College football is filled with tradition and pageantry. Fans of each team in every conference of major college football will be able to give reason after reason why their favorite team and / or conference is the best. I suppose I'm no different. I'm obviously biased and partial to the Georgia Bulldogs and the Southeastern Conference. Whether it is the multiple national and conference championships, the Heisman trophy winners, the Hedges or the line of purebred white English Bulldogs named Uga, I see myriad of reasons to be partial to the Bulldogs.
College football programs (as well as basketball and baseball) are cyclical at best. There are very few dynasties that last more than a few years, before rebuilding must occur. The true fan will ride the wave of the good years and tread the water of the bad. The disappointments of a coaches decision and a players' inability to execute the play on the field can add to the frustration of seasons gone awry. It's easy to point fingers and make excuses, but the fact remains, there must be a winner and a loser. The 'what-ifs' of life will not yield the character that sportsmanship and athletics desire to build in the life of the athlete ~ and the fan.
College football has, somewhat sadly, become as much a business as a tradition. In case you haven't noticed that fact, check the latest ticket prices to attend a game. Somehow, there are 90,000+ fans who are willing to pay exorbitant prices to paint their faces, drive their expensive campers to weekend-long tailgating parties, and spend more money than the average person could imagine are making sure a working, middle-class family of four cannot reasonably attend a game.
Coaches make thousands, if not millions, of dollars annually, and are forced year in and year out to prove their worth. Unfortunately, this sometimes leads to allegations, investigations, and sometimes penalizing innocent young men; for you see, it is always the players who are years removed from the infraction who must pay the price for their predecessors wrongdoings. Much like an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the field, it's always the one who retaliates who draws the yellow hankey to the turf.
"Its just a game," some say. Superficially, those fine folks are correct. Football, basketball, baseball, soccer ~ they're games. Like Scrabble, Monopoly, Rook, and Tiddly-winks ~ they're games. The difference is these games have the timeless tradition, the proud pageantry and the glorious grandeur of serious competition. Week in and week out rivals run deep and bragging rights are on the line. Friends and families are sometimes split for just a few hours on a Saturday afternoon or evening because after the National Anthem plays, until there is no time left in the 4th Quarter, it's strictly competition.
Because of these rivalries, there are some teams in the Southeastern Conference that I cannot, in good conscience, root for unless they are playing in a bowl game against another conference. I have many friends who are die-hard fans of all the teams in the SEC. This past weekend, Gators and Elephants (why they're called the Crimson Tide, I don't know) played for the most prized possession of the Southeastern Conference ~ the Conference championship. Along with it, this season (as in the past several), the winner gets the chance to play for the National Championship. I have dear friends who wore crimson and white as well as blue and orange. Some even in the same family! There are players on each SEC team that I admire and whose abilities I respect. There are coaches who I admire ~ others I loathe. But at the end of the tongue in cheek trash talk, when the clock has said 0:00 the fourth time, we're still friends. Whether you're a Vol, a 'Dore, an Elephant, Tiger (choose whichever version may apply), Hog, Wildcat, Rebel, Rooster, the wrong Bulldog, or yes, even a Gator, I love ya ~ even if I root for the other team. Because there are just some teams I cannot bring myself to root for.
No comments:
Post a Comment