The Rest of College Football

[Wild Hoss]

246 points.

[Jamie H]

Aah. My mistake.

[UMStan White]

"The first came from Bobby Hebert, a local broadcaster and former Saints quarterback, whose son, T-Bob Hebert, plays center and guard for L.S.U."

Bobby Hebert to Anthony Carter winning the inaugeral USFL title for the Michigan Panthers!

[Jamie H]

I know people are ripping Hebert, but geez, I was thinking the same thing during the game. Why the hell did Miles stick with Jefferson? He was clearly rattled.

Unless Lee was

A) Suspended
B) Drunk
C) Not present at the game

I cannot fathom why he didn't play.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Great stuff ......

I'm like others here. I'm losing interest in the national scene. No one cares about the 10% here though who are discouraged about this because the 90% don't give a shit as long as they can tailgate, paint their faces, get drunk and act like idjits ...... "yee-hah, watch dis."

Watching what's going on in CFB is like watching bankers and the wall street crowd literally make billions over the last 5 years while the value of my house plunged 30% erasing any equity I had in it and my savings stagnate for 4 years prolonging the time I have to stay in the work force. I'm helpless to do anything about that as well as being helpless in doing anything of consequence with the shit that is going on in CFB.

There are solutions out there. The ones that are viable involve fixing the antiquated paradigms that the NCAA invokes involving amateurism. That is key. Without seriously addressing this issue. Nothing substantial is going to change. Moving to a play-off is eye wash and pablum for the masses. That effort, while it would be nice, fails to address the underlying rot that has been present in CFB for a long, long time. Under the table payments for top athletes that the SEC seems to be getting a corner on. Why would any top athlete with eyes on the NFL and little interest in a college degree go to Michigan, or most B10 schools (except osu) for that matter, for God's sake. It's hard academically, it's cold ....... and no one is paying them to go there.

I'm not optimistic. There's too much money involved in keeping things just the way they are. That's not going to keep me from tailgating in Ann Arbor and elsewhere in 2012 .... yee-hah! But I think I'm going to lower my expectations and desires about playing on the national stage. Not even sure I want my team to be there under the circumstances.

[hodgkal]

Here’s my take on this discussion:

We all sense there is something different about SEC football yet it is hard to precisely put your finger on it. My contention is that there is a profound cultural schism between the “old south” and the rest of the nation. It goes back even before the civil war days when poor “hillbilly” types migrated down the Appalachian Ridge to settle in the deep south in the 18th and 19th centuries. The majority of these folks were self-sufficient aggressive people who hated government and believed primarily in their guns and their Bibles. They came from the lowlands of Scotland and Ulster Province in Ireland and they hated the arrogant British who had oppressed them for centuries. They were desperately poor yet proud and were shunned by English settlers in New England when they started to arrive in the early 1700s. These so-called “Scots-Irish” people brought with them their God-fearing, government-hating, military-embracing, booze-loving ways which eventually became the dominant culture of the deep south. Today this culture has diffused over large portions of middle America, and of course has tempered with time. But a lot of it still carries over today and is illustrated by what many here would probably agree is a different attitude toward college football in the states of the old confederacy.

What does all this have to do with the SEC? I guess a look at the map would say a lot. Winning is DIFFERENT for these folks! Not all of them of course, but there remains today a visible cultural gap with the rest of the nation.

I realize this is a bit “over the top” for a Michigan football discussion but it is a phenomenon that has obsessed me for quite some time. If anyone is interested get the book “Born Fighting” by Senator James Webb. It is an in depth review of this history of the “Scots-Irish” who have had such a profound impact on this nation.

[Wild Hoss]

Despite the fact I am (obviously) disgusted and pissed about the current state of things, I think the only viable solution for us as fans is redirect our efforts into enjoying the aspects of the season that have true value.

The national title...that is some near-arbitrary fantasy voted on by a bunch of disphit sportswriters and computer nerds over which you and your team have little to no control over whatsoever. The pursuit of it can be all-engrossing, and frankly unhealthy. (In regards to college football as a whole, I think it undeniably has been)Nebraska fans used to OBSESS over it, to the point where an 11-2 season was a disappointment. That?s a ridiculous attitude, and I am guilty of holding it myself. I think back now on how many games against Missouri, Arizona State, Oklahoma State and others I passed on attending in my younger years because they weren?t "meaningful" in relations to the pursuit of that damn Sears Trophy, or how I was pissed we didn?t clobber them bad enough to impress the voters.

From this perspective, I am doubly grateful to be in the Big Ten. Now I have something else to focus on during the process...familiarizing myself with an entirely new league. New venues, new fanbases, new histories, games against storied opponents (It is supposed to eb about competition after all) and memories to build. I cannot promise I won't slip up, but those aspects are what I hope to focus on going forward. The SEC can go jump in a lake with their trophies for all I care.

[whodean]

Here’s my take on this discussion:

We all sense there is something different about SEC football yet it is hard to precisely put your finger on it. My contention is that there is a profound cultural schism between the “old south” and the rest of the nation. It goes back even before the civil war days when poor “hillbilly” types migrated down the Appalachian Ridge to settle in the deep south in the 18th and 19th centuries. The majority of these folks were self-sufficient aggressive people who hated government and believed primarily in their guns and their Bibles. They came from the lowlands of Scotland and Ulster Province in Ireland and they hated the arrogant British who had oppressed them for centuries. They were desperately poor yet proud and were shunned by English settlers in New England when they started to arrive in the early 1700s. These so-called “Scots-Irish” people brought with them their God-fearing, government-hating, military-embracing, booze-loving ways which eventually became the dominant culture of the deep south. Today this culture has diffused over large portions of middle America, and of course has tempered with time. But a lot of it still carries over today and is illustrated by what many here would probably agree is a different attitude toward college football in the states of the old confederacy.

What does all this have to do with the SEC? I guess a look at the map would say a lot. Winning is DIFFERENT for these folks! Not all of them of course, but there remains today a visible cultural gap with the rest of the nation.

I realize this is a bit “over the top” for a Michigan football discussion but it is a phenomenon that has obsessed me for quite some time. If anyone is interested get the book “Born Fighting” by Senator James Webb. It is an in depth review of this history of the “Scots-Irish” who have had such a profound impact on this nation.

Interesting, how do Blacks (African Americans if you prefer) fit into your equation? How about migratory and population statisitics showing much more population growth in the South and West (much of it people leaving the Midwest)?

[Jamie H]

What does all this have to do with the SEC? I guess a look at the map would say a lot. Winning is DIFFERENT for these folks!

I think this does have a lot to do with it. It is an attitude that certainly isn't restricted to the deep south, but it seems to be especially strong there.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Not over the top, Doc ...... thanks for that take.

I think the view of the culture down here (I live in Atlanta) that you provide helps to explain why there seems to be nothing more than a shoulder shrug when someone points out to the most astute and well educated pure Southern football fans (not the transplanted Yankees like I am) that the SEC massively cheats by persistently violating the most basic NCAA rules. They really don't care.

[hack]

Good call, Doc. Intuitive. This is entirely reckless extrapolation, but I hope Neil Young will remember/A southern man don't need him around anyhow is a terrible comeback if it's one at all, and more or less another example of that same shoulder-shrugging indifference. And, yes -- that's a total reach. Intuitive however.

Does this Scottish/Irish theory extend to Texas as well?

[lineygoblue]

there seems to be nothing more than a shoulder shrug when someone points out to the most astute and well educated pure Southern football fans (not the transplanted Yankees like I am) that the SEC massively cheats by persistently violating the most basic NCAA rules. They really don't care.

Just win, baby.

[lineygoblue]

I guess I better be careful how I respond to that.

My dad's family all hail from southeastern Kentucky, and Harlan County, to be specific. My grandpa helped to organize the United Mine Workers in that area back in the 30's. Grandpa and my dad came to Michigan during WWII because grandpa was blackballed in all the coal mines due to his union activities. He came to Michigan and found work in Flint at GM building war materials.

My mom's family all come from northern New York state, and migrated to Michigan in the early 1900's. They are of German and Scottish descent. They absolutely despised southerners. Hence, my dad was not real welcome in mom's family.

Maybe that's why I love fried chicken and corn bread, but I can't stand the sight of moonshine .... :-)

[whodean]

Harlan County, to be specific.

Home of Deputy US Marshall Raylen Givens!

[lineygoblue]

Yup. Also the site of the longest (and bloodiest) coal miner's strike in the history of the US. I still have family that lives there.