don't even let us go to a playoff game if we did do well.  It's like being the best shoveller at the pig farm.  Who really cares?

[RichH]

This is a good place to point out the Cornell football reference on last Friday's PTI.  Brent Musburger was the guest on "Five Good Minutes" and the last question that Boston homer Bob Ryan asked him was "who ya got in the 125th Harvard-Yale Game?"  To which Musburger feigned outrage: "Harvard or Yale?  Neither!  Cornell!  Who's better in the Ivy League this year than Cornell??"  And that was the only correction that was made by Stat-boy in the "Errors" part of the show's close.

[RichH]

[quote Jeff Hopkins '82]We play crummy teams, and they don't even let us go to a playoff game if we did do well.  It's like being the best shoveller at the pig farm.  Who really cares?[/quote]

Frankly, I do.  I sat in the stands in 20 degree weather on Saturday to watch the Penn-Cornell game.  I like the history.  I like the tradition.  I also like the fact that the highest honor that is attainable is the league championship.  It lends more weight to it, and to each league game.  That's our goal.  Screw the national mumbo-jumbo.  

I've heard stories about the students tearing down the goalpost and throwing it into the gorge in '88 and '90.  I'm still waiting for that to happen again, and it'd be nice to see someday.

[Rosey]

[quote RichH]I've heard stories about the students tearing down the goalpost and throwing it into the gorge in '88 and '90.  I'm still waiting for that to happen again, and it'd be nice to see someday.[/quote]
I guarantee you that if Cornell were to win the National Championship in hockey again, Cornell fans would storm the ice, seamless glass/security guards or no.  Hell, I'll be the first one over the glass, no matter where the game is held.  Now that is a day worth waiting for.

[RichH]

[quote Kyle Rose][quote RichH]I've heard stories about the students tearing down the goalpost and throwing it into the gorge in '88 and '90.  I'm still waiting for that to happen again, and it'd be nice to see someday.[/quote]
I guarantee you that if Cornell were to win the National Championship in hockey again, Cornell fans would storm the ice, seamless glass/security guards or no.  Hell, I'll be the first one over the glass, no matter where the game is held.  Now that is a day worth waiting for.[/quote]

You mistook the phrase "nice to see" to mean something else.  If Cornell were to win a hockey National Championship again, I maintain that there would be plenty of CU fans willing to fling ourselves from the 3rd deck onto the ice of whatever NHL arena in pure, unadulterated ecstasy.  I have daydreams about it.  Often.

[Beeeej]

[quote RichH]I've heard stories about the students tearing down the goalpost and throwing it into the gorge in '88 and '90.  I'm still waiting for that to happen again, and it'd be nice to see someday.[/quote]

Yup, I helped do that in '88.  My only regret is that people weren't carrying around little digital cameras and posting photos of fantastic events like that on Facebook yet.

[dietlbomb]

I went to the Cornell-Penn game.  After it was over I didn't really feel like talking about it.

[billhoward]

[quote RichH]This is a good place to point out the Cornell football reference on last Friday's PTI.  Brent Musburger was the guest on "Five Good Minutes" and the last question that Boston homer Bob Ryan asked him was "who ya got in the 125th Harvard-Yale Game?"  To which Musburger feigned outrage: "Harvard or Yale?  Neither!  Cornell!  Who's better in the Ivy League this year than Cornell??"  And that was the only correction that was made by Stat-boy in the "Errors" part of the show's close.[/quote]
Remember when Brent Musberger used to be the fresh young face of TV sports? Now he's ready to ease on to Sixty Minutes.