The Buzz
“Unless they plan on staying at Archie’s house, they had better be rooting for Xavier.”
—Men’s basketball coach Sean Miller in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on who his parents would root for when Xavier hosted Arizona State, where Sean’s brother, Archie, is an assistant coach.
“For them, it was a storybook finish. For us, it was probably the beginning of the end for Xavier football.”
—Former Xavier football player Rich Kase in the Canton Repository on the Xavier-Marshall football game featured in the movie “We Are Marshall.”
“When we got off the bus and walked into the stadium—we were amazed. It was just packed. People were standing everywhere … I didn’t enjoy [the game] at all. Looking back on it, though, it was an incredible thing for a team and a town to overcome those obstacles in such a short time. You just have to feel good about that team. It’s amazing the whole community and the players reached deep within themselves to achieve greatness.”
—Former Xavier football player John Gompers in the Charleston (W.Va.) Daily Mail on the Xavier-Marshall football game featured in the movie “We Are Marshall.”
“It’s quite possible that after fans bought their commemorative Sports Illustrated [magazines], World Series championship T-shirts and hats or spent $200 for an Albert Pujols jersey, when it came time to switch to the Rams or the Blues they don’t have the money.”
—Assistant professor of psychology Christian End in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on why attendance is down at some sporting events.
“It doesn’t seem psychologically appropriate to people to equate Jesus’ birth with the end of time. The emphasis in Advent on the end times is not to scare people, but to get them to think about the seriousness of Christmas.”
—Professor of theology Arthur Dewey in the St. Louis Post Dispatch on Advent’s dual purpose of commemorating the birth of Jesus as well as looking forward to the second coming at the end of time.
“To do this successfully, diversity in all its forms must be a part of the experience we provide.”
—University President Michael J. Graham, S.J., in the American Israelite on how opening a Hillel Jewish Center on campus helps fulfill the University’s mission.
“It’s the new age prank phone call.”
—Men’s basketball head coach Sean Miller in the Cincinnati Enquirer on how Internet message boards impact players.
“I was a little bit nervous that we were too young. But we prayed about it a lot, and we both felt like God wanted us to do it this year and then send us off at the end of this year. We never felt like it was the wrong decision.”
—Meredith Frendt, who married men’s basketball player Justin Doellman before his senior years, in the Cincinnati Post.
“In a sporting event there’s a strong sense of we-ness. Fans are seeing players on the field acting this way, and players are the most visible and highest status members of the group When you’re in a setting with large groups of people, people behave in ways they wouldn’t otherwise. There’s a lack of sense of accountability when you’re hidden in a crowd.”
—Assistant professor of psychology Christian End in the Kansas City Star on why sports fans act like they do.
“If they say, ‘We’re No. 1,’ they’re counting themselves in there. The team’s successes are their successes and the team’s failures are their failures. Does it violate macho culture to cry? Yes, it does. But should men cry if they want to cry? Yes, they should.”
—Assistant professor of psychology Christian End in the Daily (Illinois) Herald on sports fans who become emotional over their teams.
“Taft appointed 12 judges in 2 weeks” Former Gov. Bob Taft gave his party a gift in his last two weeks in office – 12 judgeships. “Incumbency in a judicial race is invaluable in a bunch of ways—name recognition, momentum just because you are in office, and people want to do you favors.”
—Political science professor Gene Beaupre in the Cincinnati Enquirer on Ohio Gov. Bob Taft appointing 12 new judges in his final two weeks in office.
“For another year, the Dayton Flyers will have to endure the Xavier University signs, the taunts and the streak. As they showed again Saturday, the raucous Musketeers student section at the Cintas Center can come off as close kin to the One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest bunch. Yet, for all the wackiness, they were on the money with 18.9 seconds left when they began a chant aimed at UD: ‘You can’t win here.’ ”
—Dayton Daily News columnist Tom Archdeacon about UD’s not winning at Xavier since 1981.
“What I love is seeing the children work, because for them, work is not an imposition. It is a choice.”
—Retired education professor Martha McDermott in the Charlotte Observer during a consulting trip to the city’s Montessori schools.
“There’s tons of research out there that shows that when you give teachers time to collaborate and focus more holistically, you’re going to see an improvement in test scores and more kids who’ll like school.”
—Michael Stabile, an educational leadership professor, in the Cincinnati Enquirer.
“I was following my university, Xavier’s, basketball team in 1999 and started researching the sport. I got involved in thinking about coaches and that got me thinking about how basketball came about.”
—Alumnus John Grissmer in the Danbury (Conn.) News Times on how he came about writing his new play, “The Perfect Game.”
“The boundaries are very permeable. It’s not like MENSA where you have to take a test, or a neighborhood where you have to be able to afford a house, or a church where you have to devote your religious beliefs.”
—Assistant professor of psychology Christian End in the Sacramento Bee on being a sports fan.
“With sports, it’s unique in that we react as if it is our personal successes. For a lot of people, the Colts can be an important part of who they view themselves as being.”
—Assistant professor of psychology Christian End in the Indianapolis Star on how sports impacts civic and personal pride.
“Without discounting the tragedy of this in any way, I believe there are ways we can affirm that we trust God is there for us. On some level, we need to know as people of faith that God does not abandon us. Perhaps it’s better to think of the divine presence as existing in, around and through our situations. That means that you and I, and the responses we give, the caring of the community, are part of God’s presence. I would see that on some level the compassion of that person is the divine impulse. Although we think of God as being abstract and ‘Other,’ we should consider that God is part of the community that survives and grieves with family and friends. Any time we reach out and show compassion, we are working with the impulse of God. We hold God in our bodies and our actions.”
—Gillian Ahlgren, professor of theology, in the Cincinnati Enquirer on questions of faith that come in the midst of grief.
“Football carries a big stick. I don't know how much more college basketball we can put on TV. There has to be a saturation point, but it doesn’t seem like anything in our world goes backward.”
—Director for athletics Mike Bobinski in the Dayton Daily News on the struggles non-football universities face.
