Unabated Sports

The University of Cincinnati started off their football season in explosive fashion. Pregame fireworks announced the team's first game as a member of the Big East. Of course, the conference season doesn't begin until next month but any excuse for fireworks, I guess. It was going to be interesting to see how this young team played on the field. It was going to be even more interesting the reaction of people off the field. In the midsts of last week's dismissal of Bob Huggins, some fans called for a total boycott of the school's athletic program. Would they hold their grudge against Mark Dantonio and his football players? The answer was, thankfully, no. 21,458 fans came out on a Thursday night to cheer on the Bearcats against the Eastern Michigan Eagles.
The fans did boo during this pregame message where Nancy Zimpher's name was mentioned. But their support of the football team was not questionable. I was surprised to see only a smattering of T-shirts that supported the former basketball coach or suggested innapropriate things for the school president. Those were greatly outnumbered by those who were sporting Gino Guidugli jerseys. It probably won't be too much longer before we start seeing Dustin Grutza jerseys in the stands. He played well, throwing a pair of touchdowns and running in another from 21 yards out. The rushing attack was the driving force, gaining almost 300 yards. Still, it came down to a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter that could have tied it, and a final Eagles drive that began at midfield and only needed field goal to win. It was an exciting game that went down to the wire. I walked away feeling pretty good about this team. Of course, we'll see if that good feelings lasts past their trip to Happy Valley next weekend, Yeager Stadium at the end of the month, and seven games against their new Big East rivals.