Baby Steps

After decades of being a punchline, Indiana University Football has decided they've had enough.

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The school put millions of dollars into upgrading their ancient facilities, and a stadium that was dwarfed by most Texas high school football venues. The changes will be debuted tonight during IU's opener against Eastern Kentucky (8 PM kick).

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The facelift doesn't mean that IU will see instant success (see: Rivers, Joan) - far from it. But, for the first time, it's an indication that people actually care about this program which has been an afterthought for years in Bloomington.

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It's always been accepted that Indiana is a basketball school, and football season is just an excuse to get hammered between Dunn and Woodlawn on Saturday mornings. Hoosier fans have accepted the barbs from their Purdue rivals (and others) to the point where they are completely numb to the jokes and insults about their football team.

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Apparently new athletic director Fred Glass is sick of taking it.

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IU's renovations finally makes Memorial Stadium look legit

Will a new weight room attract the top recruits in football-rich Ohio? No. Will new football offices save Bill Lynch's job? Probably not. Will a Stadium enclosure automatically turn Indiana football from doormat to perennial Rose Bowl contender? Doubtful.

Howeverm when people care, they don't shrug off 3-win seasons. They don't put up with losses to MAC schools. They don't regard their football season as basketball season's waiting room.

Most improtantly, they don't accept their football program being a punchline.