Screaming CSU fans in the autumn air watching our glorious Vikings take the field to do battle.
I'm not talking about soccer, either.
How does CSU football sound to everyone else?
Sounds pretty dumb, huh? Well think about it.
What better way to attract students than to have a football team to root for. CSU could attract more athletes, too.
Since we would be starting from scratch, high school football stars who would otherwise not even think of a collegiate grid career could have a chance to make it here.
Now, before I go off into a quasi-delirious state on what kind of good a football team would do a school like CSU, I'd like to propose how to start one up in the first place.
True, the university is kind of cash-strapped, but that didn't stop the World Football League of the mid-1970s, did it?
Of course, the key will be keeping the team up, unlike thw WFL, which folded after only a couple of seasons.
Now, I know there is the issue of where a football team would play their games. The answer may be as close as Krenzler Field, which is already home to soccer games.
It could be possible to convert the stadium into a football-ready field, since a soccer field's dimensions are greater than that of football's. If that's not possible, they could try the soon-to-be vacant Cleveland Stadium. At least we know that will be open.
So, you have the field problem kind of solved. Issue number two comes up with equipment. Can't have people bashing their heads in, you know.
The Cleveland Browns have been known for donating their equipment to football teams of the past. Well, now that they'll be leaving, why now buy all-new stuff in Baltimore, and leave the old stuff for us? Hey, Art Modell's into making money. This could be a huge tax write-off for him.
You have the field and the equipment. Now, who do we play? This is a tough issue. I figure with a new team, we would start out in at least Division I-AA.
So, that would definitely eliminate competeing against the Mid-American Conference. No big loss. There are a lot of I-AA schools to choose from.
Take Alcorn State and Prairie View A & M. Both schools play CSU in basketball, so why not ask them about football?
Okay, we have the requirements. Now, what good would it do this university as a whole if we had a program?
How about more students? In the past three years, enrollment has dropped by more than 3000 students. Bring football in, it might keep people here and bring new students in.
School pride? Perhaps. How many people do you know made CSU their first choice of schools? Not many. A football team might change that. It might also turn around the huge apathy this place brings.
Most of all, it would put CSU back on the map again. Not like the basketball team, both of them, and the softball team haven't been raising eyebrows in their own right, but football would probably put CSU over the top with even more coverage to the school.
So when you look at the reasons why we should have a football team and how we can establish one, one might be able to argue that yes, such a thing is possible at this school. But then again, this is CSU, so don't hold your breath. One can dream, though.
Follow-up: The CSU football issue is an age-old argument that Cauldron Sports people past and present have pondered. My Teed Off proceeded an old piece about the topic done the year before by Bill Thompson. In spring of 1997, my predecessor at the Sports desk, Dan Gilles, revisited the idea. And so much for using Cleveland Stadium for two years. Maybe when the Bronws come back in 1999.
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