Osler's Razor

I'm starting to suspect that they don't take football quite as seriously here in Minnesota as they do in Texas. There, it is a live-or-die cornerstone of one's identity. Here, well... it mostly seems to be an opportunity for goofiness. For example, the University of Minnesota is represented by Goofy the Gopher, seen here at right. Intimidating? No. And neither is the football team, which thus far this year has lost games to both Div. I-AA University of South Dakota and MAC league wanna-be Northern Illinois University.

Like most of the schools around here (and there are a million), St. Thomas plays in division three of the NCAA. In their league, there seems to be a naming convention that I am starting to love. St. Thomas is the Tommies. St. John's is the Johnnies. St. Olaf, of course, is the Oles. Carleton is the Knights. I guess they didn't get the memo.

Meanwhile, back in Texas, staking your self-esteem to your school's football prowess has turned into a soul-crushing enterprise (unless you cheer for TCU). The mighty University of Texas was crushed by one of the University of California's branch campuses, in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Texas A & M lost to the booze-drenched New Orleans School of College University [sic], and SMU continues to play in a stadium inexplicably named for Gerald Ford.

I love football season. I'm still figuring out how it works here, but I will keep you updated as things progress.