What the Hell Was That?

Hello All,

Last night I watched two different events that overpromised and under delivered, or as I like to call it, pulled a Lance Leggett.

First, that abortion of a football game that was the BCS title game. Everyone save me the "Alabama just played great defense" and the "it was a good game" arguments. That game sucked. It was like watching the first time the varsity played the JV in Mighty Ducks 3, except instead of playing the JV the varsity was playing the special needs team from across town.

Before this game I thought it was the right matchup. These were clearly the two best teams in my eye. Now, it sucks that we had to arrive here using the BCS in lieu of a playoff (which would actually prove whether these were actually the two best teams), but the goal is to match up the two best teams and based on regular season resumes that is what happened.

I also appreciate the SEC style of football, where the dynamic athletes are found on defense and they make no excuses for their desire to come up and hit you. It is big boy football, but not the slow, crappy brand they play in the Big Whatever It Is Called Up North. It is superior to every other brand. If you need proof, look what happens whenever these southern teams hook up with someone from north of The Line or west of the Mississippi. SEC teams can score on anyone as long as the other team isn't in the SEC. The same can not be said in reverse.

Having couched my statement thusly, I can now say that this was a terible game to cap what was, really, a boring season that felt like a chore by the time bowl season came around. LSU thought they could get away with running the option against an Alabama defense that was given 4 weeks to prepare for it. I would have had a better chance running a pick up line on Kate Mara at Club 50 than Jordan Jefferson did of executing that gameplan.

The game did the same rating as Game 6 of the World Series in football starved America. It was down 14% from last season. That about sums up this season. "Down across the board". Instead of great teams rising up, it kind of felt like a season of teams shitting the bed. Alabama was able to win a national title (and I would say they proved they deserved it) without winning their half of their own conference. Enough said.

Meanwhile, NBC hyped up The Firm, starring Josh Lucas, one of my favorite "he's not that good an actor but I like him for whatever reason" actors. I got home from watching the football game pumped up to see this show, which I knew had done a 1.4 rating in The Demo the night before (for those unfamiliar, that is what we like to call "cancelled after one fucking episode"territory). For some reason I just thought this would be a show for an active consumer of television, but probably not for everyone, kind of like LSU- Alabama was supposed to be a football game for the true football fan.

I lasted 8 minutes before deciding that it was so bad I needed to turn it off.

So what did they have in common?

Both starred southerners that have impressed me in the past. Both were based on a successful prequel (the book and movie "The Firm" / Alabama-LSU Part I). Both kept me entertained for roughly 8 minutes before their fraud became apparent.

At the end of the day I kind of wish neither had happened, because they both took a little bit away from something I really liked.

I woke up this morning kind of hoping this was a bad dream and I would have something to look forward to today. Alas, I have to write them both off as reality, realities I will never get back.

Oh well. We are now in the college football offseason, the 8 month winter that seems to get longer every year.

This season was a dissapointment, both as a Miami fan and as a college football fan. It is now over, put to rest, after meeting an unceremonious end.

How many days 'til kickoff?