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There are so many ways to consider IU's Little 500, that annual Bloomington rite-of-spring unique to contem-porary American university social culture and still a refreshing contrast to huge-arena spectacles saturated in commercialism.
(Ah, this would probably be the time to confess, at risk of faint hypocrisy, that this month's Little Five will be broadcast on TV for the first time since 1982. But c'mon -- it's the Outdoor Life network, for Pete's sake, and it's mostly closed-circuit to IU alumni parties around the country.
| Little 500 schedule | |||
| "Return of the Trikes" mini-tricycle race | |||
| 7:30 p.m. | April 23 | Assembly Hall | |
| Women's Little 500 race | |||
| 4 p.m. | April 24 | Armstrong Stadium | |
| Men's Little 500 race | |||
| 2 p.m. | April 25 | Armstrong Stadium | |
| For more information, call the Student Foundation at 855-RACE. | |||
The Little 500 offers students who don't have athletic scholarships the chance to participate in a major sporting event -- one also controlled and planned by students and former students, as opposed to coaches, fans and television.
The purity of that participation is one of the many appealing aspects of the race. In addition to its importance as a student sporting event, the Little 500 generates funds for 33 scholarships each year, and has raised a total of $800,000 in scholarship money since 1951.
But while students appropriately dominate the Little Five, they also want to see the stands filled with more than the usual faces. They've expressed a desire to compete in front of the people who are part and parcel of their college experience, but who never get to see them in any other role -- IU faculty, staff and the Hoosier state community-at-large.
The Little 500 is an IU event for IU students, they say, but it's equally a Bloomington event for Bloomington residents and a campus event for the backbone of the university -- the instructors and the people who keep the place running.
"It has this great, small-time carnival feel to it that everyone could enjoy," says one rider.
The race is more fun to watch when you know a little about the teams. Assessing the teams is a talent at which probably no one is more adept than Mike Foote, assistant director of the IU Student Foundation and the coordinator of the Little 500.
Foote, who competed in three races as a student, can still handicap them with the precision of a Los Vegas pro -- although he says he couldn't have predicted last year's win by the Cutters.
Foote is especially impressed this year by the records falling like confetti two weeks ago at the time trials for men and women. Good weather and roadbed conditions were factors, and if the race next week repeats those conditions, it's going to be a fast, possibly record-breaking pace, he said.
The teams to watch in the men's race are the Phi Gamma Deltas, Foote said, ("all-time leaders in points, and they're the only team to win in every decade. Last year, they lost by only a second in the final sprint, and they've got Jim Lohman, the best rider on the track for three years, now in his final race. He's hungry for a win."); the Sigma Alpha Epsilons ("they're returning a group of veterans who are all fast sprinters"), the independent Cutters ("one of the best training programs, five-time winners"); and the independent Dodds House ("they're always up there, and this year all four riders are returning. And they pulled a surprise by winning the pole position").
Sleepers? "I'd say Theta Chi and Delta Chi," Foote advises those who like to cheer potential. In the women's race, Foote said to watch for the Roadrunners again ("they're the returning champs and have three veterans"); Kappa Kappa Gamma ("four returning veterans and they're at least second in potential, plus they set the track on fire grabbing the pole position last week"); the Thetas ("an all-rookie team but one of the best programs, with good discipline"); and the Phi Mus ("they placed third last year, which no one expected, and they're returning all four riders.").
But it would also be fun to cheer the seven new teams in this year's women's race. "We were excited just to complete our exchanges," said rookie Laura Wood of the new team called Oz.
Keep in mind, too, that the Little 500 is now a series of race events, all leading up to the Big One. Scheduled for Friday, April 17, is Team Pursuit, in which teams line up in turns two and four to race against each other for 12 laps (women) or 15 laps (men). Scheduled for Saturday, April 18, is Miss-N-Out, in which riders race laps in packs, and the last-place rider for each pack is eliminated upon crossing the finish line. So there's plenty to enjoy before the final event.
The fun-filled, mini-tricycle race will continue its Star Wars/Star Trek themes (previous years -- "Star Trike" and "The Emperor Trikes Back") with "Return of the Trikes" to officially launch the Little 500 weekend.
Off to the races!
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