Tech vs. Furman
There was a game Saturday. A game that man has being play since the dawn of time: Us vs. Them. Today we play this ancient sport via football and through colleges. We separate ourselves from our enemies we are white, or orange and maroon. They are the purple. We will destroy the purple. We give our war cry "Go Hokies!" We are ready for the time honored tradition of we are better than you. Our will, will be triumphant over yours.
Generations of Appalachians move like cattle towards better grazing territory. Thunder erupts from Lane Stadium and we forget all about this so called civilization of ours. Families stroll past drunkards relieving themselves on the sides of buildings, couples express their passion in dense bushes but, it's okay. Today there is a football game and proper behavior takes a backseat. I walk back to my dorm and see men's spines bend downwards. An instant epidemic of scoliosis becomes rampant among the male population. Their skulls are elongated and thick ridges develop above their brows. The women hold hands with their “men” and show no shame in the display of their excitement. Behind their over-sized, over-priced, sunglasses are the eyes of a creature in heat. One does not have to breath deeply to know what is in the air. The pheromones choke any scent of industry or progress.
But it is okay. We are a family, the Hokie nation. Us vs. them is what we humans do. We fight those who are different even if they come from the same family. Outside my dorm I see orange and maroon destroy each other. A juvenile fist connects with the face of a fellow Hokie. Hate is spewed in the air in such a way that only the most acute nose could detect it from the other animalistic ideas being pushed around. Couples, families, groups of friends all just walk on by the commotion. “Call an ambulance someone says” Nothing happens. Everybody could call for help but no one does. Very few even stop. “Us vs. them” they think and just walk on by.
The sound of a skull smashing into black top was a surprise to say the least. He didn't move for a while. In that moment everything should have changed. Those involved should have stopped and realized their actions but, they didn't. The crowds dispersed and eventually the authorities arrived. The authorities, their job simply to remind people that there are rules, that “us vs. them” is over. “Us vs them” needs to stop. Now. But until that day, all I can say is “Go Hokies!”
With a victory we properly assert our dominance over everything. “Let's go.. Hokies!” “F-you... Furman!” its all the same. A girl adorned in glow sticks brings the aroma of a Vietnamese poker game with her. A couple sits together in the quad lost in another galaxy. Their minds have gone home for the weekends and left on campus are two corpses that sit in the grass. Everyone walks by and does not say a word. The couple has become part of the landscape, a set of tables, some trees, and those people sitting in the grass completely still with their faces in their hands. They gather moss as their trip progresses to a deeper state of mind. Vast starscapes of pristine gold shine into the eyes of nothing. I watch intently and soon I begin to question what I am actually seeing. I seek different vantage points in order to reaffirm what I have seen. “Yes, those are people sitting completely still with their faces in their hands at 1:00 in the morning”. Suddenly the woman leans in towards her man. Soft caresses from a person light years away; an illusion of emotion. I eventually leave those beautiful space travelers and retire for the night.
Truly this is what is meant when one “stops and smells the flowers”. Focusing the microscope and revealing what has always been clear. If you are not going to the Georgia Tech game do not be disappointed. Loiter around campus and look at what is really happening. Be a fly on the wall and take it all in. Our natural conflicts are more interesting than anything we try to regulate and control.
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