Posted on September 23rd, 2011
By DERON SNYDER
The future looks grim for Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas State and Kansas, on the verge of being abandoned in a shell of the Big 12 Conference. But hold the pity and save your sympathy. They have no right to complain.
Instead of feeling sorry for themselves, they should recite the line from “Road to Perdition,” when Paul Newman’s character sums up existence in organized crime, a not-so-distant cousin of big-time college sports:
“This is the life we choose, the life we lead. And there is only one guarantee: none of us will see heaven.”
The folks running Division I’s money-making ventures aren’t much different than the Tony Sopranos and Don Coreleones running their assorted enterprises. Both groups play hard, fast and for keeps, with a liberal use of muscle when necessary.
What we’ve witnessed lately in the swirling landscape of college sports is simply the latest change in “The Organization.”
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Posted on September 23rd, 2011
By DERON SNYDER
Another college football season started Sept. 1, with the bulk of attention heaped on the usual suspects, powerhouse programs such as Oklahoma, Alabama and Louisiana State. Such schools — members of lucrative Bowl Championship Series conferences — enjoy regular appearances on national TV, play in stadiums that seat 80,000 to 100,000 fans and often appear in bowl games with $20 million payouts.
But there’s a less-publicized, less-affluent version of the game that’s still going strong, too, more than 100 years since Livingstone College and Biddle College (now Johnson C. Smith University) met on Dec. 27, 1892.
That was the first black college football game; there will be hundreds more this season featuring the 52 teams from historically black colleges and universities — including Livingstone and Johnson C. Smith, which renew their 119-year-old rivalry on Nov. 5 in Charlotte, N.C., in the Commemorative Classic.
Four college leagues consist of HBCUs: the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). A handful of other HBCUs play in mainstream leagues — the Ohio Valley Conference (Tennessee State) and the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (Cheyney) — or play as independents (Langston).
But no matter what level of football a black college plays, there’s usually a “classic” or two to get everyone pumped up. These games take all the pageantry of regular HBCU contests, draw huge crowds to large, off-campus stadiums and morph into a combination of Homecoming-Black Family Reunion-Freaknic-NBA All-Star Game Weekend-Stone Soul Picnic.
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Posted on September 23rd, 2011
By DERON SNYDER
It’s only two games … it’s only two games … it’s only two games.
That’s the mantra for Cam Newton and his fans, now that the Carolina Panthers quarterback has started his career in historic fashion. But it’s understandable if Newton finds himself occasionally humming an old rap hit:
“How Ya Like Me Now.”
Unlike Kool Moe Dee, Newton wouldn’t have LL Cool J in mind. Instead, Newton’s target would be the bevy of critics who questioned everything about him before he became the No. 1 overall draft pick in April.
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Posted on September 23rd, 2011
By DERON SNYDER
Major professional sports leagues such as the NFL and NBA often have mandatory orientation sessions for incoming rookies, who learn the hazards of their impending fame and fortune. They’re counseled to guard themselves against gold-digging women, down-on-their-luck friends, too-good-to-be-true investments and late-night outings in questionable surroundings.
Identity theft is another topic that surely arises, with typical advice on checking credit scores, financial statements and the like. But judging by recent cases in the news, athletes need to be on the lookout for impersonators, too.
It takes a special breed of lowlife to go around pretending he’s a pro player, pushing up on young women and soliciting charitable donations. That’s what a man in the Washington, D.C., area has been doing, according to Vince Young (the Philadelphia Eagles’ backup quarterback) and his sports-management agency.
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Posted on September 19th, 2011
By DERON SNYDER
Javaris Crittenton had separated himself from the pack, joining the sliver of men who play hoops well enough to reach the NBA. He overcome astronomical odds, achieving the childhood dream of millions, to enter a fraternity with about 450 active members in any given season.
But if the allegations are true, if Crittenton fired the bullet that missed his intended target but killed a 22-year-old mother of four in Atlanta, he traded select company for a group mentality that’s way too prevalent among African-American men. He went from role model of success to poster boy of dysfunction in the flash of a gun.
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Posted on September 19th, 2011
By VANESSA W. SNYDER
When I was about eight or nine, I wanted to be a flower girl.
A woman and fellow church member who my family knew well was getting married. My two girlfriends and I were like three peas in a pod. They were picked to wear the pretty, fluffy, baby blue dresses and carry flowers.
I wasn’t.
I was convinced that the reason was my skin color, me being the darkest of us three. That feeling of being too dark plagued me through my college years. From the name-calling to the skin-lightening creams, it was a cross I became used to bearing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otyiofu1wO8
I actually used to feel good when someone would say, “She’s dark, but she’s pretty.” Or, “She’s a ‘pretty black.’” Not until attending college at a predominantly white university did I start to feel pretty.
Suddenly, the boys liked me. Maybe I looked “exotic” or something. Whatever the case, it was enough to make me feel better about my skin color and start accepting my particular brand of beauty. I matured and grew in confidence over time, and I can honestly say it doesn’t bother me too much anymore.
We’ve made some strides in terms of seeing beauty in all complexions, but we still have some work to do.
A documentary like “Dark Girls” is pretty important. As a teacher and former Girl Scout leader, I find girls all the time who still worry about “turning black” because of the sun, or who make derogatory comments about dark-skinned girls. It’s hard to believe we’re still dealing with this, but we are. So when I saw a preview of “Dark Girls,” I was excited to see the topic talked about in the open.
Maybe we can stop the madness if we just finally discuss it.
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