aNCOUVEr

   

Champion, Ross

     

 

“fh the en
Franchitti in the green and white

Kool team car taking the checkered
flag and the Marlboro Pole Award,

held the lead for most of the race,
was passed by Franchitti in the
final laps, while Andretti was

under advisement from his team to

conserve fuel. Andretti

 

 

   
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
   
  
  
  
   
 
  
   
    
  
 
  
 
  
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
   
    
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
  
   
 
  
 
   
  

Rebagliati, kicked
the day’s racing for
000 race fans in true
g-announcer style with
command, “Gentlemen,
t Your Engines!” —
ich in boxing terms is
ivalent to “Let's Get
ady To Rumble.”“And

t pretty much describes
action as the INDY cars
led around the new
d-passing track at False
Pek, and into each
er—yellow flags were
ng everywhere. Our
adian home-town

peful, Greg Moore from

first to have pieces of his
towed off the track, after
g himself was hit in the head
projectile tire (thankfully, he

ked away unharmed).

ropping under centre,
Daunte Culpepper scans
the Nebraska defense.

ing flesh mounds, whose sole
re is to plant him like a carrot,
aiting for him to drop back
ass. Culpepper takes the snap,
ly avoids an on-rushing

an and lofts a perfect pass to
eaking wide receiver for a
hdown.

eet Daunte Culpepper, quar-
ck, Central Florida University.
er heard of him? Ask the
raska Cornhuskers fans, who
hed Culpepper almost single
Hedly defeat their team (which
coming off a national champi-
hip) two years ago. Meet the
who was highly recruited by
ate powers Florida and Florida
until he started to falter in
lassroom. The only school
stuck by him was tiny Central
da, and that is why, when the
schools returned offering
arships, Culpepper stuck with
. “My mother always told me
loyal” he said. Or ask NFL
s, who routinely flock to the
CF campus to watch him
out. However, those scouts
drool over Culpepper’s size

, 215), “intangibles,” and arm
pth are the same ones who

he two most damaging black
s on his scouting report: a)

s from small college (insinu-
that he didn't play against
ompetition) and b) black
erback. The success of small
e quarterbacks in the NFL is

nal at best, and the success of

   

t Meadows, was one of Speaking about his late lap passing of Andretti, D:
Scot says, “Sometimes you just have to go for it.”

ario the

could not regain the lead
and had to settle for sec-
ond place. Scott Pruett
(Patrick Racing), placed

| third, stating “The yellow
flags had stretched out tire
| wear and fuel consump-

#1 tion. Today's race was won
‘| and lost in the pits.”

Alex Zanardi also came’
up big on the day, with a
fourth place finish that was
good enough to clinch the
season championship for
team Target Chip Ganassi

 

Racing for the second year
in a row—giving the team
a “three-peat” (Jimmy
Vasser won in 1996).

Kristina Holtz Photo Zanardi accepted his $1

for the total of a $440,000 (US)
payday. Michael Andretti
(Newman/ Haas Racing), who

black quarterbacks (through no

fault of their own) is worse.

Maybe a dark-skinned quarterback

from an obscure college will help
to start a new chapter in the NFL
history books.

The first mark against
Culpepper goes against every ath-
lete who goes to a non-Division I
school (the top flight in the
NCAA) and which really means a
lot to the GMs who pull the
strings on draft day. In most
sports, you can’t make the pros if
you don't go to a “major” program
(see, the No Basketball
Association). However, the second .
mark against Culpepper is one of
the strangest in professional sports.
Black QBs used to be looked upon
by the NFL as unable to under-
stand a pro offense, until Warren
Moon came along and began
directing Houston's Run 'n’ Shoot
offense in the late eighties. Until
that time, most predominantly
black high schools and colleges ran
offenses such as the Wing-T and
the Option, which basically asked
the quarterback to turn around
and hand the ball off to his run-
ners. Obviously these offenses
placed little or no emphasis on
throwing the ball, an essential skill
if you want to even sniff a roster
spot in the NEL. Fortunately a
group of black quarterbacks,
notably Kordell Stewart and Steve
MeNair, have started an awareness
campaign that encourages coaches
at predominantly black high
schools and colleges to implement
pro-style (ie. lots of throwing)

million (US) cheque and
the PPG cup, saying “I’m just try-
ing to do my best. And this is
what I love to do.” Owner Chip

offenses that will help their QBs
gain college scholarships and NFL
spots as quarterbacks.

After Moon came to the NFL
and destroyed the notion that
black QBs couldn't survive a pro-
style offense, the “minds” behind
the league had to invent another
reason to keep blacks out of the
most visible position in pro sports.
They came up with “black quar-
terbacks can't handle the pressure
of the playoffs.” Unfortunately for
Moon, he helped to foster this
image by being on the losing side
of the biggest comeback win in
NFL playoff history. Moon's
Oilers were up 32-0 on the
Buffalo Bills after two quarters,
but were out scored 38—3 in the
second half to exit the playoffs in
an embarrassing fashion. A few
years later though, Doug Williams
came along. In an ebony and irony
situation, Williams not only led
the Washington Redskins to a
playoff victory, but guided them
to a Super Bowl championship and
was named Super Bowl MVP.

With all their excuses blowing
up in their faces, NFL executives
resorted to moving black quarter-
backs to other positions, such as
wide receiver and defensive back,
to “take advantage of their athleti-
cism” instead of using those ath-
letic talents for quarterback.

Now with the scrambling style
of Kordell “Slash” Stewart and
Steve “Air” McNair becoming en
vogue, maybe black quarterbacks
will be given more of a fair chance
to prove themselves alongside their

 

 

Dario Franchitti leading the pack

Ganassi stated, “I put together the
type of team I would like to drive
for.”

The new False Creek track (co-

designed by Greg Moore) however, ©

had all four of the top finishers
complaining and upset. Michael
Andretti said it was “dangerous,
especially around turn four, which
could send you right into the
SkyTrain’s concrete pillars.” Alex
Zanardi commented that the track
left “...no opportunity to pass. The

Kristina Holtz Photo
adding, “the only way you can get
past an experienced driver on.this
course is if they really messed up
real bad.

“That's what you get for having
Greg Moore consult on the track,”
he added jokingly.

Moore is still fourth in the sea-
son points standings, but has yet
to complete a race in front of his
home-town crowd here in
Vancouver. Better luck next time,

Greg.

track needs to be changed.” Scott
Pruett and Michael Andretti mir-
rored this sentiment, with Andretti

Aunte Culpepper’s struggles as a black, small-college quarterback trying to make the NFL

Daunte-ing Task

white counterparts. Daunte
Culpepper may have come along at
just the right time to lead a new
wave of ultra-athletic quarterbacks
(of all races) into the next century.

 

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