for what it's worth...UC football

Sports writers arent supposed to root for or against the teams and people we write about. When I give you an opinion, it should be agenda-free, and almost always, it is. Contrary to some belief, I don't wake up in the morning with a voodoo doll of Adam Dunn or Mark Dantonio and a box of pins.

But I do pull a little for UC football.

Regular readers of my newspaper column might find that hard to believe. Understood. But I'd like nothing more than for the earnest, straight-shooting Dantonio to build a consistent winner in Clifton. One, I like the guy. Two, UC football is the biggest sports underdog in town. Three, if Bearcat football were widely popular, it would give me another regular writing option in the fall.

But I won't lead cheers. As I tell anyone who rips me in e-mail or in person, I don't create the reality; I reflect it. They play good, I write good. It's that simple. I'm not going to sugar a lousy loss. My integrity means more to me than someone's opinions of what I write.

That said, I felt bad for the Bearcats last night. And I will hope for them the rest of the year.