So, with the hubbub coming from Washington, D.C. this past week — President Bill exited stage left with a liberal strafing, while President George entered stage right, trying not to stumble over his words — maybe you missed the really big news. That’s right, Oregon head football coach Mike Belotti’s airplane landed safely Tuesday at the Eugene airport.
At least that was a local television station’s take when it showed footage of Belotti’s late-night flight touching down without a mishap. Of course, the underlying reason for the “photo-op” was that Belotti had just turned down a chance to take over the vacant head coach position at Ohio State University and was returning to town.
That “story” launched a hundred rumors, a thousand opinions and probably about a million written words between print and online, but the main question was never posed: Do we have to get in a lather every time a University coach in any sport has lunch with or takes a phone call from another school’s athletic director? Is there any point to the needless conjecture, the “around-and-around-we-go” attempts to answer a rather banal question: Will he/she stay or will he/she go?
Sure, there are students on campus who chose to attend the University because it’s a Pac-10 Conference school and sports are a big draw in that arena. Yeah, college sports generate a lot of exposure and some extra money for participating schools; especially football, since Belotti may have received about a two-fold increase from his present $600,000 annual salary if he had left for Ohio State.
Get over it already, though. Belotti is just another University employee, one who spent a day or two exploring his work options.
Maybe we are jaded here at the Emerald. Maybe all of this reality TV is getting to us. Hmmm, there’s an idea: Why not put Belotti on an exotic island, surround him with dollar-clad athletic directors getting him drunk and wooing him, all with the goal of tempting him to leave the “love” of his life, Oregon football.
That would make a much better photo-op than a plane landing at Eugene Airport, don’t you think?
This editorial represents the opinion of the Emerald editorial board. Responses can be sent to [email protected].