Friday, Sept. 4, 2009 | 2:18 p.m.
LeGarrette Blount punches Byron Hout
This weekend, as the college football season kicks off, several games will start with each team coming to midfield for a ceremonial pregame handshake. You know, a way of promoting sportsmanship.
UNLV coach Mike Sanford said Monday his team will take part in this movement Saturday night as it begins its 2009 season at Sam Boyd Stadium against Sacramento State.
How long will this 'tradition' last? Well, my guess is not too long, as Oregon's LeGarrette Blount looks at this point like the biggest hypocrite of them all. I'm sure he won't be the first.
Blount is Oregon's super-talented, 240-pound running back who last year as a junior amassed 1,002 yards on the ground.
Following the Ducks' disappointing (to say the least) showing at Boise State on Thursday night, which resulted in a 19-8 loss on the blue turf, Blount ended up needing a police escort to the Oregon locker room.
Boise State defensive end Byron Hout gave a little light trash talk to Blount, who finished the game with -5 yards on eight carries. Blount apparently was in no mood to hear it, throwing a beautiful right cross to Hout's jaw. It was solid contact. Randy Couture would be proud of his form and quick hands.
He was then corralled and helped into the locker room after getting into it with some Boise fans who wanted to egg him on a little more.
Blount, since transferring to Oregon from East Mississippi CC, has had behavioral issues and has been a headache for the coaching staff. On Friday, first-year head coach Chip Kelly suspended him for the rest of the 2009 season, though he'll remain on scholarship.
So much for back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons.
But the point is that why are college teams going to even try to give off the image that sportsmanship is prevalent in Division-I football?
Nowadays, kids are learning at a very young age that football is maybe the most violent and brutal sport that they can take up. By the time they get to college, the amount of adrenaline pumping through them both before and during games is insane. Some of them practically become different people.
They're trained to think that those in the other uniforms are the sworn enemies, and they must be destroyed. Yet they're supposed to shake hands before trying to rip the other team's collective head off?
That said, an over-under for when this whole handshake thing becomes non-existent? Probably mid-October.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy