College Football as American Cultural Anthropology

You may recall the Nachoman’s zingers aimed at college football journalists. I particularly took the Sporting News's Matt Hayes to task for his lack of substantive analysis – his columns rarely rise above formulaic BCS ranting. The teacher in me recognizes that the right to call out journalistic stupidity comes hand-in-hand with the obligation to compliment journalistic virtuosity. So where do you go to find a well-written, insightful, and whine-free college football column?

Check out Stewart Mandel of SI.com.[1] In season, Mr. Mandel posts to a sort-of-blog throughout the day on Saturday. These posts discuss interesting aspects of the (wow) actual games that are actually going on. He usually focuses on one major matchup, often one that he personally attends.[2] As for the BCS – well, he doesn’t complain about the flaws in the system, he just discusses the bowl ramifications of game results. What a welcome relief his writing is.

I was moved to praise Mr. Mandel when I read his bowl preview today. One line that caught my eye involved his Papajohns.com Bowl preview… the game pits Cincinnati against Southern Miss:

The Bearcats' slide to Birmingham has to be insulting on two fronts: a) They're a BCS-conference team playing on Dec. 22.; and b) Any rightful Cincinnatian prefers LaRosa's to Papa Johns.

[Okay, Nachoman… you like this guy just because he makes Cincinnati references that you get, and that no one else understands. Whoop-de-do, he makes you feel like a special insider. It sure helps that he worked at the Cincinnati Enquirer for a while. But no one else gives a fig!]

Now, now, let me explain… sure, I enjoyed the insider Cincinnati reference. But, I’ve seen Mr. Mandel make inside jokes about other parochial cities and their traditions. He, probably above all other college football writers, recognizes the regional nature of college football. Most of the country might not care about the University of Oregon now that they’re out of the championship picture, but in Eugene, the football team is still the biggest thing happening. The students and the community didn’t abandon their team because they went 8-4. Mr. Mandel writes for a national audience, but he tries to convey a sense of the local flavor that infuses the sport.

He makes his point with a wry, mildly sarcastic comment about the Sugar Bowl:

What a sight it's going to be. In front of nearly 80,000 spectators, Hawaii's players will take to the field and perform the "ha'a," a Hawaiian war chant that serves as their pregame ritual. Confused Georgia fans will presumably respond with their traditional, "Hunker down, you hairy Dawgs." The BCS -- a cultural melting pot.

Sure, Mr. Mandel is making some fun of Georgia… but the deeper point is dead-on. This is college football: not the nationally uniform, salary capped NFL, but weekly matchups of diverse schools with unique cultures. I’m glad there is at least one national writer who can give his readers insight into this special American anthropology.

[1] SI here represents Sports Illustrated, not the more interesting and better respected Skeptical Inquirer, available in the William White Library at Woodberry Forest.

[2] In fact, most of the posts to his blog are written from a stadium press box.