Thank You

A special thank you this week to college football. College football is the one sport that hasn't fallen into the dynasty rut that other sports have gotten wrapped up in. People often wax poetic about past dynasties and how great they were to watch. Great if you're a fan of those teams, miserable for everyone else. I'd rather see things kept fresh.

Take the world series that just wrapped up. The Sawwwwwwx were a fun story in the beginning of this century and they got their title in '04. Now just about everyone on the planet wishes that Manny, Papelbon, Theo and his merry band of stat nerds would go piss on a third rail somewhere. The Sawwwwwwwwx have been shoved down our throats for so long that we're all gagging. Luckily the Yankees look like they will be appreciably worse next year so maybe we'll be spared some of their hype. At least Colorado brought some fresh blood to the postseason, even if the television schedule killed their mo.

Now take a look at the "game of the century" this Sunday. Two teams I don't like in a series that I'm sick of. I was hoping last year would be the nail in the coffin of this series. The only way to choose a team to root for is to root against the team that cheats more. But I won't be overhwhelmingly happy if the Colts win because who isn't tired of seeing Peyton Manning? Let's get someone else in there, preferrably a team that has sucked for a long time and hasn't deserted a city or been an expansion team (that means you Colts, Titans, Rams, Raiders, Ravens, Panthers and any other such team I may have missed that has made the Bowl recently).

Which is why I'm so thankful for college football. Sure USC had a mini-dynasty going there but they had some lean years before that, and we all knew a simpleton like Pete Carroll couldn't keep that up forever. The Pac-10 has raised their game collectively and punched the Trojans in the mouth. USF came back to earth a bit but they brought a whole new name to the table this year. A co-worker of mine said his son wants to go to Rutgers because they have a good football team. Rutgers, I shit you not. UConn has learned that egregious cheating can work on the gridiron as well as it does on the hardwood. Cheating your balls off must be a New England thing. Some may lament that the traditional powers have fallen off and "it just isn't the same". I say that is precisely the best thing the college game has going.