Great piece in today’s Washington Post about small Baltimore-Washington area colleges and their wallet-friendly entertainment value. Amy Orndorff does a great job of going beyond the sporting aspect of teams like Navy, Gallaudet University and Morgan State, and captures the nuances of fan interactivity and the true showmanship and history of college football. A sample:
Gallaudet offers a unique way to watch football. The majority of the players are deaf and use sign language to call plays, and they will keep playing until the other team stops, regardless of the whistle. Gallaudet players invented the huddle in the 1890s as a way to prevent the opposition from reading their signals.
There is plenty of clapping and cheering when the Gallaudet players complete a good play, but often hands fly up in the air and silently shake back and forth, sign language for applause.
This piece is a welcome break from the mundane coverage of the exploits of bi-polar, ineffective wide receivers.
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