Sugar, Sugar

This observation may mean absolutely nothing.

I watched most of the Sugar Bowl tonight, University of Georgia vs. University of West Virginia, played in Atlanta (due to the traditional site, New Orleans and its Superdome not being exactly fully hospitable just yet.) Early on in the game something caught my eye, which caused me to take more precise notice through the remainder of the game.

First note that a team sporting event, particularly a college event and paticularly further a bowl game, brings out pretty rabid, partisan fans. And these partisan fans at the game usually dress in team colors -- here, red/black for Georgia, yellow/navy for WV. Further, tickets are usually sold/distributed in a way that segregates the fans within the stadium. So, it's pretty easy to identify who's supporting which team when a view of the stands appears on the tube.

It seemed that at least 80% of the players on the Georgia squad were African-Americans. That itself is not unusual in 2005(6). But what I did find odd is that throughout the game, considering the many dozens of Georgia fan shots (each covering anywhere from a couple to perhaps 50 or more clearly identifable people) and also their cheerleader shots, I estimate that 98% of all those people had white faces.

This doesn't suggest to me any systematic plan to exclude blacks. That would seem preposterous.

But the observation probably does mean something. (OK, I sorta lied up top.) I'm just not sure what it is.