The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-02-05
ATHLETIC NOTES
By SOL METZGER

At the Washington and Jefferson Camp Sherman football game at To- ledo last fall several thousand enlist ed men sat in one of the corner grand stands Around the corner from them, so to speak and placed in the boxes at the front of their stand, were sever al score of Red Cross nurses. As the teams entered the field be- tween these two stands very pretty nurse asked the soldiers cheer leader if Private Murphy, of such and such a company and regiment, was with the enlisted men. Learning that he was, this very pretty nurse said that since she had nursed him she would like to see him again and requested the cheer leader to ask him to stand up. Training his megaphone upon the soldiers the cheer leader yelled at them:
 Will Private Murphy of such and such a company and regiment, please stand up as your nurse here would like to see you?'
 With one accord the several thous- and soldiers arose, each yelling to the nurse:
 Here I ami"
 This story well illustrates the pres ent collegiate athletic situation-if not the entire amateur athletic one-in this country. Nearly everyone wants sport for all just as nearly as every one of those soldiers wanted to be Private Murphy-after they had seen the nurse. But to date no college has been able to provide @ plan substitut- ing sport for all for intercollegiate lathletics that will cause all college men to arise and proclaim it with the same gusto and enthusiasm that they have proclaimed intercollegiate athletics. The stimulus is as yet want ling. It may be there is no such stim- ulus. Only time will tell.
 Football scouting is now having it's bad innings at the hands of the fac ulty reformers every time they get together for a conference on athletic ills. Somebody once swiped the op- Iposing teams signals, and the oppos- ing team being righteously indignant scouting got the blame.
 Is As a matter of fact football scout ing isn't harmful. Those who so pro- claim it know as little about it as the Chicago player of some years back who was sent to Minnesota to get the dope on Harry Williams eleven. He came back with the sort of a report that anyone could write. His ''ir- side" stuff was as near inside" as the overcoat he wore. It was not even 2 good newspaper account of the detai of the game. It ran about like this "On the first play Minnesota made laie lc ior1ot nf
 had fine interference. A few lint bucks and another end run resulted ' in a touchdown and the goal wa! kicked"
 Scouting is very much misunder
 stood even by football players In fac
 there are few good scouts. Their gamt
 is something like that of the smal
 boy at a circus. But all the smal 1 boy has to watch is three rings ant
 the clown, whereas a scout has t f watch and note down what elevel a men do in each play on both offenS ', and defensS, aAd in addition wha Y, down and in what position of the fiel |; each play is made from.
 II Scouting is not getting the othe V, teams signals or buying off opposin f players, as some would think. AS ia q as getting another teams signals
 concerned, the modern coach has hi
 troubles in getting his own signals in
 to the brains of his own protege: !, even if they are honor men in tn | classroom.
 Scouting is not drowned upon b
 football men. On the contrary the
 will extend every courtesy of the fiel to the scouts of their biggest rival
 The whole game is played openly, LII
 like summer baseball, and has nor
 of the real or imagined ills of tn;
 hot weather sport. Scouting dot . make the game more scientific.
 Right now a committee of the Ns
 tional Collegiate Athletic Associate
 is considering the advisability of con