...and so is every other conference besides the SEC.
Big Ten
Hapless Penn State wasted Northwestern today and knocked them out of the Top 25. Nebraska will probably be knocked out of the Top 25 after losing to Ohio State. Ohio State is the best Big Tenlevenvle team (and likely will be the only ranked team come tomorrow) but is not eligible for the post season. The rest of the Big Ten is garbage and I won't even discuss them. I cannot wait until Bowl Season when the B1G looks even worse. Lee Corso (this is the last time I will ever reference this "man") said last week that the B1G should do an 11-game round robin and each team should play one OOC game against an FCS team so it isn't as obvious how weak the B1G is. There are a slew of reasons why this is happening and the armchair economist in me says that the decline of the Rust Belt plays a bigger part in the decline in the B1G than anyone wants to mention. If you were to ask Colin Cowherd, he would tell you that there are more "babydolls" and the weather is better in California and the South and that is why the players and coaches emigrate out of the Rust Belt.
The ACC
Clemson tried to grab the brass ring but EJ pulled it out of reach last week. Clemson will host South Carolina to end their regular season which will end their BCS hopes. Clemson isn't the answer.
Florida State is looking good but plays at Miami, at VA Tech (read this "Va Tech", don't say "Virgina Tech" in your head), and at Maryland. None of these teams are spectacular but methinks they will lose one of these games. They will end their regular season hosting Florida who will end their BCS NCG hopes if one of the aforementioned teams don't beat the Gators to it. Free Shoes U isn't the answer. UPDATE: FSU loses to NC State 17-16. How good is Tennessee?
Virginia Tech. Traditional ACC power Virginia Teach. Wow, what a season Frank Beamer is having. Their loss to Pittsburgh was crippling. Pitt had lost two weeks prior to Youngstown State which is a respectable FCS team. Last week VA Tech lost to Cincinnati. Ouch. This week they lost to basketball school UNC. I can imagine that the pitchfork and torch crowd is assembling in Blacksburg, VA.
Big XII
This isn't football but featured the best thing going in the Big XII.
Vintage Bob Stoops.
JF's prediction: Bob Stoops will take his team to play in the 2013 Bob Stoops Invitational.
Big East
This commercial was originally about Big East football but TMIMITW didn't like picking on the less fortunate.
PAC-12
LSU smothered Washington 41-3. Two weeks later Washington beat #8 Stanford 17-13. During the game Jesse Palmer said that Washington had a "SEC-caliber defense." LSU has a bad SEC offense. Am I missing something?
USC was supposed to be the team to finally take down the SEC but haven't looked remarkable all season.
Oregon is good but still has USC, Washingon, Oregon State, and the PAC-12 CG on tap. I think it is safe to say that they lose one of those contests.
Notre Dame
The Irish are looking good but have to play USC, Stanford, and Oklahoma. Gone are the days of my childhood when Notre Dame ate cupcakes every weekend on NBC. I'd love to see Notre Dame make it to the BCS NCG and face <insert random elite SEC team here>.
SEC
Wow. Wow. Wow.
We can divide the conference into five levels
Alabama - Alabama. (I don't even need to say "'Nuff said.")
The Big Boys - Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, LSU. These guys can scare Alabama before losing. They can beat one another and should beat all the underlings of the conference. Yes, Florida is back.
Not Ready for Primetime Players - Tennessee and Mississippi State. Up and coming teams. Good enough to compete with anyone but not ready for the SEC CG. Tennessee beat NC State handily. Florida's win over LSU makes the Florida loss look better but Georgia's loss to Sakerlina makes the Vols look worse. Can comparative scoring ever be trusted? Yes, when it benefits your team.
Hoping for a Bowl - Auburn, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Missouri, Ole Miss. Ole Miss is the only team happy to be at this level. Vanderbilt thought that their Thursday night home opener against the Gamecocks was going to be their coming out party. Missouri and A&M said all summer that they didn't take kindly to the notion that they wouldn't immediately compete in the SEC. I wouldn't have taken kindly to it either but it doesn't make it any less true. Gene Chizik will be fired at the end of the season if he has a losing record.
Kentucky - Kentucky and Arkansas. Do we need details?
Class dismissed, enjoy Fall Break.
Showing posts with label SEC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SEC. Show all posts
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Pledging Allegiance
Here in the South, there are a few things that are just understood. When it snows in the winter, you are required to go to the Bi-Lo and buy as much milk, eggs and bread as you possibly can. You watch the Braves whether you like baseball or not. When you ask for tea, it is understood that it is supposed to be sweet. And in the fall, you have a college football team you root for.
Until I got into high school, I had never really met anyone that denied having a football team. I'm sure I had, but I never thought about it. It just seemed everyone I knew had a team they were a fan of. My guess as to why college football is so popular in the South dates back to the mid 1800's. When the War of Northern Aggression was launched in 1861, the people of the South set up a Confederate government that hinged upon states rights. This government had many flaws and, in fact, some Southern states even tried to secede from the Confederacy because they believed they were being wronged. The people of the South have immense regional and state pride and I believe it stems from the "Us-versus-Them" mentality that was fostered by the War. Today, people identify with their state/school and this is where I believe the intense "fandom" comes from.
But I digress.
I am a Tennessee fan. I didn't choose the team. I didn't pick them because I came of age in the 90's when they were very dominate. I didn't choose them because they played in the SEC. I didn't pick them because I like the color orange. I follow the University of Tennessee because some of the first games I remember seeing on our TV (that got 12 channels) were Tennessee football games. Those games were on there because my dad turned them on. He was watching them because he always had. He started following them because his Daddy listened to them on the radio in their home when my father was young. My grandfather didn't buy a TV until my dad was in high school. Being a farmer, he never had much time to watch. But when he did the Braves and SEC football games, more importantly UT games, would be tuned into. You see, allegiances are passed down. Inherited. That is just good form.
Teaching and coaching middle school boys, I hear about sports all day. Who won last night, who plays tonight, who likes which team, who hates which team, and who has tickets for this Saturdays game. One thing that I am seeing as a trend is that most student age kids nowadays have multiple "teams" i.e. " Oh, yeah, I watched that game last night. That's my 3rd favorite team!". These ideas are very foreign to me. Isn't the point of having a favorite team stem from the fact that they are your FAVORITE team. I have taken more class time then I should probably admit to correct the error of these adolescents' ways. They will thank me one day.
The fact is, I feel blessed to have the father I did, to have been raised watching football in the Greatest Conference in the Milky Way galaxy and having born witness to things like Stoerner's Stumble, Peyton's Naked bootleg at Alabama, Draining the Swamp in '01 and watching Fulmer hoist a crystal ball in '98.
As a Tennessee fan, it is my right and duty to disparage every Georgia, Alabama and Florida fan whenever the good Lord gives me an opportunity. But what really puzzles and disappoints me is when I see a father and son who have gone their separate ways in the area of fandom. What went wrong in that house? By God's grace, I plan exercise the admonishment of Proverbs 22:6 with my sons.
"Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it."
In summary, just like who your daddy likes. It is what the Lord intended.
So let it be written, so let it be done.
Until I got into high school, I had never really met anyone that denied having a football team. I'm sure I had, but I never thought about it. It just seemed everyone I knew had a team they were a fan of. My guess as to why college football is so popular in the South dates back to the mid 1800's. When the War of Northern Aggression was launched in 1861, the people of the South set up a Confederate government that hinged upon states rights. This government had many flaws and, in fact, some Southern states even tried to secede from the Confederacy because they believed they were being wronged. The people of the South have immense regional and state pride and I believe it stems from the "Us-versus-Them" mentality that was fostered by the War. Today, people identify with their state/school and this is where I believe the intense "fandom" comes from.
But I digress.
I am a Tennessee fan. I didn't choose the team. I didn't pick them because I came of age in the 90's when they were very dominate. I didn't choose them because they played in the SEC. I didn't pick them because I like the color orange. I follow the University of Tennessee because some of the first games I remember seeing on our TV (that got 12 channels) were Tennessee football games. Those games were on there because my dad turned them on. He was watching them because he always had. He started following them because his Daddy listened to them on the radio in their home when my father was young. My grandfather didn't buy a TV until my dad was in high school. Being a farmer, he never had much time to watch. But when he did the Braves and SEC football games, more importantly UT games, would be tuned into. You see, allegiances are passed down. Inherited. That is just good form.
Teaching and coaching middle school boys, I hear about sports all day. Who won last night, who plays tonight, who likes which team, who hates which team, and who has tickets for this Saturdays game. One thing that I am seeing as a trend is that most student age kids nowadays have multiple "teams" i.e. " Oh, yeah, I watched that game last night. That's my 3rd favorite team!". These ideas are very foreign to me. Isn't the point of having a favorite team stem from the fact that they are your FAVORITE team. I have taken more class time then I should probably admit to correct the error of these adolescents' ways. They will thank me one day.
The fact is, I feel blessed to have the father I did, to have been raised watching football in the Greatest Conference in the Milky Way galaxy and having born witness to things like Stoerner's Stumble, Peyton's Naked bootleg at Alabama, Draining the Swamp in '01 and watching Fulmer hoist a crystal ball in '98.
As a Tennessee fan, it is my right and duty to disparage every Georgia, Alabama and Florida fan whenever the good Lord gives me an opportunity. But what really puzzles and disappoints me is when I see a father and son who have gone their separate ways in the area of fandom. What went wrong in that house? By God's grace, I plan exercise the admonishment of Proverbs 22:6 with my sons.
"Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it."
In summary, just like who your daddy likes. It is what the Lord intended.
So let it be written, so let it be done.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
The Most Boring Manifesto on the Relationship Between Geography and Sports Has Been Posted
Full disclosure: this really is boring. I find it fascinating but I know I'm weird. In public I only allow glimpses of my perversions but on the internet I can display it in all of its glory. I'm gay for geography. This post was originally titled "The Big Eight Conference" but I deemed it necessary to warn you. Tread wisely.
I'm a semi-pro geographer. I love places. In my quarter century of existence, I have visited 45 states. I've been to Seattle; Miami; Lost Springs, WY; Muskogee, OK; Los Angeles; Fargo, ND; Campbellsville, KY; Chicago; Ringgold, GA; and New York. I haven't technically been everywhere in the USA, but I'm pretty close. Whenever I decide to head out and am planning my route, I love researching unique locales and off-beat historic sites of interest. While I never have seen any place that claims to be the world's largest ball of twine, I did drag my pregnant wife on a five-day vacation in scenic Oklahoma. Highlights included the Washita Battlefield; Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge; Chattanooga, OK (such a place exists and was a "destination"); and Stockyard City in Oklahoma City. Almost two years later, we're still married. Did I mention it was over Christmas Break and it was freezing?
I am a geography nerd. So much so that I enjoy the Great Plains. This region was dubbed the Great American Desert by the first European explorers to visit it. (Funny how words change meanings, isn't it? "Desert" also used to mean anywhere void of trees." I love the plainness of the plains. Nothing flashy can be found in Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, or Missouri (save Kansas City and St. Louis.) Calendars in the Great Plains are currently read that it is 1983 which mean that Reagan is still king and skinny jeans have not invaded. The men are men and women are women on the Plains. Original Coors is always on tap somewhere but never on the Lord's Day. A 50 foot gain in elevation can lead you to the highest point in a county and you can see for twenty miles. The people are religious, hard-working, hearty, friendly just like their ancestors who headed west for opportunity and didn't like having next-door-neighbors within a two mile radius. When I visit my second-favorite geographic region, I feel like I am stuck in a Wila Cather story. We hillbillies of Appalachia maintained our unique culture due to years of being cut off from polite society due to tough mountain topography; The people of the plains have been free from city-loving interlopers solely because no one else wants to live there. The summers are too hot, winters are too cold, and the movie theatre is too far away.
These people get each other. When you drive from Nebraska to Missouri to Oklahoma and all points in-between, nothing changes. Everybody here grows corn or raises cattle, you hear talk of wishbone and T-formation offenses, and everyone hates their team's border rival. With that being said, change is slowly creeping in.
When the SEC admitted Arkansas and South Carolina to form the first-ever 12 team super conference, the game changed forever. When the SEC added these teams it gained the ability to play a conference championship game and make more money. Roy Kramer was hailed as a hero in Dixie and a crook everywhere else, especially the state of Texas. South Carolina had been an independent looking for a home in 1991 and chose the SEC over the ACC. Arkansas had been a competitive member of the old Southwest Conference and its leaving was primarily motivated by the University of Texas' misplaced superiority complex. Arkansas AD at the time, Frank Broyles feared that Texas would bolt the SWC for the Pac-10. I don't play the lottery but if I ever do, I will call this man. Arkansas' leaving signaled the end of the Texas-centric SWC. In 1996, the member institutions of the Big Eight, led by Oklahoma, pursued Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Baylor and invited them to the Big Eight. The Big Eight soon became the Big XII, the second super conference with a title game. 12 team conferences cannot play round-robin schedules so divisional play is set up. The SEC maintained important rivalries like the Third Saturday in October and the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry with its new divisions. The Big XII did away with yearly meetings between Oklahoma and Nebraska, the marquee rivalry of the Big Eight. The Nebraska-Oklahoma rivalry generally determined who the Big Eight would send to the Orange Bowl every year and the winner usually was among the top teams in the nation in the final AP poll. Now granted, the payout to each school grew in the new Big XII due to the new conference championship game but the magic was gone, never to return. Big Eight conference titles used to signify which state was king of the plains but, with the accompaniment of the BCS, that too had gone out the window. College football had gone from regional sport to national industry.
After years of bickering with Texas and trying to reestablish a yearly contest with Oklahoma, Nebraska packed up the tent and moved in with the Big Ten. Colorado accepted a big to join the Pac-12 with whom it always more closely resembled culturally. Missouri attempted to get an invite to the Big Ten and told the world about it, only to be left waiting for a phone call that never came. Texas flirted with taking the Oklahoma schools and Texas A&M with it to the Pac-12. These moves would have left Iowa State, Missouri, Kansas, and Kansas State in the freezing cold. Texas A&M finally broke free of big brother Texas and joined the SEC and Missouri came along with them. The Big XII decided to bring in old SWC standby TCU and West Virginia. As Bob Dylan sang in the 60s, "oh the times they are a-changin'."
Think of the geography of conference realignment: West Virginia's closest conference "rival" is Iowa State which is a paltry 841 miles away. Missouri is in the same division as Florida. Let that soak in. The state of Texas really is its own geographic region but if a team ever culturally belonged in the SEC, it would be Texas A&M. I take very little umbrage with the Aggies joining the SEC. As a Tennessee fan, I love the idea of Texas A&M hosting Florida the week before the Gators will get beat in Knoxville. As a SEC fan, I enjoy the idea of watching Texas A&M play Alabama, LSU, Arkansas, and others on a regular basis; I like the idea of Missouri challenging Kentucky for conference dominance. (Speaking of Missouri, I really warmed up to them when their fans chanted "ESSS EEEE CEEE" as they won their last ever Big XII basketball championship in Kansasa City.) Colorado and Utah joining the Pac-10 is a non-starter for me. Yes, some Pac-10 teams are good but they don't have real fans who care so neither do I. Gun to my head, I'd like to see a real Mountain West conference with Utah, BYU, Colorado, Boise State, and a few other jokers to round out the conference to 8-12 teams. What I don't like seeing is the simple people of the plains no longer having real geographically-fueled hate to hold on to. Severe topography leads to severe people which leads to severe hate. What will they do with all of this resentment they used to cherish? I would die if Tennessee lost Alabama as a conference-mate. Kansas and Missouri rivalry dates back to the 1850s when Missourians attempted to set the state of Kansas on fire and we will never see this as a yearly-series again.
I've been all over the map literally and figuratively with this post. I could go on further but no one is even reading this now. The Great Plains people, history, sports, geography, and culture are truly an American treasure. Money and Texas killed the Big Eight Conference and all of its regional glory. In memorial, you travel the back roads of the Great Plains. I know where you can get the best hamburger in Cottonwood Falls, KS and know plenty of fascinating places in Nebraska. Class dismissed.
I'm a semi-pro geographer. I love places. In my quarter century of existence, I have visited 45 states. I've been to Seattle; Miami; Lost Springs, WY; Muskogee, OK; Los Angeles; Fargo, ND; Campbellsville, KY; Chicago; Ringgold, GA; and New York. I haven't technically been everywhere in the USA, but I'm pretty close. Whenever I decide to head out and am planning my route, I love researching unique locales and off-beat historic sites of interest. While I never have seen any place that claims to be the world's largest ball of twine, I did drag my pregnant wife on a five-day vacation in scenic Oklahoma. Highlights included the Washita Battlefield; Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge; Chattanooga, OK (such a place exists and was a "destination"); and Stockyard City in Oklahoma City. Almost two years later, we're still married. Did I mention it was over Christmas Break and it was freezing?
 |
| This could be anywhere in Big Eight Country |
I am a geography nerd. So much so that I enjoy the Great Plains. This region was dubbed the Great American Desert by the first European explorers to visit it. (Funny how words change meanings, isn't it? "Desert" also used to mean anywhere void of trees." I love the plainness of the plains. Nothing flashy can be found in Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, or Missouri (save Kansas City and St. Louis.) Calendars in the Great Plains are currently read that it is 1983 which mean that Reagan is still king and skinny jeans have not invaded. The men are men and women are women on the Plains. Original Coors is always on tap somewhere but never on the Lord's Day. A 50 foot gain in elevation can lead you to the highest point in a county and you can see for twenty miles. The people are religious, hard-working, hearty, friendly just like their ancestors who headed west for opportunity and didn't like having next-door-neighbors within a two mile radius. When I visit my second-favorite geographic region, I feel like I am stuck in a Wila Cather story. We hillbillies of Appalachia maintained our unique culture due to years of being cut off from polite society due to tough mountain topography; The people of the plains have been free from city-loving interlopers solely because no one else wants to live there. The summers are too hot, winters are too cold, and the movie theatre is too far away.
These people get each other. When you drive from Nebraska to Missouri to Oklahoma and all points in-between, nothing changes. Everybody here grows corn or raises cattle, you hear talk of wishbone and T-formation offenses, and everyone hates their team's border rival. With that being said, change is slowly creeping in.
When the SEC admitted Arkansas and South Carolina to form the first-ever 12 team super conference, the game changed forever. When the SEC added these teams it gained the ability to play a conference championship game and make more money. Roy Kramer was hailed as a hero in Dixie and a crook everywhere else, especially the state of Texas. South Carolina had been an independent looking for a home in 1991 and chose the SEC over the ACC. Arkansas had been a competitive member of the old Southwest Conference and its leaving was primarily motivated by the University of Texas' misplaced superiority complex. Arkansas AD at the time, Frank Broyles feared that Texas would bolt the SWC for the Pac-10. I don't play the lottery but if I ever do, I will call this man. Arkansas' leaving signaled the end of the Texas-centric SWC. In 1996, the member institutions of the Big Eight, led by Oklahoma, pursued Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Baylor and invited them to the Big Eight. The Big Eight soon became the Big XII, the second super conference with a title game. 12 team conferences cannot play round-robin schedules so divisional play is set up. The SEC maintained important rivalries like the Third Saturday in October and the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry with its new divisions. The Big XII did away with yearly meetings between Oklahoma and Nebraska, the marquee rivalry of the Big Eight. The Nebraska-Oklahoma rivalry generally determined who the Big Eight would send to the Orange Bowl every year and the winner usually was among the top teams in the nation in the final AP poll. Now granted, the payout to each school grew in the new Big XII due to the new conference championship game but the magic was gone, never to return. Big Eight conference titles used to signify which state was king of the plains but, with the accompaniment of the BCS, that too had gone out the window. College football had gone from regional sport to national industry.
After years of bickering with Texas and trying to reestablish a yearly contest with Oklahoma, Nebraska packed up the tent and moved in with the Big Ten. Colorado accepted a big to join the Pac-12 with whom it always more closely resembled culturally. Missouri attempted to get an invite to the Big Ten and told the world about it, only to be left waiting for a phone call that never came. Texas flirted with taking the Oklahoma schools and Texas A&M with it to the Pac-12. These moves would have left Iowa State, Missouri, Kansas, and Kansas State in the freezing cold. Texas A&M finally broke free of big brother Texas and joined the SEC and Missouri came along with them. The Big XII decided to bring in old SWC standby TCU and West Virginia. As Bob Dylan sang in the 60s, "oh the times they are a-changin'."
Think of the geography of conference realignment: West Virginia's closest conference "rival" is Iowa State which is a paltry 841 miles away. Missouri is in the same division as Florida. Let that soak in. The state of Texas really is its own geographic region but if a team ever culturally belonged in the SEC, it would be Texas A&M. I take very little umbrage with the Aggies joining the SEC. As a Tennessee fan, I love the idea of Texas A&M hosting Florida the week before the Gators will get beat in Knoxville. As a SEC fan, I enjoy the idea of watching Texas A&M play Alabama, LSU, Arkansas, and others on a regular basis; I like the idea of Missouri challenging Kentucky for conference dominance. (Speaking of Missouri, I really warmed up to them when their fans chanted "ESSS EEEE CEEE" as they won their last ever Big XII basketball championship in Kansasa City.) Colorado and Utah joining the Pac-10 is a non-starter for me. Yes, some Pac-10 teams are good but they don't have real fans who care so neither do I. Gun to my head, I'd like to see a real Mountain West conference with Utah, BYU, Colorado, Boise State, and a few other jokers to round out the conference to 8-12 teams. What I don't like seeing is the simple people of the plains no longer having real geographically-fueled hate to hold on to. Severe topography leads to severe people which leads to severe hate. What will they do with all of this resentment they used to cherish? I would die if Tennessee lost Alabama as a conference-mate. Kansas and Missouri rivalry dates back to the 1850s when Missourians attempted to set the state of Kansas on fire and we will never see this as a yearly-series again.
 |
| This is what rivalry hate looks like |
I've been all over the map literally and figuratively with this post. I could go on further but no one is even reading this now. The Great Plains people, history, sports, geography, and culture are truly an American treasure. Money and Texas killed the Big Eight Conference and all of its regional glory. In memorial, you travel the back roads of the Great Plains. I know where you can get the best hamburger in Cottonwood Falls, KS and know plenty of fascinating places in Nebraska. Class dismissed.
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