An thing fr
t e Team
THESE PEOPLE ARE NUTS. EVERY Si-
urday morning, they're up before
dawn to coat themselves in war
paint, pack up for the road and fire up the
grill in preparation for the gridiron war of
the week.
They're the fanatic fans, kickoff crazies
and sideline psychos hitting their prime every
fall at colleges across the nation.
It's ridiculous to most, but to them, it's
religion. "I may be an Irish-Catholic," says
Boston College sophomore Kevin Sullivan.
"But on game days, I'm a football fan."
Sullivan says he loves to be rude and
crude while rooting for his Eagles - espe-
cially against the U. of Notre Dame. He
was ready last season when "that other
Catholic school" catie to Boston. He and
his friends made T-shirts with big letters on
the front greeting the Irish: "SOU"TH
BEND OVER!"
s I -n2w
When the Irish ran by Sullivan, he demon-
strated the gesture. "I just wanted to make
sure those heathens knew what the shirt
meant," ie says. "[Boston College] is a
Catholic school, but that's why the games are
on Saturday. We'll repent on Sunday."
U. of Michigan sophomore Andy Smith
doesn't wear shirts. Instead, he paints "GO
BLUE!" on his body and strolls around
Michigan Stadium.
"I'm on a quest for the manliest tail-
gaters of all time," he says. "When they see
my maize-and-blue chest, they invite me
over. Crisp Saturday afternoons, burnt hot
dogs, football and free beer is what college
is all about."
But, as U. Of Southern California sopho-
more Kerry Krcntler says, going topless can
have its consequences.
"My boyfriend and his fraternity broth-
ers painted 'GO TROJANS!' oi their
chests for the California--Berkeley game last
year," she says. "But they got sunburns and
had ')GO TROJANS!' branded on their
bodies for weeks."
Michigan State U. police are on their
guard when Wolverine
fans visit East Lansing.
Seems the school's mascot
statue, Sparty, attracts visi-
tors the night before the
game. "They like to paint
certain body parts blue,"
says Michigan State sopho-
more Walced Ezzat.
The fun usually stops
short of police action, but
that depends on where yon
are. At home games, the
pranks are seen as good
clean fun. On the road,
however, rival fans might
not be as tolerant.
At Notre Dame life is
relatively docile. Some ded-
icatcd fans take their reli-
gions set iously - both
football and Christianity.
Sophomo re Eric Sharagc
says the colossal painting of
Ch r ist tha t overlooks
Notre D a me Sta dium is
respected. "We go to
church before every game
like the players do," he
says. "Touchdown Jesus is
a big fn."
Maybe. But church on a
Saturday morning? It does-
n't get any crazier than that.
uigh Time for
a Change?
l YU THINK DROOPY-EYE[D P0THEADS
teeking of incense and brotherly love are
teonly ones advocating the diecriminal-
ization of marijuana, tke again.
The National Organization for the Reform
of Marijuana Laws (NORML) has been steadi-
ly gaining support since it was founded its
1970, although it weathered a small slump in
the '80s just-say-no era. Traditionally strong
on college campuses, NORML advocates an
end to all criminal penalties for personal pos-
session, use and cultivation of marijuana.
NORML chapters have experienced a wide
range of reactions frost students and faculty.
Tiffany Davis, a senior at the U. of Vir-
ginia and member of NORML, says the stig-
ma attached to members distracts people from
the real issues.
"People think that if you promote marijua-
na, you're a stoner," Davis says. "For use, it's
just recognizing that it's a valuable plant and
that the government is wasting money by
enforcing marijuana laws."
Keith Meadows, a sophomore at U. of
Wisconsin, Waukesha, and president of the
campus NORML, says students are afraid of
marijuana because they don't know much
about it. "One girl started crying because she
didn't want the group on campus. She said
marijuana kills people, though she had never
heard of anybody who had died from it."
NORML peaked, both in attention and
membership, from 1974 to 1980, when 11
states reduced criminal penalties for the pos-
session of small amounts of marijuana. Mem-
bership declined during the Reagan/Bush era,
but support has started to crop up again, with
50 to 75 percent growth per year.
Most health officials on college campuses
find the renewed interest troubling.
Frank Calvin, assistant director of the
health center at the U. of Texas, Arlington,
says legalizing marijuana could have adverse
effects on the way students learn.
"Marijuana shouldn't be a part of the learn-
ing atmosphere," he says. It has a sensory-dulling
effect.... You have no drive for anything."
New concentrations of marijuana are making
the drug more dangerous than ever, Calvin says.
"The stuff now is at least 10 to 20 times
more powerful than the old stuff [from the
'U0s]," Calvin says.
Although starting an organization like
NORML on campus wasn't difficult, Davis
says that keeping it alive is.
"We don't get much support at all," she
says. "Once people realize how common [the
use of marijuana] is, the sooner they'll realize
that enforcing marijuana laws is a waste of
taxpayers' money.
Ben Eden,U. of Texas, Arlington/
Photo by Sal Paradise
Nicholas J. Cotsonika, U. of
Michigan/Photo by Jill
Oczkowski, Sam Houston
Pulling for the team can be a hair-raising StateU.,'94-'95U. Photo
experience. Contest Winner
16 U. Magazr. 'eOctober 1995