Fan Speak Sept17

Reason to multiply

SPORTS FANS are well aware of the reasoning behind the Missouri State High School Activities Assocaition's 1.35 multiplier used to classify private schools' athletic programs. Case in point: the Notre Dame softball team. An all-star team from Cape and Scott County has no problem pummeling local public school squads. They are no doubt an excellent aggregation of the best the area has to offer.

Shorting the triathletes

THE TRAIL of Tears triathlon brings in a lot of revenue for the county, and if you can't give it proper coverage, Coors needs to move it to another town. The athletes come in from all over, you win first place and you need a magnifying glass to read the results.

Free the tailgaters

AROUND THE country before football games, people participate in tailgating. A rule was put into effect this year that killed tailgating at Southeast Missouri State, and I find it to be completely outrageous. There was nothing wrong with the way things were done in the past, and everyone always had a good time. The rule, from what I gather, limits the location of where people can be and drinks are limited. I strongly believe Southeast needs to rethink this rule and reopen the "tailgate" area so students will come out, have a good time and cheer on the Redhawks. I'm sure some Cape Girardeau citizens will say the college kids don't need to be rowdy with the drinking and what-not. To those people I say: This city would not be the city it is now if it wasn't for the college and the students that make it up. This is a ghost town when school is out, and the students bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars to this area.

Supportive students

A BIG "thank you" needs to go out to all of the Southeast Missouri State students who attended the Redhawks football game Sept. 9 at Houck Stadium. It's been a long time since we've seen a large student turnout at the games. Plus, they never sat down from the opening kickoff to the final horn, and they made a lot of noise, which created a great atmosphere. They were definitely a great bunch of rowdy fans. Whether it was because of the home opener, or the simple fact the Redhawks were 1-0 going into the game, or curiosity about the new coaching staff can make a difference, or great marketing, the Southeast students made their presence felt. Hopefully that student section will continue to grow as the season moves on.

Wasted ink

IT WAS interesting to open the sports page Thursday to find a huge picture to accompany the article about a football player from Southeast Missouri State and his tattoos. I have nothing against tattoos at all. My son has a tattoo, and I don't have a problem with it. However, I don't really understand how this article constitutes a sports story. Just a couple weeks ago, you had an article about tattoos, and it was on the Lifestyles page. Now all of a sudden we've got a full-page article with almost no information -- nothing about his athletics or about sports is included in this little article. Come on, guys. Maybe it was a slow day, but surely your people can go out and find something about a sport, not about a lifestyle.

Interesting quote

CENTRAL FOOTBALL coach Lawrence Brookins said in the Southeast Missourian after the Sept. 8 loss to New Madrid County Central, "... players aren't lined up right." Who is supposed to teach them? Their mothers?

In comparison

IF PEOPLE think tailgating at Southeast has become problematic, they should look around at other schools. In comparison to Southern Illinois and Missouri, Southeast is fairly tame.

No tailgating, no crowd

SOUTHEAST STUDENTS should be able to tailgate. It is going to be very sad when no one shows up at the games.