Aborting a fledgling tradition

By Nate Adams
Collegian Editor
December 5, 2007

The folding of La Salle’s football team comes as a surprise to few. Our lame dog of a program was a bit of a flop since day one, peaking with our “perfect” 0-and-10 season. And while I have no lost love for our now-defunct band of gladiators, I think it’s a damn shame that we can’t field a team.

The average student, I’m guessing, doesn’t come to La Salle for the top-tier athletics. Our flagship crew is a men’s basketball team that’s best season in my four years climaxed with a loss in the quarterfinals of the A-10 tournament, and no one ever expected much of our football team who, without the aid of scholarships, wallowed in failure for as long as I can remember.

That being said, it’s hard not to feel like we as students are being robbed of an essential part of the college experience. It would seem that a hallmark of any school worth its salt is a football program. At the better schools, the ones with national attention, students cram themselves into massive arenas to scream like madmen along side fanatic alumni and collegiate faithfuls from all corners of the globe. And even at the less impressive schools, students still show up in the colors of their institution and cheer for their classmates on fall afternoons.

For many reasons, we never had that here. Whether it’s to be blamed on student apathy or a poor program is for someone else to decide. As long as we had a football team, we had the option, the chance at showing some school spirit, the chance to be closer as students. With the program gone, we have one less chance to feel like we are together, like we are a part of something.

Even during their final season, students were able to talk about the team. Even if it was nothing more than backhanded jokes, the team gave students something to discuss, something to unite them. With the program gone and an uncertain basketball season now in swing, I’m sure some students will forget all about the folding of the football team.I can’t pretend I loved the team, and I can’t excuse the abysmal season that one assumes helped lead to their termination. But while we had a team, we had the chance to be part of an elite class of universities steeped in tradition; we had the chance to show our spirit. Now, we’re just another small school with a mediocre basketball team and little else to define us.

adamsn1@lasalle.edu