Jon Japha is still in Colorado. He spent the entire Thanksgiving break in the same chair watching football. He doesn't think he can move anymore. He got up three times. Once to attend the CU-Nebraska game, the other to watch the Colorado Avalanche retire Ray Borque's jersey. The third, to call the Daily and tell them he wasn't coming back. He's watching football in his chair until after the Super Bowl.
In desperate need of a column, the Daily decided to call Jon in his chair and interview him. Jon liked this idea. Most of the time, he interviews athletes who give him the answers he expects. He gets tired of that. He wanted to take a crack at getting interviewed. Plus, he had a sports-filled break. <I>Okay. First question. Jon, you were at the CU-Nebraska game. Can you compare that to, say, Tufts versus Amherst?No problem. I'll start with the similarities. In both games, the teams I was rooting for were the underdog, playing against the stiffest competition of the year. Both Tufts and CU had the ability to win the game. CU's middle linebacker is named Shawn Tufts. Plus, when Colorado fans cheer, they yell "go Buffs," which sounds a lot like "go Tufts."
However, the differences were astounding. I had never been to a college game of this magnitude, and I felt kind of out of place. I think I know how college football analyst Lee Corso feels hanging around college campuses. I was an imposter, a liberal arts football fan, not a state school football fan. Just getting into the game was a struggle. At Tufts, you can show your ID, though it's not required, and stroll right in.
The entrance to the CU game was mobbed. I was getting batted around like a beach ball. People were screaming the school song. Plus, they have another chant, which involves cursing loudly twice, then yelling "Go CU."
Once we got into the game, things were different, as well. The stadium holds about 40,000, and when you are in the student section, you stand the whole game. Some of the players, you knew, were going to be in the NFL. You never once stop cheering, especially when your team is destroying the number one team in the nation.
The biggest difference, though, was what happened after the game. When CU won, people didn't mill about for a few minutes, then go back to their dorms or apartments and get on with their lives. They stormed the field. They tore down a goalpost. They carried it around the field. Then they partied like they had just beaten the number one team in the nation.
So which did you like better?
Well, the CU game was one of the best I've ever seen. Who scores 62 points in a game against the number one team in the nation? But I'm not sold yet. I like the cozy feel of Ellis Oval. I like being able to get in the game without feeling like a pinball. I like sitting down between plays. I like knowing that the guys I'm rooting for are playing without dreams of the NFL clouding their vision, that in fact, they're real student-athletes.I really liked going on the field, though.
Is it true that you didn't come back because you didn't have anything to write a column about?
Next question.What do you think about the BCS?
I think it's a ridiculous way to determine a postseason. You can't measure a team's success by a mathematical equation. It's arbitrary, nonsensical, and unfair. But you know what, it beats the hell out of the system we have in the NESCAC. Oh, wait, there are no football playoffs in the NESCAC.You said that you got out of your chair to watch Ray Borque's jersey get retired. What was that like?
I'm not really supposed to talk about it in this column. This is supposed to be about Tufts sports, but to be nice, I'll answer that. It was great. All of the Avs players warmed up in Borque jerseys, which he signed then auctioned off for the Sept. 11 fund. The 22 jerseys went for 190,000 dollars.And I know that a lot of Boston fans don't like the fact that Colorado retired number 77, and I get that. But if you would have seen the support Colorado fans gave Borque, and the look on his face when he received ovation after ovation, you would know that his jersey belongs in Colorado's rafters. It's not home to him - he was careful not to say that - but it's where he enjoyed the greatest moment of his professional career, so, as he said, it will always have a place in his heart.
Did you bid on the jerseys?
No, minimum bid was $500, and they didn't take points.You didn't have an idea for a column, did you?
No! You got me, okay?Exactly how many games did you watch this weekend?
Not too many, actually. Just the Lions-Packers, Broncos-Cowboys, CU-Nebraska, Texas-Texas A&M, Michigan-Ohio St., Syracuse-Wake Forest (basketball), Florida-Florida St. (1995 game on ESPN Classic), Titans-Steelers, Colts-49ers, Raiders-Giants, and Bears-Vikings.Wow, you're a giant loser. Didn't you have Thanksgiving dinner?
In the words of a sign I saw at the CU-Nebraska game, "I sacrificed family for football."@s:I am a loser
