A Tale of Northwestern

I currently live in Florida, proud home to 'gators, 'noles, and 'canes, so it is impossible not to notice that the college football season has begun. I've been too busy to watch any games, but some friends and family have called to let me know how my alma mater is doing: they're losing. Although Northwestern has a long-standing reputation as the whipping post of Big Ten football, they shrugged this mantle off in the late 90's with Cinderella stories that led to a few conference titles and Rose Bowl berths. Now it seems they are being sent back to the showers. Unequivocally, the reversal began last year, and like everything in sports, there's a story.

Things looked good for Northwestern Wildcat football last summer. They were coming off a positive season and had a strong cast of returning players, a celebrated coach, and an energized fan base. They were even picked by the press as the pre-season favorite to win the Big Ten conference, but not two days after that announcement, tragedy interrupted. Senior defensive player Rashidi Wheeler collapsed and died from a asthma attack during preseason conditioning drills. While players, coaches, and fans attempted to move on, the season turned into an inexplicable disaster with Northwestern ultimately ranked last, not first, in the conference. On top of this, Wheeler's parents launched a major lawsuit against the school that looms unsettled to date.

I wouldn't say Wheeler's death was the only reason to blame for the team's weak performance, but nobody completely ignores its impact. In the daily campus paper, student Glenn Kasses wrote "If it ever seemed that the Cats didn't have the same energy and enthusiasm they once had, you have to wonder if this was a function of their tragic loss." In my conversations with alumni and friends, many have found it difficult to get excited about the pursuit of victory when the cost has included the life of a young man. Even coach Randy Walker confessed "I'm not going to say it wasn't a huge element in our season. It was. How significant, I think time will tell." So what is time telling us now?

Through all of the turmoil and sorrow, I've perceived in the Northwestern community a positive value system to which I relate. Rather than point fingers, the school responded with a stronger effort to address student safety and welfare. In commenting on Wheeler's passing, classmates focused on the death of a friend, not it's effect on the game. If anything, teammates regretted not playing harder to honor him. I wish them well as they continue, but I personally sense that football will return to its role as sideshow to the higher aims of the institution. I for one won't be sorry.

Northwestern has historically resigned itself to the basement of Big Ten football because it is a top ten university that makes quality of education and research its highest priority. Similarly, Mentata Systems is dedicated to the quality of the software and its value to users, not revenue. Let teams that don't think beyond hash marks, pigskin, and lopsided scores dominate the polls; I'm content to see kids trying. Leave the relentless pursuit of money and market share to companies with big equity stakes and few scruples. As a sole proprietor selling nothing but services, I aim to celebrate the power of an individual to create as much good as the loss of an individual can make bad. Quaecumque sunt vera.