... but there's this: Yesterday was such a remarkable day in college ball I HAVE to put something up, if only to acknowledge this brief shining moment wherein ND returns to the top o' the heap after SO many years o' wanderin' in the wilderness. There's the possibility that the moment could be all TOO brief: ND's last regular season game will be played against one of their biggest rivals... the Condoms of USC... out in El-Eh. The Condoms are comin' down off a humiliating loss to cross-town rival UCLA and might could be tough next week. Hell, they're ALWAYS tough, and more so when the game is played in the Coliseum. We shall see.
The Irish cruised yesterday in their game with Wake Forest. I'll also give a BIG ol' hat tip to both Baylor and Stanford for their timely assistance in raising ND to the pinnacle (the Stanford - Oregon game was a CORKER... best game of the day, IM(NS)HO). That said, I'd rather that ONE of either Oregon or K-State would have won yesterday, mainly coz ND could beat either team like a stepchild, the Irish would have been Number Two in the polls, and ND would have stayed there if they win out. The obvious implication is ND would've been guaranteed (sorta) a place in the BCS Championship game... and would have won its first national championship since 1988. That's still possible, of course. We shall see.
There are other interested parties that are overjoyed at the Ducks' and Wildcats' losses, too... and that would be all those red-of-neck Supremely Egotistical Conference fans. I hope to see ND shut them right the Hell up on January 7th; THAT would be sweeter than sweet and I could die a very happy man on the following day. We shall see.
In the meantime? We'll just sit right here and watch the river flow.
Added, 1720 hrs: For those o' you who might have missed the reference above, there's this:
There are other interested parties that are overjoyed at the Ducks' and Wildcats' losses, too... and that would be all those red-of-neck Supremely Egotistical Conference fans. I hope to see ND shut them right the Hell up on January 7th; THAT would be sweeter than sweet and I could die a very happy man on the following day. We shall see.
In the meantime? We'll just sit right here and watch the river flow.
Added, 1720 hrs: For those o' you who might have missed the reference above, there's this:
People disagreeing everywhere you look,That's by the Stones... I couldn't find a clip o' Dylan singin' his own song. No matter, the sentiment is the same whoever is doin' the singin'.
Makes you wanna stop and read a book.
Why only yesterday I saw somebody on the street
That was really shook.
But this ol' river keeps on rollin', though,
No matter what gets in the way and which way the wind does blow,
And as long as it does I'll just sit here
And watch the river flow.
I was torn watching the Oregon v Snodfart game. I don't have much of an affinity for either school. That said, the Snodfart defense did what nobody else could do all year.
ReplyDelete...the Snodfart defense did what nobody else could do all year.
DeleteYup. And it was GOOD. One could make the case that ND's defense is even better, and that's why I think they could beat the Ducks.
CROW ON, my friend!!! I'd be doin' the same damn thing...
ReplyDeleteI will NOT go in to fax & figgers of this hyar season, as it would do NO GOOD to dampen the hopes of a true fan. And, that is the way it should be.
The gaaaaaaamz get played on the turf, not in the stats...and DEFINITELY not in the bloggysphere.
This would be WAY fun, if it weren't for the fact that The Mayan Apocalypse is gonna shut it all down before we really know who's good, and who's not.
Crud...
The moment is indeed sweet, no doubt. But I'm chastened by that ol' saw about "pride goeth before a fall."
DeleteAs for the Mayan Apocalypse... Touchdown Jesus trumps the old, discredited, and supremely out o' fashion Mayan Deities. We'll survive until 01/07/2013. Survival beyond that date remains in question.
I was actually halfway rooting for the Ducks, 'cuz I wanted 'em to be #1 when they come to town next week.
ReplyDeleteWonder if McDonalds has promoted Brady Quinn to Crew Trainer yet?
You? Rooting for The Ducks?
DeleteInno, you must say 13 Hail Mary's, and put 16 trillion dollars in the poor box.
Sheesh...
But y'all got a good shot now that y'all know that even Stanford can beat 'em.
I'm quite surprised that Andy didn't come up with some appropriate snark in re your Quinn remark. Missed opportunities, and all that.
DeleteAs for the Ducks and your Beavers... I shall be pullin' for ya in the Civil War. You may remember I spent several years in Orygun and can't be without SOME sorta loyalties where college ball is concerned. Besides that, and in addition to yerself, I have a real good ol' AF buddy livin' in Corvallis, even though he prolly doesn't give two shits about college ball.
So: Go Beavers!
I have a real good ol' AF buddy livin' in Corvallis, even though he prolly doesn't give two shits about college ball.
DeleteBuck, at least your buddy settled in a place where not giving two shits about college ball puts him in the majority. Just sayin'...
I'm not going there with the Brady Quinn deal, as I am a gentleman. Occasionally.
...as I am a gentleman. Occasionally.
DeleteAND a scholar. Occasionally. ;-)
It took an Act of Congress to make me a gentleman, Buck, lol.
DeleteNyuk...
Delete@Virgil: A lesser entity would have failed at THAT endeavor.
DeleteERROR NOTE! ERROR NOTE! FAIL
Delete1) Sub "ANY" lesser viz "A" lesser
2) Insert UTTERLY prior to "failed."
FIXED
Heh. DOUBLE Heh.
DeleteCome ON SoCal!!! And come ON Auburn, it's "Iron Bowl" time! lol
ReplyDeleteGOT to root for the Trojans, Buck. The Championship HS team I played on in Illinois was named the Trojans and our colors were Scarlet and Gold also--that and I DESPISE ND, lol.
Virgil, "The Barn" has as much a chance of beating Bammer as I have of scoring with five women tonight.
DeleteThe Rubbers could upset The Dame, though (even though I think they're so demoralized right now that it'll be a walk for The Irish). But "The Barn" will be lucky to have 11 players healthy enough to finish on the field Q4 against Corch St. Nick.
Auburn REALLY sucks.
Come ON SoCal!!!
DeleteYou must be SERIOUSLY into the Barbancourt at this point in time. That, and you are also somewhat demented in yer thought processes... see Andy's comment.
@Andy re: Auburn's chances. LOL! Why do you think I tacked on "lol" to my comment? But seriously, Football is the one sport--unlike, say, basketball, where the team with the best talent statistically is a lock to win most games due to structure of the game--where sheer frenzied adrenaline at the "unskilled" positions (i.e., mainly the defensive line) by the underdog team, the fortuitous random bounce of an obloid sphere, an inexplicable dropped pass, fumble or even slip by an All-American on the favored and superior team at a crucial time, plus a couple of crucial calls by the refs in favor of the underdog (bad calls are RARELY "evened out" in football during the course of the game as compared to roundball) can all combine to result in a far, far inferior team talent-wise winning the game..
Delete@Buck/
Actually, I think it will depend on whether or not USC can score first. If they do I think they'll have a shot..
To expand, Buck, I'd just note that for most coaches (tho NOT, obviously Oregon) the offensive game-plan is greatly altered depending on whether one is ahead or behind (and with time remaining, of course) If USC scores 1st they will probably be more aggressive in play-calling.
Delete(Although scoring first isn't always indicative of anything. I'll never forget a ex-Tulane footballer who as a retired O-6 in the USAF and a Viet POW recounted in the Times-Picayune when they played nat, Champ powerhouse Ole Miss in '62 right after Ole Miss' 61 nat championship and scored first. (Tulane had a fair team that year, they were just too thin and wore down by 2nd half) The Col said he got cocky (he was a tight end) and after they scored, taunted a big Ole Miss defensive tackle with: "You ain't seen nothin' yet!" To which the Ole Miss guy replied: "You got THAT right!" And, lol, Ole Miss proceeded to put a 47-7 whipping on the Greenies.. Moral: "Don't speak too soon." LOL)
@Virgil: yer comment about inferior teams that win sometimes is why I was rather muted in my comments about SC. SC IS inferior to ND in nearly every regard, yet karma just might intervene. I kinda doubt it, though.
DeleteOK, I might half-root for the Ducks when certain highly unusual conditions are in effect (like wanting to be the team to spoil their BCS run) but I *never* root for USC. In fact, I'm still quite pissed that they were preseason #1. So I hope ND ____________ USC right in their __________ while ____________ and they _________ so bad that USC cancels their football program.
ReplyDelete(This comment so rude that I had to use white-out on parts of it)
Heh. I don't much like SC, either... but reading this kinda made me blush.
DeleteOh, fer the love o' mike. . .
ReplyDeleteI hates me the Irish almost as much as I hates me the damn Wolverines. My kids used to ask me who I rooted for when Michigan played Notre Dame, and I'd tell 'em, "I root for a scoreless tie, with lots of injuries. . ."
I mean, as natural a fit as they'd have been in the Big Ten, they didn't want no part of seeing Ohio State, Nebraska and Wisconsin every year, aside from my Spartans, and the aforementioned school from down the road. Hell, they barely got past freakin' Purdue, and they're just as glad this wasn't one of the years they played North-freakin'-western. And this is a REALLY down year for the Big Twelve, uh, Ten. . .
I'll admit that that defense of theirs is a stout one, indeed, and they beat my Spartans fair-and-square (unlike 10 of the previous 15 times they played), much as it pains me to say so.
But they don't want no part of playing Alabama (and that ex-Spartan coach of theirs) (jerk). No sir, no they don't. . .
Heh. I suppose ya root for Navy, too? (See: The Rules, last paragraph)
DeleteWell, see, I'm kinda old-school here. . . My four favorite teams on any given Saturday:
Delete1) Michigan State
2) Whoever is playing Michigan
3) Whoever is playing Notre Dame
4) Whoever is playing against Nick Saban
When Michigan plays Notre Dame, I am truly torn, since, as far as I am aware, they can't both lose (and with the advent of overtime, even the aforementioned scoreless tie is an impossibility; so, lots of injuries is all I'm left with. . .)
My hatred of Saban is of a lesser order than the other two (since he was, after all, our coach once-upon-a-time)(jerk), and he is able to perform a useful function, such as earlier this season, when the Tide coincided, for one week, with my 2nd-favorite team, and stomped the cornholes (they call it maize; we call it corn) into the dirt. Much as I dislike Saban, that was just fine. . . And if they end up playing ND for the championship, it'll be much the same. 'Cuz if it ain't my Spartans, I just don't care all that much, and the standard rules would apply.
(in bygone years, I'd have had Ohio State on my list, but hatin' them just ain't the same since Woody Hayes passed on; but Urban Meyer is movin' 'em up the list fast. . .)
Besides which, it hacks off the Wolver-things so much to lose to the Suckeyes, that sometimes I'll root for 'em just to spite Meeshigan.
DeleteI'll make certain allowances for, you know, actual Catholics to root for ND just because, but, just for the sake of sayin' so, I'M Catholic, and I hate 'em, and I deeply resent the assumption on the part of some of my fellow-Catholics, that of course I root for the Irish, 'cuz I'm Catholic. Besides which, there's more Catholics enrolled at my alma mater than there are at ND. . .
Anyway, to answer yer original question - on those occasions in which Navy happens to fall under #s 2-3-4, hell yes, I'll root for 'em. When they play Army or Air Force, may the best team win. . .
DeleteI'll make certain allowances for, you know, actual Catholics to root for ND just because...
DeleteMy ex- was Catholic when I met her, and a Domer. That's how I came by MY affiliation, which stuck after we were married coz it just wouldn't pay to root for anyone else, eh? She used to get ALL upset when I'd cheer for AFA when they played the Irish...
As for your other points: noted. We all have our reasons, eh? Digression: I absolutely detest THE Ohio State University. As much for the pretentious "the" as anything...
You got that wrong, Buck It's not the Supremely Egotistical Conference, it's the Supremely Empowered Conference.
ReplyDeleteThere. I fixed it.
And I'm not discussing college football much this season. In case you didn't notice.
I got to cheerlead in the Coliseum once upon a time -- nearly got run over by that condom on horseback!
You got that wrong, Buck It's not the Supremely Egotistical Conference...
DeleteNow I know why you always wind up in the spam trap.
Oh, and I noticed. Your year this year is kinda sorta like my last ten. Or more.
DeleteHeh! Posts concerning "The Only Sport That Really Matters" do light up the comments, no?
ReplyDeleteBuck, would you not have loved to see that young Moogster dodging that big ol' rubber on a hoss? Wait...that didn't come out right...
As to the Catholics lovin' The Dame...we ALL know that ain't right. Hell, South Louisiana is 120% Catholic, and I'm pretty sure (at last count), there were only 3 Coonasses that ever rooted for The Dame. They were residing in Pineville at the time.
@Craig - I never understood the "jerk" deal when it comes to The SaBear. He not only corched your Spartans, but also my beloved Tigers. He worked his ass off, and turned around our program (it wasn't as bad as ND's...but it was pretty bad)...handing off an "if you blow this it's on you" type program when he went for his cup of coffee in the NiFfLe. As much as it is incumbent upon us SEC homers to despise our rival coaches, I've never been able to do that when it comes to Nick. He restored discipline at LSU...recruited like nobody's biniss...and instilled an attitude that we had lost (It's not okay to lose! Never talk yourself in to thinking that it is!)
Posts concerning "The Only Sport That Really Matters" do light up the comments, no?
DeleteI LONG for the day when my hockey posts elicit the same level o' comments. But the way things are goin' in the hockey world... which is to say this SUPREMELY dumb-ass lockout... I might even abandon hockey. I've had about as much as one rational human bean can take in this space.
Nice link, btw. Thanks fer that... my education continues apace.
@Andy - Yeah, I know what you're saying. But it looks a little different from here than it might to y'all Tigers. For one thing, he never won a championship here. In fact, his record here was decidedly mediocre thru his first four years. Then, his 5th year, they had the breakthru we'd all been waiting for, ever since he got the head job, and then he booked off without even coaching us in the bowl game. And he tried to take every single one of his assistants with him when he left. So, I don't quite look at it as 'if you blow this, it's on you'; he had one really good season here, and left before it could get institutionalized. I don't really think he did anything exactly maliciously toward my Spartans, but I don't think he gave much of a shit for what he was leaving behind, either.
DeleteThat, and there were credibly documented articles written here, saying that a big part of why he left was that he'd decided he was tired of recruiting against Michigan, and at LSU, he'd have the only show in town, in a state with top-shelf high-school football. Which seems more than a trifle lame, for the Greatest Coach in College Football. . . I mean, really? You don't want to fight with Michigan over recruits? Thank goodness Mark D'Antonio doesn't feel that way. . .
But, you know, there's a certain pride of being able to say to the SEC powers-that-be that, hey, we had him first. . .
;)
Buck, my beloved Grandmother, "Munnie" was a wonderful woman. I miss her every day.
ReplyDeleteShe spent some time at that institution when my Daddy, his brother, and sister were small children. Daddy was the oldest of the three. When she died, we found the small child "love letters" that they mailed to her while she was institutionalized. She kept them neatly wrapped in plastic (as she did everything in her house), in a small wooden box (the box was wrapped in plastic, too).
It brought tears to my eyes to read my Daddy's little love letter to his Mama so far away. When I was a kid, I wondered why my beloved grandfather, "Papaw", did not go off to fight in WWII like all the other able bodied men did. Daddy told me that Papaw had "flat feet." Mama told me that Papaw "had more than three broken bones, so the Army rejected him."
It took some time, but after Munnie died, and I read the letters from her love-starved children, I realized that Papaw got some kind of deferment, because he was trying to keep care of his children while Munnie was "away."
Another bell rang. My beloved Great Grandmother, "Mammie," moved to town about that time (1942) from the country (Dubberly, LA). I was always told that she moved to Bossier because her husband was not fit to shoot, and she wanted to make a better life for herself. I miss her every day, too. But, the pieces of the puzzle all started to come together, and I realized that my Great Grandmother came "to town," to help her son-in-law with the children.
I've never been able to really ask Mom or Dad if I'm right. But, I really don't need to. To Mammie's dying day, Papaw, and Daddy spent every waking spare minute with her at the nursing home where she ended up her days here on Earth. Even when she was in such bad shape that she could not have known they were even there...they WERE.
I need to ask Daddy & Mom if I'm right about that before they are gone, too.
Okay...that comment kinda' went off the road, and cleaned out both the ditches...
You may have thought you were in the ditches with this but believe me: you were NOT. I live for these sorts o' stories. Srsly.
DeleteThanks, Buck.
DeleteGo Irish!
(At least for ONE week).
Pam once told me that I should write a screenplay about the whole thing (I just scratched the surface in that comment)...maybe sell it to a producer...would probably end up on Netflix, or one of the 400 TV channels now available. Hell, it'd be better than half the s&%t that makes it as "entertainment" these days.
Her words...
Pam's words are golden. Write it!
Delete@Craig - Thanks for clearing that up. Does make a good bit of sense.
ReplyDeleteBuck, I just might do it...got some great writing friends I can bounce it off of ;).