Football team recognized

The Oberlin Football team's recent 42-6 loss to Swarthmore College's Garnet Tide in the NCAC season-opener has received brief attention in Time and Sports Illustrated.

The two articles were laid out in both magazines in sanguine editorial style, noting the inspirational value of Swarthmore's win. SI's Jack McCallum noted how the College's Admissions Counselor, Paul Marthers, had dubbed the game the "Brain Bowl" and went on to demonstrate how a win for either team is generally an upset.

By extension, the significance of Swarthmore's win placed Oberlin in faint light. McCallum described Oberlin as "a highly rated academic institution whose Conservatory could kick your Conservatory's butt, but whose football team had lost 59 of its last 60."

The more inspiring aspects of the game, McCallum pointed out, were the relentless cheering on the part of injured players and the fact that, because of Oberlin's small rosters, players got to try out other positions. "I even completed a pass off a fake punt," Yeomen senior and middle linebacker, Rick Kocher, was quoted as saying. "I guess I wouldn't have had the chance to do that at many other schools."

Both articles underline some question as to why football is continued at places like Swarthmore and Oberlin, whose coach for the 1892 season, John W. Heisman, lent his name to the prestigious trophy. Athletic Director, Mike Muska, said that he feels that, as Oberlin is clearly not looking for national championships, this national exposure is good for the team. "[Since the game] I've had four calls from other schools that want to play us," he said. "So you can see what one effect of that coverage has been."

Muska added that divided opinion about the role of football at a place like Oberlin is unavoidable, however it should never be prohibitive. He stressed the fact that, for Oberlin, football should be considered in its long run. "If we can make the same kind of commitment that Swarthmore made, then soon we could have people over here thinking 'This is a hell of a game,'" he said.