Last night, I sat down at my computer to write another potboiler.
Kent State vs. Akron.
The next in a series of epic gridiron battles to determine possession of the Wagon Wheel trophy.
I compiled all sorts of quotes form both sides about how players think about this fight for regional pride all year long, how they see each other in the local mall, but don't speak, and how when they do finally exchange words on the field, its all very clever trash talk.
There was a time when I used to allow myself to get caught up in all of these side notes to the rivalry. After all, conflict sells newspapers.
But right about now I don't really care too much about all the hype surrounding another Golden Flashes-Zips game.
I do care about the game. I love college football and as a writer covering the sport locally, I 'd like to see one or both of these struggling programs find a way to start playing competitive football week in and week out, fix their on and off-the-field issues and eventually represent the region for a Mid-American Conference championship.
All of the other stuff just seems silly and pointless, especially the night after watching two vice presidential candidates "one who doesn't seem to know who was president during the Great Depression and the other who somehow believes man and dinosaur once walked the earth together " square offin a debate that has me scared to death about our nation's future.
Many of us in the media are to blame for all of the overblown hype surrounding this game. In the past, the fans have also played a role. For some reason, though, fewer insults have been lobbed through the internet between Flashes and Zips supporters than in past years during Kent State-Akron week. To their credit, most fans are probably busy following the votes on the Wall Street bailout and trying to figure out what they mean.
Much is made of the fact the Flashes and Zips play their games a little more than 10 miles apart. Instead of an understanding based on shared experiences, that physical closeness has inspired a hatred between two fan bases who have a difficult time filling up their respective stadiums.
On the Kent State message boards, they call Akron's team "the Zits" and its town "Crackron." On the Akron message board, fans call the Flashes "Can't State."
For some, this is all in good fun. But for many, the hatred is rabid. And it has spread.
In the last two years, the Kent State-Akron rivalry has taken on an ugly form on the field. KSU players and coaches are convinced Akron players have intentionally tried to injure running back Eugene Jarvis in those games. Akron's players and coaches insist that's not true.
The Zips, meanwhile, were offended by the swarm of their sideline two years ago at Dix Stadium when the Flashes "stole" back the Wagon Wheel trophy in the final seconds of their last victory in the series. And they may have a point. I had a friend who was in the stands that day. He thought KSU's celebration was a display of poor sportsmanship.
Based on talk and action, it's pretty clear there isn't a whole lot of mutual respect.
Instead of worrying about foolishness between the two teams, they could be spending their time improving their performance on the field, doing a better job in marketing and promotion and finding ways to get people interested again in their respective programs.
As a writer who has to cover this game and a fan of college football, I simply need Saturday as an escape from the stress of the real world. I don't need the fighting, the name calling, the finger-pointing, and I don't even need all of the hype. Its all hubris, and coming out on top in those battles leads to no real tangible victory.