It’s that time of year again.
Beer and chips are stockpiled, bodies are painted and the majority of the people in line at the bookstore are buying pompoms or foam fingers; their textbooks can wait, because it’s football time.
But here at Long Beach State the scene is a little different. Around this time every year the conversation is not on LBSU’s nationally-ranked men’s water polo, women’s volleyball or women’s soccer teams as it should be. Instead the buzz is all about why LBSU doesn’t have a football team.
Well sorry, football fans, you’ll have to live
vicariously through our neighboring USC and UCLA football fans, because football, which was previously at LBSU from 1955 to 1991, isn’t coming back any time soon – and it shouldn’t.
This weekend I went down to Qualcomm Stadium for the San Diego State vs. Portland State football game, where SDSU pulled off an unimpressive 52-17 victory over Portland. As I sat in the half-empty Q listening to fans unsuccessfully try to lead cheers, I realized how proud I was to go to the football-less LBSU.
Football is a huge resource drain on all athletic departments. Other sports take a back seat to the money-hog that a football program is. And once football was eliminated already thriving 49er sports began to flourish. Looking at the strength of the 49er teams compared to the strength of a similar mid-major like SDSU, the difference is huge.
Take baseball, for example. Long Beach State has become a bona fide powerhouse since 1989. Under the tutelage of head coaches Dave Snow and now Mike Weathers, the Dirtbags have reached four College World Series tournaments and boast a strong MLB presence. Ten former Dirtbags are in The Show, several of whom have been MVPs, rookies of the year and All-Stars, and a gaggle of talented minor league prospects. SDSU, on the other hand, has only five alums in the majors, and a hall of fame coach who can’t seem to get the program off the ground.
All of the conference titles won in basketball, baseball, volleyball, water polo, golf, all of the NCAA Tournament appearances and All-American athletes – these successes wouldn’t be possible if LBSU still had an unsuccessful mid-major football team.
LBSU is able to boast an athletic program that has produced Olympians, major leaguers, NBA and WNBA players. What can teams like the Aztecs boast? A 3-9 2006 football record that’s only one game better than the 1991 LBSU football team’s 2-9 record.
We may not have football, but it’s obvious we’re better off without it.
