Well, it's not quite enough to drive a UND fan to drink. Still, there's something a little irritating about UND's attempt to take the spotlight off of the "Beer Grandma," Beth Delano, 85.
That's because having Delano in the spotlight is just so much fun. It's entirely harmless, casts UND and UND sports in a friendly and flattering light and glorifies alcohol about as much as the Champagne Music from the old Lawrence Welk Show.
It's true that UND has been hit with some bad publicity in recent years as a school with a high rate of student drinking. That's the key reason for the school's effort to find new personalities to focus on, UND spokesman Peter Johnson told the Herald.
But it's also true that Delano had nothing whatsoever to do with that reputation. Just the opposite: UND couldn't ask for a better symbol of both proper fan behavior and responsible use of alcohol.
For Delano has been a UND fan for more than 50 years. Counting the decades that she came with her late husband, a longtime Northwood, N.D., physician, she has been attending UND hockey games almost as long as there has been a UND hockey team.
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She may have seen Ralph Engelstad himself tend goal in 1948 or '49.
Students adore her, asking her after games if they might have their pictures taken with her. And no wonder, given her World's Best Grandmother charm: "It's a thing that seems extra special to them. Maybe they're all looking for a grandma," she told the Herald in 2009.
"Those college students are so cute and so nice."
Really, in a hockey palace that sells beer by the flagon, is there any harm in occasionally showcasing a delightful, small-town great-grandmother who is the very model of moderation and wholesome fun?
Back to Lawrence Welk for a minute: Anyone remember Alice Lon? She was the "Champagne Lady" -- Welk's featured female vocalist -- from 1955 to 1959 when Welk fired her because, the story goes, during a musical number she showed too much knee.
The more things change, the more they stay the same: Both Welk's action and UND's stem from an odd Puritan streak in American culture, one that's too quick to pull the shade on innocent expressions of zest and enjoyment.
It's the impulse that powers the movie blockbuster "Footloose," the remake of which now is in theaters.
And in Welk's case, it backfired. After fans clamored for Lon's return, Welk saw the error of his ways and asked the singer to return.
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Here's hoping UND officials rethink their own position and smile as Delano's lovely face lights up the Ralph Engelstad Arena's Jumbotron once again.
-- Tom Dennis for the Herald
