Column: Swine flu: A disease of upsets

A short while ago, we all heard about this epidemic of swine flu and how it was a very serious concern in Mexico and neighboring U.S. states. I, probably like most of you, just blew it off as just another instance of media overexaggeration. Yet somehow this H1N1 virus has continued to spread and has now become a serious concern. As I am sure you all know, the H1N1 virus is just like another flu bug that goes away in a week or so. So why does it matter? As some have feared, it appears as if swine flu might have a serious impact on the NCAA.

I usually just laugh at H1N1 alerts at airports and state borders, and I think I am somehow immune to their stupidity. I see the huge headlines in the ‘Prince’ reading, “Thirty-four swine flu cases on campus … Beware!” and immediately proceed on with my life just like I always have. My eyes, however, have been opened up because of the “swine flu” attacking my very own team. McCosh Health Center declared a member of my men’s water polo team an H1N1 victim, no test was issued, and he was quarantined from my team for a week. This player had to miss four games this past weekend because of his sickness.

Now obviously the health concerns of Princeton’s men’s water polo team are not an issue of national concern, but the No. 1 football team in the nation — the Florida Gators — being infiltrated by the swine flu is certainly a matter of significant concern. Critics might call Monday’s news of swine flu in the Gatorville locker room an excuse for their poor performance against the Tennessee Volunteers this past weekend. Even University of Tennessee’s prolific head coach, Lane Kiffin, sarcastically responded to the swine flu proclamation after the 23-13 loss to Florida by saying, “I don’t know. I guess we’ll wait, and after we’re not excited about a performance, we’ll tell you everybody was sick.”

The week before the game this past Saturday, sports analysts across the country were not wondering whether Florida was going to beat Tennessee, but by what gigantic margin it would run the Volunteers into the ground. Thus, Kiffin is right to question a timely response by Florida head coach Urban Meyer after his Gators failed to dismantle Tennessee like they were expected to. Florida officials released information on Tuesday, revealing that six Gators were kept out of practice because of the “flu.” The afflicted included starting linebacker A.J. Jones and highly recruited freshman running back Mike Gillislee. Florida plays at SEC rival Kentucky this Saturday. Could the swine flu spread within the Florida locker room be enough to hinder them in its game this Saturday?

Two weeks ago I would have answered no. Yet I am starting to believe the rumors of how fast this virus spreads, especially on college campuses. Already the Washington State football team had been attacked by the virus prior to its season opener against Stanford and had 16 players sit out for the Cougars’ loss. Twenty-seven Tulane players experienced flu-like symptoms prior to their loss to Tulsa in Week 1. And No. 4 Ole Miss has had 27 of its players kept out of practice because of flu-like symptoms.

If this H1N1 virus spreads faster than the normal flu like all the experts are saying it does (I obviously don’t know the science), then it is a greater risk for college athletes than for other college students. Teams spend nearly every waking minute together. We go to class together, eat together, walk to practice together, do homework together and certainly “pwn n00bs” on Halo together. If one person on a team gets the virus, there is a high potential for the rest of the team to get infected as well. Student-athletes are certainly at a greater risk for catching swine flu, not because they are making out with more girls or guys (which may be true) but because of the close continuous proximity that the team members have.

Let’s just hope swine flu doesn’t continue to grow to the extent that it could legitimately cause a team to lose enough players for a game and lose to a weaker opponent. Could you imagine the national response if a team like Texas were to lose its only game of the season because the entire team was out with swine flu and if it weren’t to make the National Championship game in Pasadena as a result? It would be disastrous. Something other than the BCS would be responsible for critics disagreeing with each other over who should be playing in the National Championship game.

While injuries affect every season in every sport, the swine flu is a tremendous addition to the health concerns of athletic teams. Swine flu is real, and it is spreading. Sniff, sniff, sniff.