The age-herald., 1900-11-30
SKETCHES FROM
 EVERYDAY LIFE

Speaking generally, and not intending to disparage the admirable playing of Ala bamas team, I would say that Clemson's football playing is as fast as any have seen," said a college graduate who takes an interest In the game. "It was full of vim from start to finish. There were no de- lays between the plays no long periods of getting ready after each down. In short, it was what you would call up-to-date playing. This means a good deal in foot ball. for many of the teams are not up-to- date in their methods. Some years ago the only idea of success in football was brute strength. It was all brawn and very little brain. Those were the days when the big colleges like Yale, Harvard and Prince ton made their regulations. The teams from the little colleges had no showing in a game with the big ones. Of course out of a university of three thousand students it was easy to pick eleven men who, on account of their weight and strength, could crush eleven men picked out Of a college of three hundred students.
 Gradually. however, students of the game perceived that there were great possi- bilities in it for strategic plays-tricks in other words to fool the opposite team and massed plays, combinations and inter- ference came into use. With the introduce tion of tricks, or brain, the games between the big and the little colleges were not such one-sided affairs. For instance, the captain the coach of the small college might have more brains than the captain and coach of the big college, and be perior in strategy It is something like a battle between two armies. It Is not all ways the strongest which wins the fight, but the one whose general has the best set of brains and can devise the best tricks. Of course, football is an athletic game and brawn will always be large and impor- tant factor. A light team can never hope to win against heavy team, other things being equal What I mean to emphasize is that brawn is no longer the only element of success. The Clemson team has not only weight but they have been taught-the value of tricks Of all the big colleges, Princeton has clung most tenaciously to the old-time idea of football being a game of mere strength The result is that shs has been beaten right and left this year, even by little colleges. Most of the South ern teams have Princeton coaches, and they have been taught to look down on tricks in football as unsportsmanlike, and the result is that they have all been de- feated by Clemson this year, that is, all that have played with her. I understand that Princeton has decided to abandon her old-time methods and adopt modern ideas, and it would be good idea for all the Southern colleges to do the same. Many of the little colleges that have up-to-dats methods of football not only frequently score against the big colleges, but some- times beat them. Little colleges that for merly merely furnished exercise for tho big ones now give them palpitation of the heart until the game is ended
 
 q watching a monkey the other day." said a man whose office is on Sec ond avenue, which was giving a street performance in front of my office. His partner was grinding a hand organ and the monkey was monkeying, that is, he was smoking pipes, turning somersaults and climbing anything there was to climb. Quite a crowd collected around to watch him. After giving his performance he passed around his hat but not man in the crowd gave him anything. The monkey was a gentleman, however. He took off his hat, bowed politely, and jumping up the hand organ, the firm went away to an- other fve-minute stand. I merely mention this to illustrate what trifes can collect a crowd in Birmingham. I suppose there were thirty or forty people watching the monkey. They were members of Birming- hams floating population, and it is this floating population which makes city mopolitan. New Yorks floating population is estimated at about half a million I don't suppose Birmingham's is as large, but the city is quite cosmopolitan in its ways Anything will collect a crowd Ill New York. If person stands on the side walk and looks across the street he will be joined by several others, and in a few minutes there will be crowd trying to see what is going Advertisers will put sign in window and hire a man to go across the street and look at it so as to collect crowd. I don't think this advertis- ing dodge has yet been tried in Brming ham, although l have no doubt it would work. We have the human sandwich, the dude with the painted cheeks and an "ad' on his back, and why not the window gazer?"