I HATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL. Wednesday afternoon football is even worse. But in the Mid-American Conference, football on Tuesday night or Wednesday night is a way of getting that all-important television exposure. (It's for the pro prospects of the players, and to recruit students. Money has nothing to do with it.) So if Tuesday night football is a good idea, and Wednesday night football is a good idea, maybe Wednesday afternoon football is an even better idea. We shall see. In the e-mail today is an invitation from the director of athletics around these parts.

On behalf of the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, please know how much we appreciate all you do on campus. All of your efforts mean so much to the University, as does your support of Intercollegiate Athletics. You play a key role in assisting our department in providing our 469 student-athletes a World Class Experience-Academically, Athletically, and Socially.

Our last home football game of the season will be on Wednesday, November 23rd at 12:35 PM against MAC rival Western Michigan. In recognition of your tremendous support and efforts throughout the year, we have declared this game as Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day. We would like to offer you two complimentary tickets for this game.

You mean the thought of ESPN panning around the empty stadium the way C-Span doesn't pan around the empty House chamber might give the wrong impression of our football power house and aspiring party school? Wednesday, November 23, is the day before Thanksgiving. The University used to end classes at noon; because so many students and more than a few faculty didn't see the point of the Wednesday morning classes, there are no classes for the students to cut to attend the game. Many students will be off to their home town honeys or the parents Tuesday night.

Under some circumstances I might be willing to take the good director up on his offer, but that Wednesday has been committed for some off-campus research. If he wanted to comp me for a proper 1.30 pm Saturday game my attitude would be different.