It's Family Weekend, which is definitely an enjoyable experience (although my parents won't be here this year due to illness). It's the weekend, which excites college students nationwide this time of year because football season is in full swing. Personally, the fact that it's the weekend brings enough excitement as it is, just because I need to catch up on the sleep that I didn't get this week.
But if one were to guess all of those potential factors that could make this weekend 'big,' he or she would be wrong. For those who don't know, this weekend marks the historical rivalry between Frogs and Ponies, the Iron Skillet game.
Now, I don't mean to be rude, but the game isn't going to be much of a contest this year. TCU is ranked #10 in the nation and boasts one of the best defenses in the country. SMU is rebuilding, to say the least. For instance, for my fellow Washingtonians reading this, they lost to Washington State University last week. Enough said. I won't go on.
Enough about how excited I am about the Iron Skillet, though. My intent here is to address the issue of sportsmanlike conduct. For some reason, both TCU and SMU have gone overboard this year with stressing the fact that the schools need have good sportsmanship, which insinuates that they need to improve.
I don't know about SMU, but TCU certainly does not need to be told how to execute sportsmanship. Our students do not relish the opportunity to mock the opposing team or curse at the opposing fans; rather, they look for an opportunity to enjoy the great sport that is football with each other. Sure, there have been fights between the two teams' fans, but they are few and far between. And the traditional pranks they play against each other are harmless for the most part.
Basically, officials from both schools need to consider the fact that the students that attend their institutions are standout individuals. It's not exactly easy to get into TCU or SMU. Both schools have $1 billion-plus endowments. Each has about 9,000 students. This isn't your average state school rivalry. It's not Ohio State-Michigan. It's not Washington-Washington State. It's not Auburn-Alabama. Compared to those, it's like junior high rivalries. I was offended by the schools' attempts at appeasing the abhorrent actions that are taken each year, which usually consist of some car paint, satirical signs, and maybe a banner plastered here or there. There are no burning cars, deaths, or lawsuits. And until there are, I'd appreciate if the two schools keep quiet.
