Columnist Ron Kantowski: Army-Navy rivalry has nothing to worry about

Friday, Oct. 3, 2003 | 10:14 a.m.

Ron Kantowski is a Las Vegas Sun sports writer. Reach him at ron@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4088.

If this is UNLV-Nevada-Reno football week, isn't there supposed to be electricity in the air?

I hate to pooh-pooh what used to be a fairly significant occurrence around here, but you can forget about electricity. So far, the annual battle for the Fremont Cannon hasn't generated enough interest to drive the pollen count up.

Nobody's goat has been stolen. Or for that matter, gotten. Nobody has tossed a single stick. Or a solitary stone. And where are the hurting words? Last year, Wolf Pack linebacker Logan Carter came right out and said he "hated" Rebels quarterback Jason Thomas.

While I don't know Logan Carter, I don't think he truly hated Jason Thomas, anymore than I "hated" Barry Manilow growing up. Yet, I remember saying those exact words on the way to a KISS concert, and swore that if I ever laid eyes on the Copacabana, I'd blow it up.

During his remarks at Monday's Quarterback Club luncheon, UNLV coach John Robinson indirectly addressed Carter's remarks -- I think -- when he said that anybody who hates had no business being involved in the game. And he added that those who get drunk can stay home, too.

If that were the case, the stands would be half-empty. Three-quarters, when the game's in Reno.

There, at least I did my part to get things going. Because frankly, the coaches and players just don't seem all that interested in stirring things up.

A headline in Tuesday's Reno Gazette-Journal proclaimed "Pack doesn't want to start war of words."

"UNLV has a great team and they have a great defense," UNR offensive lineman Isaiah Ross said.

"We just want to go out and play our game and do our thing," wide receiver Nichiren Flowers said.

Man, I hate -- er, dislike it -- when tough guys start acting like Merlin Olsen.

While the Rebels haven't wired anybody flowers, they haven't exactly acted like bullies, either. In fact, at practice earlier this week, they almost appeared disinterested, although that's the way they usually appear.

Nobody down here will admit it, but I believe the game doesn't hold the same fascination for the Rebels and their fans as it does for the Pack and theirs. And I'm not the only one. The Gold Sheet, a reputed football tout sheet, picks UNR to upset UNLV, 17-16, saying that UNR "could surprise vs. much-disliked downstate neighbor." And the word "much" is underlined for emphasis.

My take is that the game has lost some of its luster now that the schools have stopped "stealing" each other's coaches. Chris Ault and Jeff Horton, who coached at both schools as well as with, under and against each other in a relationship that was more confusing than any of Angeline Jolie's, have moved on, Ault to the UNR athletic director's box and Horton to Wisconsin, where he's the Badgers' quarterbacks coach.

Plus, when UNLV was 1-10 or 2-9 every year, the Reno game served as a de facto bowl game. But since Robinson has arrived, they've been to a real one. Moreover, UNR used to be the highlight of the schedule when the Rebels were in the Big West and playing the likes of Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State. But as a member of the Mountain West, the Rebels now play semi-respected opponents virtually every week.

Be honest: If you could attend only one of the Rebels' two games against a three-lettered opponent, which one would it be, BYU or UNR?

I remember walking into Sam Boyd Stadium a couple of years ago before the UNR game and bumping into some enterprising UNLV frat boys, who had taken one of those "We're No. 1" oversized foam fingers and performed surgery on it, removing the extended index finger and grafting it over one spot.

This year, they'd probably have to put another index finger back where the original one was, to form a peace sign.

Maybe this is just the calm before the storm, because having seen a lot of these games, all it takes is one late hit (or three more beers, whichever comes first) to light a fuse. So just in case there's trouble, UNLV will send 10 of its campus police officers up with the team on Saturday. UNR will do the same next year, as per an agreement after fisticuffs broke out in the stands last year.

But based on how quiet it has been on the Northern and Southern fronts this week, unless they plan on writing parking tickets, the officers may not be needed.