Inside Preps: Some Parting Words For Polk

Thu. December 20, 2012 at 6:19 a.m. | By Solange Reyner

SOLANGE REYNER

Freddie Stevenson is going to Florida State, where if he takes a geology class, he will likely be told that garnet is a rock.

OK, it's also a color. As several astute — and a few not-so-kind — readers pointed out today.

For those who missed it, a story in Wednesday's paper about Bartow linebacker Freddie Stevenson signing with FSU mentioned that he wore a "crimson" colored hat and shirt. From the response, you'd think I said he was wearing Miami Hurricane green and orange.

To give everyone their 15 minutes, here's a smattering of what popped into my inbox today.

From Monica LePere: "Solange, I would recommend if you plan on being a sports writer, you learn the team colors when writing an article about them — especially a team from your own state of Florida! FSU colors are GARNET and Gold ...NOT crimson. Reporters should know their facts, but this is common knowledge to anyone living in Florida and the fact that you didn't know this fact, the proof reader didn't know it and the editor missed it should be embarrassing to all of you."

From Becky Schreiber: "I realize The Ledger is not a FSU sports team paper, and it seems to always be swayed to the Gators, but I must send you a note in regards to todays Prep football article. The FSU team colors are not "crimson" as you made note of several times, crimson is Alabama's colors. FSU is GARNET & GOLD!! Thanks for any corrections you can make."

David Ward struck a kinder note: "Solange, I read your article in this morning's Ledger regarding FSU commit Freddie Stevenson. Thanks very much for writing the article but I would hope for future articles Florida State's colors could be described more accurately as ‘garnet' rather than ‘crimson.' Thanks for your consideration, I'm sure both FSU and Alabama Crimson Tide fans will be appreciative. Thanks again for the great article and thanks for your dedication to sports journalism."

Wouldn't Alabama fans be happier if, I don't know, they got Freddie Stevenson?

The Ledger isn't any team's paper. If it really was the Gators' paper, then Stevenson might not have gotten any ink at all, certainly not C1. The Stevenson story was the second FSU story on C1 up to that point this week — to just one for the Gators during the same period.

There were other notes, including some nice ones. But the bottom line is this: The garnet vs. crimson debate, and which color is which, has raged since the 1800s at the collegiate level. Seriously. Go up to the Northeast, where Union College in Schenectady, N.Y. (hometown of Pat Riley) and Harvard waged battle starting around 1858 over which school could call crimson its own.

Harvard won. Union goes with garnet. And, as Union people will tell you, their version of garnet is the same color as Lafayette uses for "maroon." And is the same color that Colgate calls "red."

I hope FSU fans join me in being red-faced, garnet-faced, crimson-faced and maroon-faced over wasting time today on something this silly.

Stevenson is going to Florida State University.

And for his first game, he'll probably wear white.