Start thinking football

"You can either run with us or get run over," sounds the beat driven lyric of "Knock, Knock," the latest musical release of multi-talented junior wide receiver and return man Lance Bennett. \nIU football coach Terry Hoepnner unleashed the world premiere of Bennett's video, a highlight reel of Hoosier hard knocks from seasons past, in an address to the women of Bloomington at the 2005 Women's Football Clinic Saturday.\n"Today is for you," Hoeppner told the crowd of more than 120 local women. "And it is a great way to start thinking football."\nSome women arrived to Memorial Stadium early Saturday morning in pink bandanas and fluorescent adidas sneakers appearing ready to run, while others sauntered in with brown wooden canes and well-prepared hair. Everyone in attendance, a few of them with older, deeper Hoosier roots, came to offer their support for the IU football team at the event which benefited Jill's House, an outpatient hospice center named in honor of Jill Berhman.\n"My father, Clyde Dreisbach, played for the Hoosiers in 1902 and 1903 and he said they didn't even have uniforms," said Eloise Beardsley of Bloomington. \nHer father was the first of five generations in the family to attend IU. Beardsley's continued enthusiasm served as an embodiment of the history and feeling of tradition flowing throughout the underbelly of Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon. \n"I didn't get an opportunity to play here, but I have been an IU fan for as long as I can remember -- my wife and I have been walking around pinching ourselves (since arriving in Bloomington)," explained a clearly enthusiastic Hoeppner, who tackles his first season at IU this fall after spending 19 years at Miami University of Ohio. \nHoeppner's contagious energy pervaded the day-long celebration. Memorial Stadium, renamed "The Rock" as a warning of impending punishment to visiting teams, played host to women of all walks and ages who proudly spouted off the duration of their fan status -- 40 to 50 years was not uncommon -- and regularly erupted into raucous applause. \n"Hoosier football gets in the blood," said Jan Malinovsky, wearing a battered No. 37 jersey, "Coach Hep just gets everybody so fired up that it's difficult not to be excited."\nIn addition to Hoeppner's pep talk and a group photograph in the stadium seats, the day's activities included a rules-of-football tutorial led by 1979 Holiday Bowl team member Mark Rodriguez, a demonstration and explanation of modern football equipment, which concluded with Hoosier players flexing and posing for photo opportunities, wives and players panels, lunch, a tour of the stadium, on-field drills in the Mellencamp Pavillion, and a raffle. \nHoeppner's wife, Jane, led the wives panel discussion that received questions regarding the rigors of marriage to busy coaches and the lifestyle of football \nfamilies.\n"It's been a women's clinic in our house for years," said Jane of raising two daughters and one son in a household where watching football games on any given night is welcome, and phone calls disputing the decisions of referees are a regular occurrence on game days. \nFive current IU players, all playfully but respectfully representing themselves and their team, then took the stand and were grilled about their majors, motivation, team chemistry, the function of a nose guard, and why Kentucky's quarterback was allowed to look like a star in last year's game.\n"I guarantee we will beat Kentucky this year," responded offensive lineman, and Louisville, Ky., native Isaac Sowells to the delight of every grandmother, mom, aunt, sister, girlfriend and otherwise unspecified female fan in attendance. \nSaturday's event offered hope to an IU fan base that has weathered stale performances and disappointing seasons in recent years. Hoeppner's availability to the community since his arrival last winter, including the successful execution of this year's inaugural Women's Clinic, has fans and players buzzing about the upcoming season. With the beginning of camp this week IU players, for their part, are excited to be in Bloomington for the first time in a long time.\n"It's like Coach Hep still has college within his heart," said the excitable Bennett who, despite a cast on his right wrist, is amped to get things started. "People haven't been getting the party they deserve, and it's time to party again."\nBennett, with senior linebacker John Pannozzo, are urging fans to bring the fun back into the stadium where they hope to channel the excitement that seems, of late, to exist only in the parking lot at the tailgate parties.\nWhen asked about "Knock, Knock," which he composed exclusively for the 2005 Crimson and Cream gridiron squad, Bennett replied, "If you show up (to the stadium this fall), you could learn all the words"