Tradition is great. I love tradition in sports. I think watching Chief Osceola drive a flaming spear into ground in Tallahassee is tremendous. Army/Navy...wow. At East Carolina, my alma mater, there is a huge roar when the Pirates emerge from a cloud of purple smoke to Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze." There is something really cool about raising the red "No Quarter" flag to begin the 4th Quarter. All these traditions are designed to excite the fans and motivate the team to a potential victory.
Tuesday, UCLA's football team continued a tradition of their own...perhaps the dumbest tradition I have ever heard of. It didn't pump up the team, it didn't endear them to their fans or their coaches. They skipped practice in what is called "going over the wall." Well, actually it was the front gate, but what does common sense matter when it comes to tradition right? This stunt reminds me of the tiny college I went to right out of high school. The seniors would schedule a "sneak day" every fall and the entire student body would be awakened in the middle of the night and "sneak" off to an undisclosed location. The professors would be made aware of the "sneak" once they arrived for class, then were given the location of the sneak and they would show up later and the whole school would have an outing together at some state park or campground. Well, at least that brings unity and harmony to the campus. This over the wall crap not only set the team back in terms of preparing for the coming season, they also left several potential recruits hanging on their official visit to campus as well. Word of advise to lazy football dudes...get your butt on the field and leave the lame get out of jail free card on the table until the next turn.