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Editor’s note: Andrew Krumme’s column will return in the Oct. 3 issue of The Cardinal.

College football is becoming petty. The recent rash of arguments and letters over bad calls, hand gestures and ABC commentators is showing how football is becoming a game just about money. Even university presidents are crying like toddlers, sending out letters disputing the calls or sending formal complaints to ABC. Why are these little things such huge problems?

In Oregon’s 34-33 win over Oklahoma two weeks ago, a controversial call gave the Sooners the short end of the stick. With a little over a minute and a half left in the game, Oregon came out with an onside kick that was so close the referees reviewed the play. Essentially ignoring what they saw on the replay to overturn the decision, the officals let the play stand. Then a bad pass interference call seconds later allowed the Ducks to keep the ball and score for the win.

Coaches and fans of the Sooners should be upset. The president of the university should be upset too, but not to the point to request the game be removed from the books because of a disagreement with the officiating.

For those in Soonerland, this just in – everyone complains about refereeing! Louisville’s game against West Virginia last year is a good example. The onside attempt by West Virginia was clearly not kicked ten yards. Even after the Big East came out and said they blew the call, the Cards still didn’t have the win to put them in a major BCS bowl. Did President Ramsey cry and submit letters to the Big East and ask to have the loss removed from the record books? No. He along with fans grumbled and mumbled, rolling in misery just so the Cardinals wouldn’t compromise their reputation in the Big East.

University of Kentucky is another excellent example of a program gone petty. UK was having trouble recruiting good players. They tried to bend the rules and were caught red-handed. The UK athletic department was too focused on making money and pushed the program beyond its bounds. Then, to make it worse, UK used the fact that they were in the SEC, being one of the premiere football conferences in the nation, to try to get the NCAA to be more lenient. The only thing worse than getting probation is losing your reputation.

If that wasn’t enough there is more drama from Southern California, and I’m not talking about Laguna Beach or the OC. For their game against Nebraska, an ABC commentator apparently gave away a “secret” of University of Southern California’s offense. When a USC player has one-on-one coverage the quarterback uses the “hang loose” hand gesture in true Cali surfer tradition.

Football has always been a game of hand signals, but for USC to submit a formal complaint stating that ABC revealed too much is silly. NCAA coaches already pour over tapes looking for hand signals trying to gain an edge. If you have ever played football, there are hundreds of hand signals used.

Seeing as USC probably won’t get an apology or a patent on the “hang loose” gesture, they need to stop complaining about their hand signals and move on. Hopefully next week all will be well in Footballand.

Zach Kenitzer is a sophomore political science major. E-mal him a zkenitzr@louisvillecardinal.com