Evening star., 1925-12-07

became dominant.
Continuous line bucking and punt
ing am sloppy forward passing does
not OBJECT the spirit of the crowd at
an intercollegiate game, because of
the intense partisan spirit that pre-
walls, every inch gained, every little
adVantaGv sets one side or the other
of a college gathering into frenzy. En-
thusiaSm never ceases and all the cir
cumstGrCes and color of crucial
Game between university teams does
not Wane.
Flaw in the Show.
That was the great flaw in the Polo
Grounds shoW-l1Ck of zing. In this
respect, il was about the most spirit
less athletic exhibition which the
writer has seen since he attended his
last previous pro foot ball game. A
pretty poor show, all told. If Grange
had been able TO get away on any one
of the runs that made him famous,
the situation would have been helped
materially. But he did not, and when
in the last quaretr he stood on the
spot where Jack Dempsey kayoed
Luis Firpo, and Intercepted forward
pass and ran for a touchdown with
no one to oppose him, the crowd be-
gan . quit the stands in droves.
The. had seen what they had come
to see and they knew it would not
happen again that afternoon; so they
went home And they did not. act
like persons who felt they had re-
ceivcd their money 5 worth.
To be perfectly frank, when Grange
was Withdrawn toward the end or
the first half the sagging of interest in
the contest was a painful thing to
contemplate. And when. in the third
quarter. he did not appear at all. 1t
seemed as though the stands would
collapse with boredom.
I'VE want Grange Angrily at
first. then desperately, the thunderous
chant rolled around the field and out
on the gridiron. Bring on the ice
man" And then, "Gyphed, by heck
1t would seem that educators and
those who wish to keep foot ball SUI
premacy in the hands of the college
need never worry about the pro game.
1t lacks elements essential to its large
success. And while promoters may
make a living, it certainly does not
seem likely that the drab stuff on
exhibition at the Polo Grounds on
Sunday can ever menace SO fine and
clean and Zestful a game as inter
collegiate foot ball.
Famous 81 Obliterated.
Even Oranges famous II became
obliterated BY the mud after five min
utes of play, and three-quarters of
the time no one knew whether or
not he was doing something or
whether he was on the shelf.
But his reception when he first gal
loped upon the gridiron, and his jer-
sey was nice and clean. was really
tremendous. An old New Yorker
would have to so back through the
years to the time when Admiral
Dewey returned from the Philippines
to obtain an adequate analogy.
He was cheered, roared at, back
slapped and addressed in most familiar
terms. He posed for the movie cameras
and for stills; eminent citizens grasp
ed his hand and looked unutterably
proud themselves. The band played
Hail to the Chief" In brief, being
as they say, an unspoiled young man
fresh from college, he must have
wondered greatly.
Urbana, where Red went 70 college,
is a beautiful educational seat, full of
dignified trees and fine buildings and
lawns; the visitor there is struck by
an inspiring combination Of intellec-
1ual solidarity and the bravery of ath-
letic proweSS.