Saturday's game against Thiel started as the 40 previous ones ... looking real bleak. On the sidelines the cluster of 26 Yeomen stood, like a miniature gang of helmeted dwarves, staring at a Thiel Corp. of 99 players. Just a few minutes after the coin toss, Oberlin's Felix Brooks-Church, the best receiver in the NCAC, was injured. Loss number 41 seemed imminent ... But who would have guessed? Not us.
Oberlin College Football has become a seemingly concrete part of Oberlin folklore. It's the whipping boy of both the athletically-inclined and those who can't tell you what an endzone is. To lots of those callous nonbelievers, Saturday's win might be a meaningless happenstance bound to happen eventually. But anyone attending the game can tell you that it wasn't simply the win that made so many proud. It was the indomitable resilience and never-say-die attitude that the Yeomen and their fans displayed.
Sports are so powerful in American life due to the remarkable physical and mental ability of its performers. But what really grounds sports in Americaness is its usefulness as metaphor. Being like Mike, for example, doesn't necessarily mean chiseling your body, balding your head and throwing down a deft defying banger over some gangly seven footer. To many, it means embodying excellence in your chosen area. Saturday's victory is no different.
The Yeomen's victory should be seen, in and of itself, as a remarkable feat. But the lessons learned from Saturday's game go much much deeper into our livelihood. Brian Salter showed us that being one of the smallest players on the field can be equalized with speed, cunning, strength and heart. James Parker's work at quarterback and Gerald Blankston and Jason Quinn's secondary play proved that leadership and confidence really matter, and players do get better if given the time to grow. The offensive line, led by Garth Stidoplh and Chris Lavin, showed us that technique, tenacity and persistence are paramount to success. And in going for the two point conversion, instead of the extra point to tie, Pete Peterson and his coaching staff showed us that anything worth having requires stepping out of safety zones and taking chances.
The elitist intellectual core of Oberlin College often reminds us that sports are for those less competitive schools or dumb jock types. And we, supposedly, are beyond such childish barbaric musings. Forget that! The entire football team exemplified the importance of preparation, trust, teamwork and hard work ... and fans appreciated it. Saturday afternoon, there was more energy, more connectedness and more school spirit surrounding our football team than any speak-out or 'Sco show could create.
Thank you, Yeomen. We can all be better because of you.
There is no doubt that the College should have planned the process of issuing students with new validines in a more efficient manner. While first-years have temporary picture i.d.s, every other student is carrying around a blank card with only a thick magnetic strip on the back. There is no way for the friendly women, who swipe the faceless validines through bulky machines, to distinguish an on-board student from an off-board student. The temptation to have a ready-made meal for off-board students is hard to resist, but it does not justify taking advantage of the College's temporary disability.
Copyright © 1997, The Oberlin Review. Contact us with your comments and suggestions.
Dining hall madness
Lately, grabbing a quick lunch at Dascomb is almost impossible. The winding lines of students waiting for breakfast, lunch or dinner indicates that the College and students have been making poor decisions. We are faced with several problems: the College cannot monitor which students are on-board, there are not enough people working in the dining halls, overenrollment, and off-board students taking advantage of the situation.
Volume 126, Number 2, September 12, 1997