Too Big to Be Little
The Associated Press has released its “Little All American Team.” The news service needs to call its publicist — or consult a thesaurus.
This “Little” team comprises the best football players in NCAA, Division 2, schools that include our own UNK and UNO. The Lopers’ Richie Ross was second team wide receiver. You will find neither Heisman Trophy winners nor Rose Bowl foes in the bunch. Shoe deals go begging on these campuses.
But little?
Let’s go to the numbers: The first team offensive line of the“Little’s” averaged 318 pounds compared to their “Big” counterparts, who weighed in at 313 a man mountain. The entire Little offensive team averaged 271 pounds a man including the kicker, whose weight is actually a non-issue in the game of football.
The Bigs, including Vince Young and Reggie Bush, were bigger — by a whooping 2.5 pounds a guy. Must have been the 210-pound kicker.
On defense the Littles were absolutely tiny, too, their 235 pounds “dwarfed” by the Bigs’ 249. Oh, yeah, and the Bigs looked down on their D2 brethren from their lofty perches — a full inch higher.
D1s are larger schools than D2s, with thousands of students, hundreds of press clippings and millions in their football banks. But to be big about it — honest and right-sized — skip the “Little” in the D2 All-American Team.