Jeff Lund Assistant Sports Editor

Them.

That's what they were when I got here. They were the other students. The ones that were good at a sport and got their education partially ÷ if not entirely ÷ for free. The topic of dumb jokes, the object of jealousy and the reason I am currently employed here.

My brother was one of them. And my cousin is. I saw the way everyone walked around looking at my brother and my cousin, chattering and glancing as they walked around campus at George Washington University. I see it now, when Jason Gardner and Luke Walton roll from class to class.

From class to class. Just like us.

They are the athletes of the University of Arizona. Doing the same things we do, except with a little more exposure. OK, a lot more. When we go home from class and take a nap, or start mid afternoon bar crawls down University Aveenue, they are working out, practicing, sweating ÷ so that next time we watch them, we have more to cheer for.

World class in every aspect, these players suffer through the same boring lectures and late nights studying, whether we care to believe it or not. It is easy for us to make a barrier between us and them, when really there isn't.

Maybe it is out of jealousy that a lot of us despise those that can jump higher, run faster or do both. While many of us played our sports in the backyard dreaming about doing it for a living or on a bigger scale, these athletes were out making it happen to get the attention of scouts, coaches or whoever else would watch.

It's interesting to see what this attention leads to. Some athletes seem more attractive because they are so talented. Others are labeled because of their appearance, or the way they carry themselves. Sadly, the IQ of many is questioned because of what they are a part of ÷ the athletic program.

You must remember that less than 1% of college athletes nationwide make the jump to the professional level. They don't just go away. They enter the job market just as we do following graduation.

The same way a mathematician works on theories and proofs in order to make missiles for Raytheon after graduation, Gardner worked on his defense and pull-up three when he wasn't exercising his mind. Just like those aspiring novelists who kept poems, essays and stories tucked away in little notebooks under their beds, Stefani Saragosa bumped a volleyball constantly until she was good. Then bumped and spiked more, hoping to perfect her swing in between dates with her textbooks.

Is there a difference? Does a deeper passion and interest in something as simple as a game constitute the questioning of one's mental capacity and build a barrier between athletes and non-athletes?

Ask yourself that question.

I will admit it was a bit intimidating seeing 7-foot-1 Loren Woods walking around campus when I was a freshman, just because I had never seen anyone that tall before. I soon learned he wasn't just one of them.

After having class with the likes of Gardner, Gary Love and Javier Martinez, I saw what I already knew: These people are no different. They aren't just genetically altered humans made specifically for playing sports. That is just what they are good at and get the most attention for.

We see them in class, in the union and on campus. Often during class, the only contact is a stare, glance or a whisper to a friend, letting your amigo know who that person over there wearing the Nike Arizona gear is and whatever rumor or stat might be applicable.

You might be surprised to know they are still people that like to hang out and have fun. They aren't just placed in class as a part of affirmative action; they wake up, get ready and drag their tired bodies to class, too ÷ often after grueling days of practice and working out the night before.

If you asked any athlete on campus if they hang out with only other athletes or think they are too good for the rest of us, they would say no. Why? Because they are just like us.

The aura is created by us and practiced by us, which removes them from us.

It's just how things are. Not everyone follows the same illogical theme, but it happens ÷ and dumb athlete jokes, rumors and misnomers will continue, when all the while, away from the TV lights and playing field, we are doing the same things.