Friday, September 2, 2005

College football is etched into the soul of the nation

By Terry Foster / The Detroit News

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Kendall Morris loves the colors maize and blue and can identify Michigan's distinctive winged football helmet.

When the family car rumbles past Michigan Stadium, she raises a fist and screams, "Go Blue."

She already has caught the fever that grips this country every fall weekend.

And she's only 2 years old.

There are different hooks for different folks.

The path to becoming a fan of a program can be a fight song, a championship run or attractive uniforms.

No matter the hook, college football, which kicks off another season in earnest this week, grips the nation and is etched into our national fabric.

"It is a matter of pride," former Michigan State coach George Perles said. "Most of the time, you are playing for the alumni, the school colors and all the corny stuff that means a lot to people."

College football is more than a game. It is pageantry, tradition and bragging rights.

It is Michigan's players running to midfield and touching the "M Go Blue" banner as they enter storied Michigan Stadium.

It is Michigan State's players singing the school fight song to the student section following victories.

It is Notre Dame's players walking into the stadium in matching blazers.

It is Touchdown Jesus.

It is the famous and always exhilarating 45-minute halftime "Battle of the Bands" that often rivals or exceeds the game itself at historically black colleges.

It is fans screaming "Roll Tide," "Hook 'em Horns" and "Go Blue," without having to explain what they are talking about.

It is the sizzle of burgers and beer-soaked brats during pregame tailgates.

College football rocks ... and nobody can take it away.

"It is the same buildup every single year," said Bill Nitz, a Notre Dame fan. "The history and the tradition of the programs, there is no other sport that can compete with that."

Nuggets of tradition

College fans hang onto special moments like precious jewels.

Spartans fans can detail every play of every victory over the rival Wolverines. We remember Central Michigan's twice-as-nice victories over Michigan State, Bo vs. Woody, national title runs in Ann Arbor and East Lansing, and the 60-minute-and-one-second game that sparked new hostility between U-M and MSU fans in 2001.

New traditions began Thursday and continue tonight when Indiana becomes the first Big Ten team to venture into Kelley-Shorts Stadium, capping three days of celebration by Central Michigan fans.

This weekend, nearly 250,000 fans will pack campuses across the state to root for their favorite teams and become part of the pageantry of college football.

Nationwide, an estimated 33 million fans will attend games.

Football fans never lose ties with their schools.

Despite working 36 years at Michigan, Schembechler still attends events at Miami (Ohio), where he got his start.

Central Michigan athletic director Herb Deromedi, who is retiring, still bleeds maize and blue despite spending five decades at CMU as football coach and athletic director.

"I bet you will see Herb at a lot more live Michigan games now," Schembechler said.

How many times have you stepped into someone's office and seen the distinctive Notre Dame gold or Texas burnt orange plastered on the walls?

How about Gary Prudian, who moved from Warren to Los Angeles to attend law school at Southern California? He can get tickets to any home game at USC, which is going for a third straight national title. Yet, every Saturday he slips on his No. 12 Ricky Powers uniform and mingles with other Michigan fans at the Gotham City bar to watch the Wolverines.

What would it take for a fan to stop rooting for his chosen team?

"Ahhhhhhhhh, it would probably take them dropping football," said Nitz, who lives outside Grand Rapids. "Even if they hire a coach I do not like, I would never stop being a fan."

Ties that bind

But what makes college football so appealing?

Todd Heustess, a free-lance writer based in Miami, travels the country writing stories from various sports venues.

This season, he plans to write about the college football pageantry at Colorado, Texas, Florida and Washington.

"What I have found is college football games are like giant family reunions," Heustess said. "The tailgates and meeting other people is almost as important as the game. You have a connection with all the other alumni around the country that is shared and manifests itself in football more than anything else."

Mike Cray, who moved to Canton from Cleveland two years ago, won't let go of his love for Ohio State.

"College football has a stranglehold on this country," Cray said. "There is just something about football. The Michigan-Ohio State rivalry is so strong in football it makes it more important."

So important that Nitz's wife, Tracy, and 17-month-old son, Gunnar, leave him alone every Saturday during the fall -- all for the love of his team.

Nitz spends all day in the basement on his "comfy couch" in front of his big-screen television. The day begins with a visit to the past, thanks to "ESPN Classic," and ends with a Pac-10 game that goes into the wee hours of Sunday morning.

"I never talk to (my wife) about it," Nitz said. "It is nonnegotiable."

More than the game

But it's not all about football.

It's about fun ... and family.

In a survey, Michigan fans said the band is the second-most important part of game day -- besides the team's winning.

That might explain why Kendall's mother, Kimberly, spends Fridays at Elbel Park, watching U-M's storied marching band practice for the next day's gala.

And it isn't unusual for three generations to pile into an SUV or a van to see their favorite teams. They park in the same spot next to the same people, who have become extended family.

Even season tickets, at some schools, are passed down from generation to generation.

"It is the fight songs and the pageantry," said Kendall's father, Jamie Morris, who is No. 2 on Michigan's career rushing list. "In the NFL, teams move and players move. In college, the players change but the colors don't.

"The tradition stays the same."

You can reach Terry Foster at (313) 222-1494 or terry.foster@detnews.com.