I went to Thursday night's Dolphins-Panthers game, probably my first NFL game in 25 years.
For all of the hypocrisy of the NCAA, I'll still take the college game -- and especially the smoke-free concourses after dealing with the Panthers crowd. If you think no one smokes anymore, go to Bank of America Stadium.
What NCAA hypocrisy, you ask? Well, I'll start with the NCAA's policy on alcohol.
Understand, I wish the Volstead Act had never been repealed -- and would like to see it reinstated.
It's my understanding that the NCAA doesn't allow any alcohol sales in school-owned on-campus facilities.
That's a policy that teetotalers such as myself appreciate. But why does the NCAA take in (and allow its schools to, also) millions of dollars in advertising from beer companies if it feels alcohol sales don't fit the atmosphere it wants at a college game?
There were actually fewer drunks around me at the Panthers game than I anticipated. There were, however, plenty of security/law enforcement folks to take care of the problems. I've had more obnoxious drunks sitting around me at college games, where they got lubricated before coming into the stadium.
Another point of hypocrisy is the NCAA's willingness allow its "student-athletes" (their term) to be prostituted so ESPN can have a 24-hour marathon of live basketball games. What's the benefit of having a game at 6 a.m. on a weekday morning?
I mention basketball, but football is guilty, too. As a couch potato, I enjoy a good Tuesday night MAC game as much as anyone. But what about the missed class time? Do the football players make up their missed Tuesday or Wednesday classes on Saturday or Sunday? I didn't think so.
Of course, my two favorite bits of NCAA hypocrisy remain -- nicknames/mascots and the Confederate flag.
1. Newberry, Northeast Louisiana, Arkansas State and others have been bullied into changing their nickname from "Indians" for the sake of political correctness. But, Florida State, with its lucrative apparel sales (of which I'm sure the NCAA gets a cut) doesn't have to change its "Seminoles" nickname because it got approval from the Seminole tribe.
Do they think I believe that no Seminoles are offended? What other group is in 100 percent lockstep on a controversial issue?
I'm an ordained deacon. Can I get Wake Forest to change its mascot because it dresses in stereotypical depiction of a deacon? I've e-mailed the NCAA and gotten nowhere.
Would Bulldogs, Tigers, Gamecocks and other animals be offended if they had the mental capacity to know they are being used as mascots?
Is it a silly argument? Of course. Why do only certain people/groups have a right to be offended to the point of the NCAA taking action.
2. The Confederate flag was removed from a place of sovereignty on the S.C. State House to a monument on the grounds. It was a compromise that neither side particularly liked, but that's the definition of a compromise.
Still the NCAA punishes its member schools from South Carolina with its ban of pre-awarding championship events to the state. Colleges don't make legislation.
Are they hoping for a groundswell of fans to badger their legislators into moving the flag so an NCAA Regional can be held in Columbia or Greenville? The way tickets are distributed, only a handful of locals would have a shot at getting tickets anyway.
Let's see ... surrender my heritage for a (miniscule) chance to see a basketball regional every four or five years involving teams I may not care about? I'll pass.
Southerners don't like being told what they have to do or can't do. That's what started the unpleasantness more than 140 years ago.
