The Flubdub did about what Chick wanted it to do. That is to say, it didn’t haul Coach Cade over the coals, as Chick put it, but it certainly expressed its disapproval in unmistakable terms in an editorial article which ran all down the first column and turned the next. It wasn’t rude, of course; the Flubdub was never that; but it let the world know that it was disappointed in the outcome of the Banning game, that in its judgment a blunder had been made and that Coach Cade had made it. Then it intimated that possibly the coach had acted under a misapprehension, and, in case he had, it proceeded to set him right. “While it is true,” remarked the paper, “that the Kenly Hall game is the important event on the schedule, and the one by which we measure the Team’s success, yet there must be a limit to the sacrifices we are willing to make to insure a triumph over the ancient rival. We are not satisfied to witness a series of early season defeats even if assured that a final victory awaits us. Nor do we consider that the loss of early season contests can have sufficient bearing on the ultimate success of the Team to warrant them. We are better pleased with a policy which accepts each succeeding adversary as a worthy foe and not merely as a stepping-stone to a distant goal. While the danger of over-confidence is recognized, yet there is also an equal peril in lack of confidence. A team which is frequently beaten may easily develop an inferiority complex. A firm belief in its ability to conquer is a valuable asset for any team, and to convince a team that it possesses that ability it must be allowed to win an occasional game. Another aspect also deserves consideration. A reputation for success in athletics is a magnet which draws many students to a school, and in this age of publicity such a reputation must be earned, not merely claimed. While we of Alton may be satisfied to consider as successful a football team which defeats Kenly Hall in November, irrespective of how many games it has lost beforehand, others will judge that team by its season’s record, and if that record includes several defeats by minor adversaries our satisfaction will not prevent those others from considering our Football Team a failure. And the Doubleay believes with them that such a team is a failure, for there is no gainsaying that the victor’s laurels must go to the team which wins often and decisively, and not to the team which merely conquers once. All of which is respectfully submitted for the consideration of those in authority.” “That ought to hold Johnny awhile,” chuckled Chick after a perusal of the editorial. “And Homer’s dead right about it, too.” “Homer Johnson?” asked Bert. “Think he wrote it?” “Of course he did. It sounds just like him. Homer waves a wicked quill!”