Can Watford throw a football?

Ask any IU student about the Kelley School of Business, and she will glow with pride.

Ask any Indiana alumnus about the Jacobs School of Music, and he will boast incessantly about the program’s awards and accolades.

Ask any Hoosier about the football team, and temporary hearing loss will immediately ensue. “What was that? I didn’t understand the question.”

After an abysmal 2011 campaign, the Hoosier football team has very little to look forward to heading into this coming season. ESPN analysts this weekend discussed Penn State’s chances against their Big Ten foes. 

The analysts laughed when they said Indiana’s name.

Laughter is not the reaction we seek when our name appears.

Intimidation, fear and worry. Not laughter.

The whole nation turns its focus to the turf Saturday as the college football season starts.

It appears as though Indiana will yet again struggle to keep up with the competition.
Last year, coaches asked the student body to provide support by attending football games and giving their all to cheering.

This year, they better not expect waves of crowds. Hoosier Nation needs to stand by its team, but the team needs to show a victory every once in a while. How about once a season against a Division I school? Sound like a deal?

Let’s be fair. IU Coach Kevin Wilson was brought into a program in serious transition. He had to work the first year to purge the team of some of its old personalities and get a clean slate. With a relatively young team, the future looks bright. The distant future.

So, for the next few weeks, attendance at football games will be an interesting sight.

No, I didn’t say attendance at football tailgates. We all know the tailgate has nothing to do with the football team’s success or, for that matter, whether there is even a football game. But the number of people who actually cross the street to make it into Memorial Stadium will be a fascinating statistic.

This is a callout to the school community to go to the games and cheer on the team.
A team will be more likely to perform successfully if it has a strong motivating factor from the students it plays for. But when you get there, don’t get your hopes up. That way, you will be pleasantly surprised.

For those college football fans, it looks like there are two options: Stand by your losing team and suffer through another season of rebuilding, or start to track a more optimistic team.

There’s nothing wrong with tuning in to a good old Georgia game or Oklahoma game every once in a while, as long as you also remember the team from the school that gives you your bright future.

Don’t forget, we are Hoosier Nation. We just close our eyes and wait until either a victory, or November, whichever comes first.

Don’t go placing any bets.

Is it too early to start talking about the basketball season?

­— azoot@indiana.edu