First of all, welcome back, Bronko. I know some people think you might have been banned for issues dealing with self-control, rational thought, and anger management, but I don't think that's fair at all. Like with Tiger, I'm going to respect your need for privacy. Just glad you didn't end up buried in the end zone of TCF Bank Stadium like our own Jimmy Hoffa because of those obvious issues.
Secondly, I'd like to put a little gray shading into your extremely black and white world. There's a thing out there called Title IX. It's a federal law. It states basically that males and females have equal opportunities in education and activities in institutions that receive federal money. I think most people with a daughter in sports would think Title IX is a good law.
The U of M has added some sports because of Title IX. They need to balance the number of scholarships men and women receive. Some schools, like Wisconsin, did it by cutting men's sports like baseball. Our university did it by adding women's sports like rowing. Since college athletics are also about personal growth and providing opportunities, I'm glad the U of M is taking this approach. Just because you'll never see me out on the banks of the Mississippi watching a rowing race, isn't any reason to deny those athletes a scholarship or a chance to be a college athlete.
I'll also add that TCF Bank Stadium probably doesn't get built without Title IX. It was partially (mainly?) sold on the idea that the U of M needs more football revenue. Yes, it's needed to support other sports, but it's still needed, and a new stadium would help with that. To keep twisting the connections, football is the sport that has made it difficult to comply with Title IX. It's easy to balance basketball, hockey, baseball/softball, etc., but how do you balance a sport women generally don't play but gives out 85 scholarships? Women's rowing and soccer, perhaps? Since there is a balance now, you won't have to worry about all of that money you give going to badmitton someday.
Got to basically agree with you on the need for Ridder Arena, but there's a rather prominent Minnesota family associated with the name. If you notice, Bronko, there's about an equal number of women around. Their support of our university is awfully important even if they obviously don't count for much in your world.
