The greatest college weekend?

The self-proclaimed "World's Greatest College Weekend" is upon us. That sounds awfully presumptuous, and I myself have doubts about Little 500. To believe that a late April weekend in Indiana has been termed the greatest of anything comes as a surprise to this Florida transplant. I would expect maybe the greatest ratio of tooth decay, but the "World's Greatest College Weekend?" Wow, that's a tough pill to swallow.\nI'm sure on some university campuses across the globe, bragging rights are being touted and questions are being raised as to how an intramural bike race in the heartland of America has reached the pinnacle of greatness. \nYoung scholars at Cambridge must be livid that the annual apple toss celebrating their famous graduate Sir Isaac Newton's gravitational discovery has been surpassed by a dirt track and left turns.\nWhat do we tell the Sherpas of Katmandu University who camp at the bottom of Mount Everest, drink fermented yak's milk and watch all the Western thrill-seekers attempt to prove their manhood? Seriously, what tops that?\nSo, in search of what actually is the "World's Greatest College Weekend," I turned to the Web and every prepubescent boy's favorite search engine: www.google.com. The skeptic I am, I type "World's Greatest College Weekend," and much to my surprise and chagrin, there it was: Indiana University and Little 500 -- 342 times to be exact.\nWell there it is; egg on the face of this unbeliever. But after three years of Little 500 parties, concerts and races, I still can't push aside the British-nancy apple throwers or the Nepalese yak wacks. \nAs a naïve freshman who heard tales of grandeur regarding the race, I attended the frat parties, stood in a circle with my other freshmen friends as we watched debauchery descend to a new level. Of course it was fun, don't get me wrong, but how is this different than any other weekend? For me, the real race was getting from one house to another, then back to McNutt without getting arrested. That was exciting. That thing they call the greatest intramural event in the world was boring, unless of course you wore the same shirt as 100 others.\nWhile this may seem like a rant on what many hold so dear, I decided to unscientifically survey 73 students and gauge their thoughts on the "World's Greatest College Weekend."\nThe four questions I asked ranged from what students look forward to most during the week, if they'll attend the race and whether or not it is a greek event. \nTo no surprise, the No. 1 answer to the question of what students look forward to most was parties, with a whopping 69 percent. The actual race itself, registered a dismal 12 percent. Only 39 percent of the students polled said they expect to attend at least one of the races. And again, to no real surprise, 62 percent believed the race is a greek event.\nThe Little 500 began 55 years ago and has been steeped in IU tradition and became a part of the Indiana fabric. Proceeds go toward charities and scholarships, yet all this seems to have been ignored by the majority of the student body. The event has been degraded by generations looking for an excuse to go nuts. Students use the week as a reason to forget classes, get wasted and let loose. But ladies and gentlemen, you're in college -- do you really need a reason? \n"The World's Greatest College Weekend," huh? I'll let you be the judge, but you've never lived until you've tried fermented yak's milk.