Garbage Time: Without a football program, fall sports suffer (EDITORIAL)

Garbage Time. This sports term describes the waning moments of a game with a lopsided score. As the clock counts down toward conclusion, the players who are untested on the playing field, finally get a moment to shine — by moment, I mean the last few unsalvageable seconds.

As the clock counts down toward the conclusion, Mom and Dad, loyal to their untested athlete, finally get to fumble for their iPhones to update their lock screens with action photos. No one has to know this photo was taken during the time the head coach used their child in pointless game action so their star players would not get injured — garbage time, we’ve all been there.

For VCU, garbage time serves a different definition. It is the time of year when basketball season is not in action; fall and spring sports simply get no love. Not to say the 200 student-athletes are wasting their time and sweat on sports that are not valuable, but these sports draw little to no student audience. I mean have you watched a college soccer game? Yeah, me neither, we need a football team.

To say the lack of a football presence on campus is a calamity damaging the overall cohesion of our “college” education would be an understatement. Saturdays are boring. Our school is based in Richmond, Virginia; the only thing to do in the fall is to sit on the back porch with friends and

watch the leaves fall on the un-mown lawn. It’s a sad Saturday for a university when the main thrill of the weekend involves enjoying a pumpkin spice latte instead of waking up early to prepare for the big football game. Something needs to be done.

We are surrounded by a community dedicated to seeing VCU prosper to be a top school highly lauded by the nation. Medicine, arts and an up-and-coming Brandcenter have put VCU on the map; sports is the only unknown of the VCU community.

Sure, the basketball program has thrived after the Final Four run in 2010, creating a potential powerhouse in the making. But even Jordan needed Pippen, Batman needed Robin and Seth Rogen needed James Franco. Basketball cannot be the sole pillar of the sporting community.

The plethora of technicalities in creating a football team and the money involved would bring a deficit to the university. But, these risks would only be short-term as the Rams would thrive on the gridiron. Our school is made to have football. Due to the lack of a Virginia professional team and the Washington Redskins letting local fans down year after year, a football team would be a refreshing investment.

Black and Gold may have to wait years before this actually becomes a possibility, but the planning starts with us. Maybe VCU gets it right for once and follows the student voice, just look how well the school has done bringing in great talent for our homecoming concert — I lied, we have no hope.

Football will always be a lofty dream for the VCU community. There are three things that will permanently be mandated at VCU: Basketball will always be the dominant program on campus we will never have a football team, and Shafer will always provide the feeling of unfulfillment after devouring four plates worth of “food.”

The campus longs for a football team to call our own. Tailgates provide the perfect outlet for a school to have a close-knit family feel, as parents, relatives and friends can all come together on the VCU grounds and marvel at the beautiful sites our community beholds. Time will only tell whether or not VCU pulls the trigger to initiate the planning of bringing football to our university. When that day comes, I hope not only am I there to see it, but that we won’t suck — all this upheaval would be for nothing if our football team was on the losing end of another school’s garbage time.

Sports Editor, Bryant Drayton

Bryant is a sports advocate thats always smiling. He is a senior print and online journalism major aspiring for a career as a professional or college football columnist. Bryant currently covers high school football games for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. // Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

draytonbo@commonwealthtimes.org