Geneva on the Web: Wonderful NPR Story on Genevan Who's Visited Every College Football Stadium

I'm not a huge fan of aggregating stories, but there are a number of instances when sending you to another, often better, news webite is the kindest possible thing I can do for Geneva Patch readers.

If I really work hard at it and take some time and stretch my talents to the limit, I can reach the heights of "OK" in the sportswriting continuum. Fortunately, we have a number of outstanding feature writers and sports writers who contribute to Patch and are absolutely terrific.

But I don't think any of us are going to be as good as Frank Deford. (Here's his Sports Illustrated archive, if you're interested.)

Apparently, he's writing (and I assume talking) for NPR now. And he wrote this wonderful piece about Geneva resident Dick Wessels and his quest to visit all 121 of the Division I college football stadiums in America.

This isn't quite kosher with an aggregated story, but I want to show you the lead and encourage you to read the story.

"All right, so the University of Miami has been caught in a humongous football scandal following Ohio State, North Carolina, Tennessee, Oregon and, as the King of Siam used to say: 'Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.'

"What's more to add? The sport is totally out of control, and neither the college presidents nor the NCAA can do anything but make dopey, empty promises. So why bother? Let me, instead, tell you a nice college football story.

"It is about a quest."

The quest is Wessel's.

Thanks to Geneva Patch reader Mike Simon, who let us in on this story. And congratulations to Dick, for completing a quest that's so cool, Frank Deford wanted to write about it.