By The Way...

I think this is pretty neat: Yesterday, Katy Hnida of the University of New Mexico Lobos became the first woman in NCAA football history to kick in an extra point during an official Division I game. And then she did it again a few minutes later. So that's two points in one game, which are two more than I will ever have.

There are some interesting caveats to the story, however, which are not pointless to note. The first is that New Mexico was playing an exceptionally weak opponent (Texas State - San Marcos) where the final score was 72 - 8; she didn't come on until there were already 64 points on the board. So in other words, it was a totally risk-free environment for New Mexico.

You can't take away from the effort and achievement Hnida put in to getting on the team in the first place -- she was a walk-on player, and for any walk-on to get onto a team is impressive enough -- so not matter how you slice it, Hnida rocks. But I wonder if she'll ever be used in a clutch situation, when the score isn't so obviously lopsided. I don't know enough about the Lobo team's strengths and weaknesses to comment about the possibility or not, but obviously it would be cool if one day she got a chance to make a real difference in a game.

But however you look at it, this is a significant first step (or kick, as the case may be).

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• #1 Comment from idiot7daysaweek 
  8/31/03 10:32 AM | Permalink

  Interesting. I don't think she is the first female to kick and extra point in a college game though. Maybe the other female kickers did not do it for Division I. http://journals.aol.com/idiot7daysaweek/ideas/