Despite a record student attendance at the Ball State University football game Aug. 30, I didn't see the one person I most wanted to see inside the stadium.
Almost eight thousand students, and fat Charlie Cardinal did not make it inside.
I thought things may have changed back to the way I once knew when I saw him wandering around the outside of the stadium, saying hi to spectators and high-fiving students.
Don't get me wrong. There was a Charlie inside the new Scheumann Stadium, but it wasn't the Charlie I knew and loved from my first two years at Ball State. The bird then looked and lived large and wore an expression that said, "I'm living life my way and loving every second of it." He was a ladies' man, as evidenced by the dozens of pictures on Facebook featuring attractive women with the only one who could truly claim their hearts.
No, the Charlie inside the stadium, the one that debuted last football season and has yet to leave, was what I like to refer to as "skinny, Creepy Charlie".
He looks like he's on a crash diet of lettuce and carrots, his tail looks like it was stolen from a monkey and his smile looks as if it is beckoning children with free candy inside a rusty old van. When his pictures show up on Facebook with attractive women, he looks like he's planning on groping them at the next opportunity, whereas fat Charlie was a sweet, loving creature who hugged everyone he could. It's still Charlie Cardinal, but it's not the same. At least, not to me.
If you're not convinced yet, let's take a look at the facts. Note that these facts may or may not actually be true.
Since Creepy Charlie debuted at the Ball State football season opener last year, the Cardinals have seen three coaches leave Ball State. The three coaches have left Ball State over increasingly bitter circumstances. Softball's Teri Laux, of course, was fired when she protested the fact that Charlie Cardinal never came to her team's games and was replaced with the more Charlie-apathetic Craig Nicholson.
Women's volleyball's Randy Litchfield reported Creepy Charlie's numerous NCAA violations to the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. The department wasn't very happy with that and canned Litchfield. Dave Boos is here strictly under orders not to rat on Creepy Charlie.
Men's basketball's Ronny Thompson also faced the anger of Creepy Charlie. When Thompson accused Creepy Charlie of planting the infamous notes inside the basketball offices, the athletic department gently informed Thompson this was unacceptable and asked him to resign. Billy Taylor knows better than to incur the wrath of Creepy Charlie.
In addition, since Creepy Charlie debuted, he and he alone has been responsible for the Cardinals failing to record a single MAC championship for a Ball State team in that time. After all, it's common knowledge that Creepy Charlie created a racket the night before the women's basketball team faced Bowling Green for the MAC title, rendering them unable to sleep and forcing a defeat. It was also Creepy Charlie's doing to score a goal for Ohio in overtime to defeat Ball State's field hockey team in last year's MAC championship battle. As if that wasn't enough, Creepy Charlie committed pass interference against Dante Love on the critical fourth down play at Michigan last year that cost the Cardinals a chance to make history in the Big House.
So, the decision is yours, good reader. Would you like fat Charlie Cardinal back, or evil, Creepy Charlie who has sabotaged Cardinal teams on numerous occasions? That is up to you.
Write to Andy at ndistops@hotmal.com
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
