You may read this headline and wonder how athletics could relate to academics in any regard. I admit it does seem unfathomable to think that by lying around on the couch watching football on the weekends you could learn a thing or two about geography and traveling. Just keep reading and I will explain the link between couch potatoes and valuable educational experiences.
First off, fans of collegiate and professional athletics know a lot more about geography than your average Joe. Now, I am not talking about the complicated stuff like adiabatic lapse rates and talus slopes. Save that for the intellectual scientists. I am simply referring to where things are located.
For instance, most folks don't know that Huntington, West Virginia, is the home of Marshall University. The only city by that name that I had heard of before I began following Ball State was Dan Quayle's hometown of Huntington, Ind.
In some cases, by brushing up on some sports trivia you could avoid having to consult a pricey travel agent before deciding where to take that next vacation. Thinking about visiting western New York and swinging by Niagara Falls? Just don't go during the wintertime. All the brutally cold snow-wars the Bills have waged over the years illustrate why this would be an idiotic decision.
The cultural backgrounds of certain regions and towns can also be explained through years of following your favorite team. Deep-dish pizza and windy fall temperatures are often mentioned during Cubs telecasts. What more do you need to know about Chi-town? You might as well pack your bags accordingly and head on out.
I learned that New Orleans is a great destination if you like to party just by listening to the radio prior to Super Bowl XXXI between the Packers and Patriots. They were talking about how the city boasts of Mardi gras, beads, a never-ending flow of beer and naked chicks. Sounds good. I am going to start planning my trip now.
John Madden and Al Michaels discussed the subject during Monday night's Colts-Steelers game. "From driving a bus across the country, I've seen a lot of the Mississippi River," Madden said, near the end of the third quarter. "The Mississippi must be in like half the states in this country because we cross it a lot."
Subsequently, if the chunky ex-Raiders coach had not gotten into sports broadcasting, he may never have known such specific details about the nation's longest-flowing river.
Big corporations know that fans follow their favorite teams faithfully and they just love to cater to our wants and needs. Sporting events are great outlets for advertising and public relations campaigns for these reasons.
Even Muncie gets the occasional plug on the Late Show when Letterman pokes fun at the "Fighting Cardinals."
Now do you realize what you are missing by insisting that flipping through a gazillion cable channels looking for a sporting event to watch is not a worthwhile way of spending your free time? Geography professors take heed. How about letting your students watch the World Series for their next homework assignment?332/<-¦-ú-¦Ipat's column 10.24.02DNEditorial332SORT B+â-ä2AUDT
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