Sports Prophecy by Eric

by Eric Nelson

P.P. Waldenstrom respected tradition, whether in the hymnal or on the gridiron. At least I suspect the second would be true.

So that means the annual Waldenstrom Trophy, awarded by our shrouded panel of experts, doesn’t always go to the flashiest college football star. More likely is the lad that best represents the spirit of golden leaves, letter sweaters and 21-year-old linebackers who wear haircuts you can set a watch to.

That would seem to give an advantage to Jake Locker, the University of Washington’s Tim Tebow clone, or Mark Ingram, the reigning Heisman-winning running back from the University of Alabama.

But we hesitate; P.P. also valued progress and institutional reform when necessary.

So Kellen Moore, the farm boy from the State of Washington’s wheat belt (our pietistic Midwest forebears approve) and shaggy-haired Boise State Broncos quarterback, gets the nod.

Moore runs a video-game offense for an annual underdog and plays on a field of fake grass colored blue — but don’t worry, this futurist footballer also answers interview questions with words like “shucks” and looks like a kid who arrives on time to study hall.

So congratulations to Kellen Moore, who’ll add the Waldenstrom Trophy to his resume and (hopefully) proudly frame this Pietisten on his blue-carpeted dorm room wall, no matter what a BCS computer says about the Broncos come January.