Friday, August 13, 2010

Delinquents of Heroic Proportions

My college town has a very well funded football team (thanks in large part to alum/nike founder, Phil Knight).  It is somewhat ironic, given that our university (and education system in general) is chronically underfunded.  In a typical week, our local paper might report that we have difficulty keeping professors because our pay is below standard, and also that the newly completed athletes' center (funded by the aforementioned Mr. Knight) cost in the neighborhood of $1100 per square foot.  Many folks here care deeply about football.  Unfortunately, a number of our players have had run-ins with the law.  A few stand-outs seem to have proclivities for brawling and larceny.  That makes a big splash in the paper, too.  To the university's credit, those players have (for the most part) been benched or booted.  The Hooligans follow all of this with great interest.  Hence the following conversation:

SM. Hooligan, "Mom, does Eugene have a lot of crime?"
Me, "Um, no, not really.  I mean, a lot of bikes get stolen, but not the really bad crime stuff, like in Baltimore."
Larger Hooligan, "Mainly, the criminals are football players."

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