They're not so bad after all

Commentary

For some reason I am the one and only Irish kid who has NEVER had any luck in life.

If there are others, call me, because it isn't right and it needs to be discussed.

But being a newbie to the DE sports desk, I quickly realized that football players and journalists should never be mixed together in an unprotected society. Muzzles, harnesses, and cages usually provide the best protection.

But for some sick and depraved reason, I was placed on the same floor in Schneider Hall as many of the behemoths on the football squad.

Seriously, it isn't right. I am also the only Irish kid who can't fight, and I am also unbelievably slow.

So what does a freshman from Podunk, Ill., say when 265-pound defensive end Lionel Williams says with a big grin, "Hey, how you doing?"

Words cannot convey the fear in my heart. Was he messing with my mind? Was he testing me? Should I answer? Should I pretend not to hear his giddy voice? Should I crap my pants and call my mom or should I consult a religious figure to cleanse away my sins?

"Hey, I am good. I work at the Daily Egyptian."

Idiot, Zack, idiot.

Those were the only words that were able to escape from in between my two lips and make sound.

But something was strange.

Williams didn't rip one of my appendages off and probe me with it like Larry Flynt horned up on ecstasy. My arms and legs remained intact. He didn't even seem angry.

He just said, "Hey, that's cool. Nice to meet you." and asked me if I wanted to play "NCAA 2003" on his Playstation 2.

I found something out about Lionel - besides being a huge gamer, which is something not many would expect after seeing him for the first time, but he, along with many of the football players, are great guys, plain and simple.

Joel Sambursky, the quarterback of one of the top offenses in the nation, is right down the hall from me. He hugged my mother when he first met her and invites me to Bible study every Tuesday night.

And yes, SIU is one of the top offenses in the country and Saturday's 13-point defensive effort against formerly 12th-ranked Northern Iowa could be the start of the Salukis young defense coming together.

But Lionel Williams and Joel Sambursky taught me something. They are willing to wait for SIU football fans and take them in with open arms.

"We want everybody," Sambursky said. "Gateway football is tough, man. I want our stadium in Carbondale to be a wild and crazy place because of how our fans are."

Ah, Sambursky wants SIUC students to be wild and crazy. That is like telling Paul Reubens, a.k.a. Pee Wee Herman, to be a pervert. It is in our disposition.

Although the Salukis are just a "respectable" 4-3 at this point in the season, it very well could be the start something special.

Who would have thought that when our Greek god Tom Koutsos went down, SIU would begin to play the best Saluki football any student here has ever seen?

But Koutsos should not be forgotten, because he needs to come back next season. No ifs, ands or buts about it.

He has talked about going to the NFL, but that is my dream, too. This actually could be a huge blessing in disguise. The truth is this - no one was going to draft Tom Koutsos as a running back. He is as tough a runner as any one is going to find and can take a beating like "Hurricane" Peter McNeely, but the facts are, he is 5-foot-9 and 210 pounds and he doesn't run a blazing 40-yard dash time.

Koutsos needs to work on other things like special teams, pass catching and blocking in order to be able to play on Sundays. He is going to have to find another niche besides bouncing off NCAA I-AA tacklers.

Plus, he will be able to break the Gateway's all-time career rushing record if he comes back, if that is any consolation.

And if he returns, SIU could be a train without any brakes. Koutsos would be our thunder and Muhammad Abdulqaadir would be the lightning. That is one hellacious storm.

Boy, it is hard not to get riled up already.

We aren't able to take much pride in anything here beside basketball and beer drinking, and the latter is getting ripped away from us.

But football is working its way up of the Pride-O-Meter. And football is a tough sport, the sport a fan can really take pride in and brag about and spit at the opposing fans after winning. Ah, the enjoyment felt after spitting on someone.

Joel Sambursky and Lionel Williams are ambassadors. This football team is a bunch of great guys who are also becoming very good football players. That is not something that comes along every day.

They were willing to talk to me and I was more out of place than Osama Bin Laden blowing party horns at "New Year's 2003" in Times Square.

They will not condemn anyone for tardiness. Nov. 9 is the next chance to hop on board.

Zack Creglow is a freshman in journalism. His views do not reflect those of the Daily Egyptian.