Road Games - Football and Fútbol

Several New Posts up at the Sports Trough

2011-09-09T19:42:00.002-05:00

Hey Gang,

I've been getting back on the horse lately. Just not on this site, Join me at the all-new Sports Trough, covering a lot more than college football, though I rarely participate in coverage of other sports, the guys do a great job on NFL, baseball, and whatever else is in the news.

My stuff this week:
Why Texas A&M's SECession is your fault
Week #2 Predictions with Michael
Why you should root for Michigan tomorrow and GO BLUE

And finally, they dragged me into some NFL stuff and made me join their Eliminator Pool. But I took advantage of the assignment to poke some fun at them.

Speaking of eliminations, I still find this goofy show hysterical. Posted because it's Friday night and there's only one game on...

Week #1 College Picks

2011-09-01T11:25:00.002-05:00

Over at the Sports Trough, Mike and I go through our picks for week #1 of the college football season. Check it out!

Road Games College Pick 'Em (The Big Ten Den)

2011-08-16T10:31:00.002-05:00

We're just a few weeks away from kickoff, and that means a reprise of the annual tradition of Pick 'Em. Pick the winning teams across 20 games or so each week and garner glory and admiration.

How to play? Simple!

1. Go here. Sign up.

2. Click the "Join a Group" button

3. Enter:
Group ID#: 4318
Password: goblue

4. Liberally talk trash on the message board.

5. Pick your winners each week, ranking by confidence. 1=least confident, N=most confident. Straight up, no spreads.

6. Celebrate when you win it all. Like these folks:

Dissent on a Descent

2011-08-14T18:36:00.004-05:00

AKA: A Tale of Two Disasters.

New column about Argentine soccer posted at the Sports Trough. Included in the post, for your viewing pleasure, the most complete fan meltdown of all time. Enjoy!

Death Is On the Line

2011-06-24T09:04:00.005-05:00

NOTE: This column is double-posted over at a brand new website for which I am a contributor, The Sports Trough. So check out all the new stuff there!

Imagine if you will, that during the New York Knicks’ various failures over the last decade there was something far more important at stake. Or that the Chicago Cubs were on the verge of significant consequences for their futility beyond continued razzing from White Sox fans. What if the Knicks were relegated to the NBDL, and the Cubs to AAA ball? Can you imagine the Nashville Sounds playing a summer classic at Wrigley? How would the fans react? Would they violently revolt, or just leave the team completely? What about all the lost TV revenue? These are just a few of the concerns at stake this Sunday in Buenos Aires.

In Argentine soccer, two teams rise above all others in terms of popularity. The owners of the “Superclasico” and one of the most renowned rivalries in all of sport: River Plate and Boca Juniors. In recent polls, roughly 80% of all Argentines root for one of these two teams over all others. They have the most money, and some would argue the richest history. But all that people know about soccer in Argentina may change in just a few days. Over the last three years, both teams have been in a steady decline, clinging to veterans who were either over the hill or lacking the desire to fight for victories. And that freefall has put River in a suddenly extremely precarious position.

There are five levels of soccer leagues in the country, and the bottom two teams from each division are relegated down a notch at the end of every season, with the top two teams sent up. The next two lowest performers get a chance to fight to stay with the big boys. There are only three teams that have never been sent down to the B league: Boca, River, and Independiente. River, for the first time in their history, is now fighting for their lives. Their fans refer to themselves as “The Millionaires,” but the equal parts shock, shame, and disgust they are enduring is unheard of in the 110 year history of the club, and they are feeling nothing like a million bucks.

After several seasons of struggles, River cleaned house, fired their third head coach in a year, and started the season with a lot of hope. After seven games, they were just a few points out of first place. But as quickly as the hope arrived, they began to lose. Seemingly every week. In the last week, they had to win or tie to avoid the “promotion” (games against a B team, the winner of which ends up in the top league). They gave up a goal in the last few minutes to lose 2-1, and the players left the field under a hail of bottles, garbage, and anything else their fans could grab. Instead of Millionaires, they performed more like the derisive nickname their rivals apply to them: the Chickens.

The Promotion works thusly: The fourth worst team from the top division plays the fourth best team from the B division twice. Once on each team’s home turf. After both games, they take the sum of the goals. In the case of a tie, the team from the top division wins.

Wednesday night, some 400 miles from home, River took the field against Belgrano de Cordoba, and laid an egg. The Cordobeses were clearly more prepared for the game, and, with their home crowd going bonkers, blasted in a penalty kick after a clear handball in the penalty box 25 minutes into the game. From that point on, as they have all season when under a bit of pressure, River collapsed. Despite a steady string of free kicks and corners, they got few quality chances and played sloppy the rest of the first half. Eight minutes into the second, Belgrano notched a superb goal by César Pereya. And at that moment, 40% of Argentina was shitting their pants or smashing their television or both.

But what happened next was even more surprising. Suddenly there were fans on the field, not streaking or trying to steal the ball, but attacking the River players. At first it seemed these were fans of Belgrano, trying to celebrate, as they wore no gear marking their allegiance. Instead, these were River fans so enraged by what they were seeing that they tore through the fence separating them from the field. “Find your balls!” yelled one fan as he gave a two-handed shove to a midfielder. After a 20 minute delay and the crowd threatened firehoses, play resumed. Needless to say, this did not help River find balls of any kind, and they returned to the capital under heavy guard with a deficit of two goals.So this Sunday, at 3pm, they will take the field in the largest stadium in the country, but they don’t even know whether their fans will be rooting for them. In fact, with good reason, it is more likely the players will fear for their lives. The murder of soccer players who err is not unheard of in Latin America, and when you consider the sheer quantity of enraged Millionaires/Chickens, if I were a player, I would be worried about any public appearance.

There are other factors worth mentioning. There is a tremendous amount of money at stake. For the television alone, River will make 10 times less money in the B division. Not to mention the fact that nobody will be buying jerseys, hats, or probably even tickets. Some teams go to the B and never come back. River has enough funding that this is unlikely, but even playing in the Promotion was unheard of before this week.

Rival factions are conflicted. The sheer pleasure they have taken over these last two weeks in relentlessly making fun of the River fans has possibly been enough. And many don’t wish to see River leave the top league. Boca, for one, stands to lose money, and to a certain degree all teams do. Think what would happen if the Cubs never played any major competition. That’s a huge fan base that no longer buys visitors’ tickets.

For all the Machiavellian thinking we hear about how the NBA is fixed or that the MLB doesn’t care about their small-market teams, you wouldn’t believe some of the accusations levied at the AFA before the first Promotion game even took place. Everyone is assuming that somehow the league will ensure that River wins the last game by at least two goals. That the refs will be bought off, that fans will storm the field to disrupt the game in a way that affects the scoreboard, that God will come down and declare River the overall winner. Belgrano is likely going to have to play out of their minds just to lose by only one.

I arrived in Argentina with the chance to pick any team from the 20 in the top division. That’s a rare opportunity in life, and after great research and contemplation, I settled on Independiente. River is not our top Rival, but definitely our second. Think Notre Dame/Michigan. And they always beat us. I am not conflicted. I have every desire to see Belgrano win 3-0. My wife (also, not coincidentally an Independiente fan), is of the same mind. And there are so many reasons for this. Perhaps this is comparable Alabama fans rooting for Auburn in their bowl game – something I just can’t fathom. I want River, and all their Chicken followers to suffer. After this, I want to see them go to the C, then the D (note: this will not happen ever, but a guy can dream).

Watching this River team play, they collapse once things go badly. Like Stan Van Gundy said about the Atlanta Hawks, they’re “frontrunners.” Only in this case, they are rarely in front. Now they have to come back home, play in front of 58,000 fans, most of whom want them dead, and find a way to win by two goals. That’s going to be some pregame locker room.

Death is on the line Sunday. Surely at risk is the legacy of one of the world’s most famous futbol clubs. Hopefully nothing more grave. I’m sure the government will try to put 58,000 cops on the field, just in case. If it weren’t a Sunday, it would be the ideal day to rob a bank. I can say this. I’m keeping the hell away from that stadium, and will be eagerly watching the drama unfold on TV, rooting for ruin and heartbreak. It’s a rare opportunity to see a nationwide car wreck live. With slow-motion replays. Today, I’m a Cordobés, too.

A Proposal to Solve the Student-Athlete Problem

2010-12-14T05:20:00.018-06:00

This is a particularly long posting. If you don't want to read all the background, just page down to "A fair solution."

A couple years ago, I started reading Rick Telander's 1990 book, The Hundred Yard Lie. I was just beginning with the writing of my (still in progress) book and was looking for inspiration. I had always admired Telander's writing, and figured this would provide an interesting angle on the game. I was right, but also very wrong. This was Telander's "goodnight and good luck" to a sport he had enjoyed his entire life, first as a player and then in his career as a journalist. After this book, he vowed to cover college football no longer. He had seen too much hypocrisy, corruption, and fraud to continue pretending it was all OK. It is one of the most depressing books I have read, and in the end I couldn't encourage myself to finish it. Why would I want to be reminded all the reasons why my favorite sport is inherently wrong in very big ways in addition to its various small problems (BCS, coaches voting, inane overtime format)?

But it's important to understand that the ever-present elephant in the room has been there for decades. Telander's book is 20 years old and none of his complaints has been addressed. None of his suggestions has been taken. He reached his breaking point a long time ago and probably made the right decision to move on. But where does that leave the rest of us?

The Cam Newton saga has unfolded just like most people expected it would. We know that (A) there was some pretty shady stuff going on but (B) it's not surprising that shady stuff goes on because (C) a player like Newton stands to bring a lot more to the university than it does to him yet (D) it would be a shame if Newton himself did something wrong. The NCAA's lack of direct evidence got the 2010 season off the hook. As fans we get the celebration of a deservedly landslide Heisman winner loaded with caveats.

Image courtesy of EDSBS and LSU Freek

Yes, college football's biggest problem isn't going away anytime soon. There are too many people with too much money at stake. Enforcement will never be able to catch up with everything that goes on, and is not much of a deterrent for those breaking the rules. USC is currently slammed with penalties, but what did Reggie Bush himself have to pay? He gave up an important trophy, but little else. Nefarious people with open palms will always lurk around impressionable youth that can help them prosper. At this point, most believe that too much money is being made for none of it to go back to the players actually generating the cash.

But it's not so simple

Much like the annual Playoffs versus BCS debate, an issue that seems relatively simple is far more complex than it appears. If you asked the majority of fans, they would say "pay the players." But let's first get a few things straight.

Thing 1: The players are already paid. Football scholarships include tuition, room and board, tutoring, and often times compensation for books or a small bit of spending money. Across the entire NCAA, there are over $1 billion in scholarship per year across over 126,000 athletes. Some say that this shouldn't count. That they can't take a typical class load because their priority is football. Obviously, playing big-time football is perhaps the most arduous of extracurricular activities. But let's see just what that scholarship is worth. At my alma mater, Michigan, a year's worth of tuition, room and board, and fees are worth over $49,000 per year for an out of state student, not counting summer semesters. A large number of football players would never have the chance to go to college without the sport. Juggling the demands of team and classes is a tremendous challenge. But many are able to handle it across all levels of collegiate athletics. If they choose not to take advantage of the opportunity they've earned for themselves, that is their fault. The same goes for the student body at large. Plenty of students drop out all the time. Few of them can blame anyone but themselves.

Thing 2: College football and basketball earn money to support the other non-revenue sports. That's a worthwhile and important thing. College swim teams cost every one of their universities money. There's another debate to be had here, but when thinking about these budgets, we must take into account that the other sports are drinking from the football team's hose.

Thing 3: In the FBS side alone, there are 120 teams with 85 scholarship players a piece, plus walk-ons. Can we really say that all the players are contributing equally? That is to say, does Auburn backup punter Steven Clark fill the SEC's coffers to the same degree that Newton does? Of course not. In fact, it is the players like Newton who bring in so much money to the university that help pay for Clark's scholarship in the first place. In this regard, he is no different than whoever swims butterfly on the Tigers' medley relay.

It's a big pie and it's made of trillion dollar bills

Make no mistake. We are talking about a hell of a lot of money. In 2009, Ohio State spent $32.3 million on their football program. They brought in over $65 million, hence the aforementioned Thing 2 above is no minor detail. Despite what you may think about his personal character, Terrelle Pryor has a lot to do with all of those dollars.
Where does the money come from? Primarily four places: ticket sales, merchandising, alumni/booster donations, and TV. The more successful a team or conference is, the more they will have of all of these things. But let's try to bring this back in terms of how the players affect this.

Ticket Sales: The top programs are sold out every year no matter what happens. If they start losing all their games, they will see an impact on attendance, but the failure has to go on for a long time. In an under-construction stadium, coming off a 3-9 season with little reason for hope, Michigan still sold out every game in 2009. Fielding Yost has more to do with Michigan's success in selling tickets than does Denard Robinson. A middle-ground program such as Georgia Tech is going to experience more fluctuation. The Yellow Jackets saw their numbers rise by over 4,000 spectators per game between 2008 and 2009, a season that ended with them in the Orange Bowl. The players and coaching staff earned that extra attendance and deserve the credit. Still, all that winning resulted in less than a 10% increase in tickets sold.

Winning games helps earn a bit more more gate revenue, but do we really want to start paying players based on how many games their team wins? I don't think this is what most "pay the players" advocates have in mind. Correct me if I'm mistaken.

Merchandising and Donations: I would argue that these work much the same as ticket sales. People buy Alabama t-shirts because they love the program. Sometimes they pick a certain number on their jersey to represent the star quarterback, but they also know that it's only his number for four years. There is never a name on the back of the jersey. Tons of Michigan fans wear #1. Does that represent Anthony Carter or Braylon Edwards? Or for nobody since the number's not assigned right now? Wins and losses are going to impact fan support more than anything else.

Television: The TV money being given to the conferences these days is astounding. Street & Smith's estimates that the Big Ten Network could bring $2.8 Billion to the conference over the life of the deal. The SEC's 15 year deals with the ESPN and the CBS are worth over $3 Billion combined. This is an awful lot of cash. It greatly helps with Thing 2 above, but it also pays Nick Saban's salary. Its importance as a revenue factor will only continue to increase. ESPN just announced that 2010 was their most-watched season since 1994. (HT: Doc Sat) Think these contracts are going to get smaller in future seasons?

A fair solution

So can we all agree this is a complex problem? Someone with more time and data on their hands could calculate exactly how much money Cam Newton's efforts have earned for Auburn University and the SEC. Needless to say, we're talking about a hell of a lot more than a year's tuition. Someone of Newton's caliber is almost always going to end up in the NFL and make millions. One could argue that he is getting a free audition loaded with highlight reel successes. It's clear that the most successful college players generally profit in the end. But there will always be the Tommie Fraziers who never earn NFL riches. And furthermore, is "future potential" fair compensation? Remember that we're talking about numbers in the billions of dollars just for the TV contracts.There is a solution that makes sense. It may not be perfect, but it is just. Paying players across the board is not really the issue here. All are already paid, and they do not contribute to the money pile equally. The area where star players have the greatest immediate impact is in TV viewership. TV viewership is the reason that the SEC and the Big Ten and even the Mountain West are bringing in millions of dollars via those contracts. Millions of people tune in to see Cam Newton, Denard Robinson, and Patrick Peterson. The networks use these names to promote their broadcasts which in turn drives viewership which in turn brings revenue from advertisers.

My proposal, The Marketing Trust, is simple: pay the players based on how they are used in marketing these games. Yes, it's two steps removed from the actual revenue stream, but it will work. If ABC wants to put Terrelle Pryor in a commercial to advertise The Game, they should have to pay him. Pay would be based on how the player's image is used. Mention their name, that's $1,000 every time the ad runs. Use a still photo, $2,000. Show one of their highlights, $3,000. Details would have to be worked out regarding whether an athlete is actually "in" the ad. What should be done regarding offensive linemen blocking for LaMichael James in a highlight clip? They get paid less, but they still get paid. A DB being burned by Justin Blackmon? He gets paid, too. Even Hollywood pays the extras a little. Whether I have nailed down the right figures is unimportant. The players driving ad revenue deserve a percentage of these colossal TV contracts, and this would make provide value on what is deserved.

But the athletes would not be paid directly. For each player, a trust would be created that could invest the money accumulated. The account would be turned over to the athlete upon graduation or two years after their eligibility ends, whichever comes first. Those playing after completing their undergraduate degrees would have to wait for eligibility to end. They would therefore remain amateurs for the time being. Any unscrupulous income or other rules violation would void their earned money and send it back to general scholarship funds.

This would remain a closed system, administered by the NCAA and the conferences. Once the appropriate dollar figures are assigned, the process would be as simple as tagging a Facebook photo. There would be no special negotiations for the biggest stars, and no outside forces could affect payments. Players appearing in ads get money sent to their trust. Official, on-air copy read by announcers qualifies as well.

What if the networks were to avoid using athletes in their ads? Don't hold your breath. As attractive as a pair of Georgia and Florida helmets crashing together in a fiery explosion may be, ESPN is going to want to lure viewers in with a bit more. The networks have been promoting these games with the faces and actions of student athletes for decades and that's not going to change any time soon.

Would the networks actually want to go for this program? If they end up paying the same amount to the conferences they already are, they would have no problem. Would the conferences want to go for this program? Not if it costs them a lot of money. So both sides would need to meet somewhere in the middle and divide the expense equally. It may seem like a significant amount of money, but for them it's going to be a drop in the bucket, and both sides get a major publicity win. Instituting this program will only increase viewership from NFL fans who may have trouble with the integrity of the sport.

My only reservation with this approach is that it gives further competitive advantage in recruiting for name programs. Would an athlete ever choose Purdue over Ohio State given the fact that they are much less likely to be heavily marketed? Still, we are tying things back to the ones who are earning the revenue. Cam Newton could have ended up staying at Florida or gone to another of the highest profile programs. In the end, there's no way he could have been a bigger marketing tool than he was at Auburn. With nearly all BCS conference games appearing on TV somewhere these days, the chance to start playing right away at a less renowned program can even things out.

I have long been in the camp of saying that the scholarship, room and board, and BMOC status should be enough. Reading Telander's book convinced me that we have a problem, and I did my best to ignore it as long as I could. I'm not saying that this would totally eliminate bad people doing bad things with bad money. But it would certainly help fight temptation, especially for the players with the highest promise. More importantly, it's the right thing to do for those who are risking their health for our enjoyment.

Devotion and Doubt

2010-11-28T14:54:00.011-06:00

I found myself rooting for Alabama over Auburn this past weekend. But I wasn't sure why. Maybe it's because I was still hoping that Boise State would get a shot at the title, and I figured that was the easiest way they could get there. Or because in Pick 'Em I needed a big upset to have to chance to come back in the standings. Or because when I hear that "S-E-C! S-E-C!" nonsense I feel like a cat being petted in the wrong direction - uncomfortably testy. Auburn was one of the last stops on my road trip, and despite my exhaustion it was probably the best Thanksgiving Friday of my life. The fans were as generous with me as anyone, and a jovial day ended with a hearty celebration at Toomer's Corner. My heart should probably always be with Auburn in the Iron Bowl, but I needed my brain to give it the reminder.

I moved to Argentina two and a half years ago, and have felt more distant from college football each season. Not that I haven't been paying attention, but it's just not the same when you can't take in the whole Saturday. Reading box-scores as they come in just isn't the same. I can curse the fact that internet here is too slow to stream all I want, but it doesn't change the situation. The last two weeks, I took an extended break to celebrate Thanksgiving with the family and got to behave like a real fan again. Oh how I have missed taking in the full slate of games every week. That said, it did not go very well for me and my team.

I've been on the side of giving Rich Rodriguez another year, but it was based on limited information. I haven't been able to actually watch many of the games over the past three seasons. I've had to go on box scores, bloggers' analyses, and angry or relief-filled e-mails from friends. In statistics, we'd say that a model built on limited data like this has a lot of error. Over the past two weeks I gathered more info. I watched not just Michigan's games against Wisconsin and Ohio State, but various other teams playing various other games. During the Ohio State/Iowa game last week, it struck me how they limit their mistakes to the bare minimum. They are not a superb team, especially on offense. But it's not like they're a good enough team to truly dominate. Except for those occasions when Pryor goofs, the team never shoots themselves in the foot.

It strikes me that as Michigan fans, we must watch between our fingers, waiting for the next big mistake. On Saturday, otherwise reliable receivers dropped easy and hard passes all day. It was sunny and dry. There was no reason for these gaffes. The best offensive play of the afternoon, the one Michigan's run all season where Denard Robinson jab-steps and then throws deep over the middle was negated because of the stupidest of penalties. The defense started out playing strong, but eventually the mistakes arrived via missed tackles or by players being out of position.

It is clear that Rodriguez is a talented coach when it comes to schemes and running an aggressive offense. Whatever he has done to coach Denard in the offseason and during this year has worked tremendously well. Last year Denard wasn't remotely a quarterback. This year he broke records. And I'm willing to forgive his proclivity to turn the ball over as that's what first-year starters often do. But the team is clearly not prepared to play. At the end of the year, the kinks should already be worked out and the blooper-reel stuff eliminated. What we saw the last two weeks simply cannot happen. Maybe they had a bad couple of weeks, or perhaps the team is tired. I'm still working with limited data here, though the more I gain, the bleaker the picture becomes.

If Michigan can indeed snag Jim Harbaugh now, it's clearly the choice with a higher probability of long-term success. Rodriguez was not dealt the best hand when he arrived at Michigan. The talent wasn't there, and many people were working against him, hard. From the old-schoolers in the athletic department who wanted Les Miles, to the Detroit Free Press' hatchet men, to the litigious WVU Athletic Department, he had a lot of unfair stuff to deal with. I am sure the team will improve next year if he stays. There are few seniors, and the offensive recruits coming in seem to have a lot of potential. And it would be impossible for the defense to be any worse, even if Greg Robinson is miraculously spared the axe. Maybe the continuation of this nadir is not all Rodriguez's fault, but that doesn't really matter anymore. It's like one of those sad country songs where the singer burdens himself with blame, but gives a fair share to the fates. Either way, the dude's just going to be miserable for a while, and there's not much he can do to lift his spirits.

I am now very concerned about the ceiling of the team with Rodriguez. If they can't catch a pass in the most important game of the year, and can't stop getting dumb penalties, and can't be in position, will they ever be an elite team? Because that's the real reason Ohio State has now won seven times in a row. They get the most out of the players they have. This year, I'd say we got the most out of just a handful: Denard and one or two offensive lineman. That, more than anything makes me think it's time to cut bait. It's pretty clear that Jim Harbaugh gets the most out of his talent.

Again, I'm out of the loop. I can't even decide which teams to root for anymore. Not seeing games hurts all of it. I guess I still need to hear what people like Brian and Dave have to say. They've been preaching patience all year. But after they saw what we all saw these last two weeks, I can't imagine they have a lot left. Suddenly, a bowl game is small consolation.

At the very least I am thankful to have endured those games and seen so many others. Reading about how Boise State saved their season with a last second bomb only to blow it on two botched chipshots pales in comparison to taking it in live. At the very least I have come to a conclusion about something. Next year, I'm finding a way to spend my Saturdays with football, even if I have to move. Either that or I'll have to buy a guitar and pick up a drawl so I can lament my various losses in song.

FREEDOM IS SLAVERY

2010-08-30T12:18:00.002-05:00

A couple years back, I did a crazy thing. I quit a perfectly good job and drove my ass around the whole country going to football games. This didn’t happen on a whim. It was an irrepressible urge. I wanted to see the whole country, and there was no better way to do it than via college football. But I needed to meet the fans from around the nation. The idea had lodged itself in various states of my consciousness for six years before finally compelling me to action.

I intended the adventure to be focused on the tradition inherent to college football. I wanted to know why it was so much more important to us than for fans of other sports. But after just a few games, I realized that tradition wasn’t as coveted as I thought it was. It got a whole lot of lip service, but fans had short memories, and their worldview was often not aligned with their stated respect for tradition. This surprised and disappointed me. I learned that for most fans, the desire to fully embrace tradition will always be overwhelmed by devotion to the program. This is true even if it requires self-delusion. We have always been at war with Eastasia.

So it was that one of the overarching themes of my trip became the inherent battle between tradition and progress. They are diametrically opposed, especially as it relates to this wonderful sport. The battle kept surfacing, whether it was Bowls versus Playoffs, SEC fans rooting for their bitterest rivals in bowl games, or students tacking a “Go Blue!” onto the end of “The Victors.” (This still feels appallingly wrong to me.) Even my choice to save time by speeding along Interstate 40 instead of leisurely getting my kicks on Route 66 showed that progress often has its place.

But my goodness, there are limits. If the reports are true, it is 80% certain that Michigan and Ohio State will be placed in separate divisions, and probably play in the middle of the season. Doc Saturday has clearly outlined all the reasons this is stupid, so I won’t even get into the rationale. Stupid is the word. Stupid beats out ill-conceived, reckless, or any other depressing word you want to apply. This is a stupid, stupid idea.

These men agree. With each other.

So what’s the big deal? Plenty of important people do stupid things all the time. As I said, tradition in college football is sadly overrated and becoming more so every year. And as much as many fans may dislike this erosion, they accept it because it’s still the best game in the world. But there are bridges too far. If the bloggers are any indication of where fans stand, the followers of Michigan and Ohio State are presenting a united front. For the core fans, there’s no question this stupid decision will sour them. For the casual ones (read: incremental dollars), the only benefit is that rare and surely elusive rematch, a meager benefit that will be more than balanced out by The Game no longer being The Game.

There’s something really big at stake here. The decision has not yet been made official. Every other change we’ve seen, at least you could argue both sides for fans and players alike. The fans have spoken clearly this time. Not all change is good, especially when it’s stupid. But will anybody care what we have to say? Will anyone actually listen? Are they not only poised to make a stupid decision, but ignore those who have tried desperately to set them straight? The Big Ten fashions itself to be the conference of stalwart tradition, keeping the Rose Bowl stashed away in its favorite jewelry box, not to be shared. Yet, what greater tradition is there than The Game? If the fans will not be listened to now, they will never be listened to about anything. This is the most extreme case we will ever see. This is a litmus test for the sport. Does tradition matter in the slightest? If Delaney moves The Game, then it is dead, and we might as well start having fanstasy drafts and Budweiser hot seats and “He Hate Me” on the backs of uniforms.

Seriously, this is the guy in charge. OK, well maybe he just looks like him.

What I finally discovered was that my big road trip was not about blind devotion to all things sacred. It was about what makes us fans in the first place. That’s a much longer conversation (you can read the book if I ever finish it). The gist of it is that we get to go back to college a few Saturdays a year. And we like going back to college because it was one of the greatest times in our lives. We adore The Game, even when it treats us badly, because it has given us the highest of highs and the lowest of lows but rarely anything in between. It is supreme, thrilling victory, or utter devastation. Every year. This result simply cannot happen in October.

Regarding the importance of tradition, I eventually found acceptance and embraced the difference between me and (some of) you. And, much later, Lloyd Carr even convinced me that we should have a playoff. Perhaps I’m not such a nostalgic codger after all. I’ve come around a bit. Really, I have. Go ahead, kids. Play in my yard. Just try not to burn down my fucking garage while you’re at it.

Other voices from the choir:
Brian talks sense
Ramzy correctly puts things in perspective
M-Zone comes out of retirement!
Add your name to the Facebook page here. It's (quite literally) the least you can do.

UPDATE: Some useful e-mail addresses here. Send a courteous note or sit on your hands. Don't mail theses people a dickish rant just 'cause I deployed the f-word (HT: M-zone):
Dave Brandon (U-M AD): DABran@umich.edu
Gene Smith (OSU AD): Smith.5407@osu.edu
Mary Sue Coleman (U-M President): PresOff@umich.edu
Gordon Gee (OSU President): Gordon.Gee@osu.edu
Jim Delany (Big 10 Commissioner): JDelany@bigten.org

Road Games College Pick 'Em (aka The Big Ten Den)

2010-08-01T19:55:00.006-05:00

We're just a month away from kickoff, and that means a reprise of the annual tradition of Pick 'Em. Pick the winning teams across 20 games or so each week and garner glory and admiration.

How to play? Simple!

1) Go here. Sign up.

2) Click the "Join Group" button

3) Enter:
Group ID#: 1837
Password: goblue

4) Talk some trash on the message board

5) Once the games begin, please at least try to beat the dude who lives in Argentina (me)

...any questions, drop me a line.

The Well Worn Practice of Self-Delusion

2010-07-16T07:22:00.001-05:00

I’ve been through this before. Lots of times. In your heart of hearts you feel things that don’t make sense. You approach the situation with your brain of brains. You say, “Man, this looks pretty bad, if we win it will be a miracle.” And if the game were to happen right then, you’d stay in your brain of brains and robotically accept the results.

But time passes. You read an optimistic report from a blogger who lives in his heart of hearts all day long, and he punches a small crack in the façade. Once you pry open the door to optimism, the train has left the station and won’t stop until you reach “We’re gonna do it” land. It happened to me again.

Aside from their red-card aided loss to Serbia, Germany had been the clear top dog in this World Cup. Argentina had only played one decent opponent. Still, with Messi, with Tevez, even with Maradona who had appeared to have learned a thing or two about coaching soccer, many were picking them to win the game. It didn’t take much for them to convince me. I already had punched that crack in the façade myself. In soccer, everyone always has a chance. You never really close that door.

Towards the end of my big road trip, I returned to Ann Arbor for The Game against Ohio State. Michigan fans had been enduring an ungainly year, one that began with losses to Appalachian State and Oregon. Yet, despite it all, the team had a chance for the Rose Bowl if they could just beat Ohio State. The Buckeyes had lost to Illinois; they weren’t an unstoppable force. But Hart and Henne were both playing hurt, and there was no reasonable way to believe that Michigan would come through.

But as the week progressed, I started to believe. More than anything, after driving 14,181 miles I felt like I deserved it. How illogical is that? Of course I was dead wrong. It was one of the most boring football games I’ve ever seen, a 17-3 punt-fest in which Michigan never remotely threatened to win. I deserved nothing, despite my self-convincing.

When you’re winning, a soccer match takes an eternity. When you’re losing, they fly by. Argentina's 4-0 defeat was done in a flash. People here could accept defeat, but 4-0. 4-0!?! It ripped the heart out of the country. When the game ended, the city was dead quiet. Even the birds and the breeze were in hiding.

That’s what sucks about self-delusion. It always comes to an end, but there’s no way to know ahead of time. I really don’t know squat about soccer, and still managed to convince myself that victory would be ours. What is wrong with me? Nothing that's not wrong with everyone who wants his team to win I suppose. SI's Joe Posnanski did the same thing while hoping for a compassionate LeBron.

As night fell, Buenos Aires began to shake off the stink of failure. People left their homes to have a coffee, talking meekly of things other than futbol. I found myself in a taxi with a driver who was not so shy. "That was an embarrassment! Argentina should never have lost that game!" I told him that was 4-0, and Germany has been the best team so far. "No. Argentina is better, and should have won!" I must say I admired the man for the willful optimism even after such a stark result. Maybe self-delusion can be used to obscure reality instead of making it sting. But in the face of such a strong reaction, I had nothing much to say. I was as silent as the birds during the afternoon.

Crazy for the Copa

2010-06-07T07:32:00.002-05:00

Alternate title: Loco por los goles

If I were still in the US, I am sure I would be paying attention to the World Cup. In a week or so. At least some of the games. But as I happen to be living outside of North America, my new neighbors are doing their best to infect me with their fever. Obviously, one of the perks of moving to Argentina was being able to live in a futbol-crazed land during the World Cup. We're still a week away, and the hype is living up to, well, the hype.

The event taken over the entire city. The best analogy I can think of is if the Super Bowl were to go on for a month and if two thirds of the league was invited to compete. But only if we had waited four years since the last one. Two months ago my male coworkers started drawing up scenarios on whiteboards, and getting excited over potential matchups like North Korea vs South Korea, and "colonial combat" like USA/England, Brazil/Portugal, and Chile/Spain. About ten days ago, the women became infected, too. This commercial is alarmingly accurate:

Argentina just celebrated its Bicentennial a couple of weeks ago. The entire city was decked out in flags and ribbons. Argentina being Argentina, many buildings didn't get their act together very quickly and hastily draped the Celeste y Blanco just a day or two before the event. Lucky for them, there is reason to leave the decorations up. This isn't like keeping your Christmas lights blinking until Easter. If anything, the purpose is far more immediate now. Recent studies have shown that the country's populous is in a better mood and has more optimism about the nation's future during the tournament.

Though opinions abound, nobody really has any idea how the Argentine team is going to do. Members of the international press have universally labeled them the "most intriguing" team in the tournament. They're right.

Let's review the backstory in brief. Argentina has some of the best players in the world, including the reigning Golden Boot winner, Lionel Messi. Couple that with a long history of success, and anything less than reaching the semifinals is an automatic letdown. But Team Argentina had been seriously struggling with disappointing performances in World Cup qualifiers and friendlies alike. This led the AFA to take the desperate decision of putting the squad in the hands of God, aka Diego Maradona. Maradona, as you may know, is one of the most famous footballers in history, and a national treasure. He's also had trouble with drugs and never proven himself to be a successful coach. Nevertheless, to most Argentines, he is surely a deity, and in the city of Rosario, there is even a religion dedicated to him. The decision was risky, but nearly all Argentines were supportive at the time. He is, after all, the man who did this:

But Argentina didn't fare much better under Maradona's watch, and only barely qualified for the tournament. This isn't quite like Duke nearly missing the field of 64, but it's close. After locking up a spot on the last day of play, Maradona made some pointed comments to the media at his press conference. "For those who doubted me," he declared, "you can blow me." This led to a two-month suspension enforced by FIFA, and further doubt in his abilities to lead the team.

Locals, however, have been eager to put the blame for the teams failures on the players, most pointedly at Lionel Messi. Too many times to count, I have heard people claim that he tries for Barcelona, but for Argentina, "no hace nada." Even though I'm just a layman, it is clear that when Messi has the ball, the rest of his teammates simply stand around watching. Think Kobe Bryant in 2007. I may not be the ultimate expert in futbol yet, but even the best players can't take on the other 11 by themselves.

It's obvious to me that the team is disorganized and unstructured. Plus, it's not like we don't have data. Messi scored 34 goals in roughly as many games for Barcelona in the last season. If he suddenly can't get the ball into the net, is it that he has lost his will to compete or that he is being misused? There is a simple answer to this question. But, admitting as much would mean believing in a fallible God. Nobody is ready to do that, no matter how outrageous the press conference.

Will this all end in hugs and smiles? Time will tell.

At this point, no one knows what will happen, save for one simple idea. If Argentina does well, Maradona will say and do something interesting. If they fail spectacularly, he will say and do something interesting. He has already promised to run through the streets of Buenos Aires naked if they win the whole thing, an entirely idle threat unless he finds a way to make the team to play better. At this point I can say that I have become infected with the same fever as the rest of the people living in this fine city. And at this moment my lack of knowledge doesn't even matter. I don't know what's going to happen, either. But I am counting down the days until it does.

Down in a hole

2009-11-10T04:34:00.012-06:00

Somewhere in South Carolina, a close friend of mine is digging a hole. He's tearing up his own back yard - a small part of it at least - and he's digging. He's doing this for a dramatic gesture. He will bundle his well-worn Michigan jersey in plastic and place it in that hole. He vows not to collect it until Michigan makes a BCS bowl game.

At Mgoblog, Brian has given his last word (for now) in defense of Rich Rodriguez. Everything he writes is on the money in this complicated situation.

I love Lloyd Carr. The man took over our program at a really rough time and went out and won a national championship. He is a local hero in many ways, a Michigan man, and someone whose character should be admired not simply because of his ardent beliefs, but because in many ways he brings out the best in college football. He was not simply a coach, but viewed himself as a teacher. He believed in the game and believed in his players. Plus, he's the man who convinced me that we do indeed need a playoff. That said...

I think when people talk about the end of the Carr era, it's important to keep one major factor in mind: Mike Hart. He was a three-star recruit from the middle of nowhere New York that put the entire team on his back for four straight years. Sure, there was other talent, but after Braylon Edwards left, this wasn't exactly a stacked team. Outside of 2006, the defense was a mess, but Hart kept Michigan in every game he played. Remember in 2005 when all of Michigan fandom said "We have no chance to beat Michigan State!"? Hart came back healthy for the game and saved the day with 218 yards. We can all list a dozen games where he was the difference for Michigan. Appalachian State was supposed to be included, but, well, that thing about the abysmal defense. The Mike Hart teams won in spite of themselves and largely because he gave us a chance in every game where he was healthy. But there's a reason he never beat Ohio State, and it has little to do with him. The cupboard wasn't totally bare, but someone had been removing items when we weren't looking. Hart just made it seem like it was still relatively stocked.

For years, many people said, "We gotta fire Lloyd Carr!" My response was always the same: "OK, who do you want?" There was never an answer for this from the haters. Those who want Rodriguez axed don't have an answer either. Nearly every big-time program who fires their coach to start a new regime goes through this. The conventional wisdom is that Carr tried to put his assistants in place to take over. He gave them more responsibility in 2007. They failed. An easy transition was impossible. If we'd hired Les Miles, Marty Schottenheimer, or George S Patton, we would have had very similar problems.

Not our coach

The overriding obvious idea here is that this really sucks. As Ray Liotta said in Goodfellas, "This is the bad time."What my friend in South Carolina is doing is really important, but there's one aspect that is the most crucial part of the gesture. He's putting that jersey in plastic (please double-bag it, Roberto). He's not laying Michigan to rest. This is not a burial. This is a time capsule for himself. When he retrieves it some November day, he should buy it a bouquet of roses first (or a sack of doritos or whatever bowl-themed present is most apt). Then he should hug it high and tight like Ennis Del Mar.

I've identified my local futbol team here: Independiente. It's the third most popular team in Argentina, and has one of the richest traditions. The two most popular are Boca and River. Between them, they actually claim over 80% of the fans which is stupid, but Argentines generally like to follow the pack. Every team has nicknames they call themselves (in River's case: Los Millionarios) and names that everyone else calls them (River's: Las Gallinas (the female chickens)). Independiente used to be great, but since I first arrived here, they have been sucky to crappy. This season, they are actually playing well - winning games they shouldn't and playing above their talent. It seemed that Michigan was going the same direction, but perhaps that will have to wait until next year (ojalá!) I bring this up because the opposing team's nicknames for the Independiente fans is Los Amargos. This means, "The Bitter People." Translation - always negative, all the time. If that doesn't fit with the stereotype of a Michigan fan, then I'm Cristina Kirchner. I certainly didn't plan it that way, but maybe as Michigan fans, we're destined to suffer.

Not a Michigan fan - yet

I've been playing ultimate frisbee down here. Our team hasn't lost since March and yesterday we won the second championship in the history of the country. I bring this up because we weren't always such a dominant team. In fact, when we lost those two games in March, one team thrashed us 15-7. Since then we've been rolling. Why? We got mad, and we put in the practice. This experience will season these players, hopefully for the better. As much as this hurts us as fans, it's ten times worse for them. They're very young. Nobody can say they're not trying. They've come a long way from Toledo, even as they are sure to lose these last two games. We thought last season was the bottom. Really, we're looking at it right now, at least in terms of our patience and experience as fans. If Michigan pulls out a miracle in the last two weeks, it is a corner turned. And if not, you can't tell me this team isn't going to be more prepared next season.

So bury the jersey well, my friend. I expect it won't be ready to be dug up until November of 2011. By then it will be properly seasoned and in need of a big hug.

UPDATE: Maize N Brew chimes in

On Deals

2009-09-11T09:27:00.006-05:00

Hey, Argentina, I thought we had an agreement. I was going to move to a country where they care about soccer, and you were going to play in the 2010 World Cup - and play well. This is not only embarrassing, I'm feeling totally ripped off. For those uninitiated, Argentina has never missed a world cup, but after losing to Brazil and Paraguay in succession this week, they have currently positioned themselves out of the tournament. There are two games remaining, but Argentina does not control its own destiny. They have to win them both and hope that Ecuador loses one.

They boast one of the two best players on the planet and a coach who was one of the greatest of all time. But this is not a team. Every player seems reluctant to give up the ball. Maybe they're all so good they think they can win games themselves. but this isn't working. It's easy for people to blame Diego Maradona, and it's clear that he's not helping the team win. But these problems existed before he arrived.

A man at the end of his tenure...?

As I said, I feel cheated. There's still an outside chance that FIFA will make some kind of exception or that Argentina can make its way in via the open slot. But at this point, nobody in this country has any confidence that such a thing will happen. They're beyond crestfallen. They're disgusted.

...this guy thinks so.

Michigan's another story. We had our own agreement. There would be ups and downs in equal measure, but the team would always be at least pretty good and I would definitely have a game to watch in January. Last year, well, we all know what happened. Then again, I'm the one who moved away. For me to whine any more about 2008 is like complaining that the girl you dumped is dating some cheesy schmo. But if we're talking about disgusted fans, it's hard not to think about what happened last year.

But then this happened:

And then this:

And suddenly... we got us a football team again. I'm tempted to check my expectations, thinking about the miracle against Wisconsin last year. It's so hard to tell early in the season what is real and what is not. That result turned out to be decidedly not real. Those who said Michigan was lucky to win were correct. And Wisconsin soon proved to be a team somewhere between mediocre and lousy.

But last week, the excitement returned. As a Michigan fan, you expect such moments. You've been promised them over the years. You get to thinking you deserve them, and maybe you do. Relief quickly turned to joy and anticipation for the next game.

Part of the deal is that Michigan never rolls over against Notre Dame. I don't think the Irish have ever blown us out, at least not in the last fifteen years. The Notre Dame fans I talk to think that they're going to cruise through this game, but that's par for the course in South Bend. Overconfidence goes with the territory. That said, they looked pretty impressive against Nevada.

I've lost all hope for Argentina. Our deal is broken. But then again, if Michigan wins tomorrow, it's clear that the fan contract is wholly renewed. There's still time for Argentina to get their act together, though I'm not ready to enter any pact with Maradona still in charge. Either way, he's likely gone. I just hope that Michigan sends Charlie Weis to join him in early retirement. VAMOS AZUL!

Road Games College Pick 'Em

2009-08-26T21:30:00.006-05:00

For long about ten years now, a group of us in Chicago have been playing Pick 'Em. Over the years, our group has gotten bigger and more diverse. We now have people playing on four continents (and I'm working on Asia!). I assume if anyone is actually reading this blog anymore, they know how this works. But just in case, here's the info:

Pick the winners from the AP Top 25 each week. Rank each game by how confident you are in your pick. You get points for each game you picked correctly. Whoever wins is the smartest. Sound like fun? Of course it does!

Click on this link to join!
Group ID#: 8332
Password: goblue

Obviously, if you're reading this it's in your RSS feed and you're shocked that I've posted anything here at all. Yes, regrettably it has been quite a while since I've had anything to say here. However, I have been busy writing in various other places, most notably Fighting the Youth and Reed's Ramblings. Furthermore, the college football season is just eight days away and the local futbol season began last weekend. So consider this post the declaration that Road Games will be up and running again very, very soon. Until then, saludos!

Super Clásico Bros.

2009-04-19T16:50:00.009-05:00

Much like college football, the rivalries here in Argentina are the most important games of the year. Each team has their counterpart who the fans hate with all of their soul. Win your rivalry match and the season is a success. Lose, and it is a failure. For many fans, even the championship is secondary. The whole country turns its attention to the rivalry or clásico in a given week. And no clásico matches the fervor of Boca/River.The Boca Juniors are the most popular team in Argentina - one of the most popular in the world. Diego Maradona, despite getting his start as an Argentino Junior, will always be associated with Boca, having played the majority of his career there. They sport a rather fetching combination of Yellow and Blue, originally chosen due to a ship from Sweden. No joke. One could even call the yellow "maize" (although corn here is referred to only as choclo). Rival fans refer to them as Los Bosteros, meaning "manure handlers", but of course they were able to make the nickname a point of pride. Perhaps it's like the "Bug Eaters" in Nebraska, but I have to review my 'Husker lore. Traditionally, Boca appealed to the more blue-collar citizenry, though times have changed and the identities are not so clear cut anymore.

Photo by Fabián Marelli, La Nacion

River Plate is the only team that can remotely challenge Boca's popularity. Originally, the two clubs were both centered in the city's Boca neighborhood, but in 1923, River moved to the more affluent (and safer) Nuñez area. Their stadium is the largest in the country. Fans of other teams often point out that the army built the stadium for them, but this often comes off as "stadium envy." When that doesn't work, they call them the Gallinas. This literally means "hens", but is of course calling them chickens. But of course female chickens. While in the past, River drew the more wealthy crowd, that, too has changed and there have been some rather dangerous and wild incidents at their stadium.

Photo by Mauro Alfieri, La Nacion

I made several efforts to obtain tickets to the Boca vs. River match today, but was unable to find one for less than 600 pesos. It was a gorgeous day, the first really cool one we've had this autumn (yes, it's autumn here - south of the equator and all). Unwilling to pay the same as the tourists, I had to resort to internet viewing. It really tamped down the intensity, particularly since nobody scored in the first half. But the second provided more excitement. When Boca took the lead on the left foot of Martín Palermo, people all over my neighborhood hollered "Gooooool! Gooool!!" Horns were honked. River countered just minutes later off a booming free kick that zoomed past the keeper. My neighborhood erupted again, though the noise came from a completely different set of people.
English highlights can be found here, but I think you'll agree the announcers are far too polite.

And that's where things ended. Maybe ending in a tie is still like kissing your sister, but they're certainly more accustomed to it here. And considering there are no playoffs unless there's a tie in the season's final standings (and you think the BCS is frustrating - that's a whole other blog post), they won't likely play each other again until the next season. But if you think about it, it will only make the next one that much more important. At least Boca won't get voted out of going to the Rose Bowl. I hope to get to some more games soon, but Boca River may have to wait until I get some sort of promotion or commit to a team so I can get season tickets. For now, it was an exciting day that the entire city paid attention to, the closest thing they have to a Super Bowl.

Argentine Soccer, Take 1

2009-03-15T20:21:00.006-05:00

I ame behind in the analysis of which team I shall call my own here in the Torneo Clasura. That process will begin in this space shortly or longly. But in the meantime, I was finally able to check out a local match, something I wish I had done my first week in town.

Obtaining tickets to a fútbol game here in Buenos Aires is no easy task. I had the good fortune of friends who were able to help, but it meant traipsing across town on the hottest day of the year. The salt stains left on my red shirt were evidence of the effort, but more importantly the tickets in hand, three different versions for each seat, heightened the anticipation level. I was strongly cautioned about personal safety, partly because this was a rivalry game, and because it was in a lousy neighborhood, but mostly because it was an Argentine fútbol match. I left my cell phone, watch, and even wallet at home and wore a non-descript, black t-shirt. Taking the 128 to the game, there were a few guys Independiente jerseys. They hollered insults to any Racing fans we passed on the street, but generally behaved themselves. There was no commandeering of the bus or anything. Upon arrival, it was clear that I had been overly cautioned. There were thousands of police officers, and we were patted down three times before we got to the actual stadium.

Club Atletico Independiente vs Racing Club

Joining me was one of my old Michigan roommates. Chris and I had done this walk together many times before, though the last was a sloppy loss against Illinois on a miserably rainy day in 1999. This was reminiscent of the lead-up to every game I attended last season. Even though their season had so far lacked promise, the Red Devils were in high spirits. This was their Iron Bowl, their version of The Game. The hop in their step was only interrupted for pee breaks. The fans were roughly 95% men, one clear advantage college football affords. The police steered fans of each team down different streets, so there could be no risk of an altercation.

The Independiente stadium is currently under construction, so their home games are being held at the venue belonging to Huracán. To call it dilapidated would be a compliment. Harvard Stadium felt newer. Each seat was made of cement, complete with a contoured back – fixed right in as part of the structure. There are two sections available in each stadium, platea and popular. Popular is where all the most insane fans sit (really, stand and jump) and is cheaper. Again for the sake of safety, we sat in platea. But the fan in me was longing to join the hooligans. Because soccer can be rather mundane if you are not pulling one way or the other, Chris and I opted for the “home” team.

Argentines loves to brag about their fútbol. Truth be told, they love to brag about their everything, but one point of particular pride is that they have the craziest fans in the world. At an individual level, these people can go toe to toe with any college football fan. I have no idea how many were in either end, but they generated a ton of volume. Chris noted that Michigan doesn’t come close, and that’s about right. But didn't remotely match the volume I heard at Clemson or LSU. Still, when you consider there were probably only 20,000 fans for Independiente and 10,000 for Racing, they really brought it. Individual signs for each neighborhood could be found all over the populares. Generally a simple Olivos, or any other area, in the team’s colors. Right before kickoff, each of the populares unfurled a gigantic banner that covered their entire end of the stadium. They were like Paul Bunyan’s bedsheets. Tiny hands reaching up and poking the banners made them appear to come to life, moving like a ship lost at sea. As the players ran out to take the field, fans from both ends hurled enough toilet paper to drape Toomer’s Corner ten times over into the air and onto the field. It was amazing. If that kind of thing doesn’t get you excited to watch a game, you’re not human.

Both of these teams are having lousy seasons, but the loser would really have nothing left and likely be needing a new coach. Right from the start, it appeared we had made the right choice. The Independiente players just had more fire (and likely more talent). Ten minutes in, they notched a great goal on a header off a free kick, and the place went berserk. A fan to our right who appeared like he’d be more at home in popular immediately jumped up, turned to the Racing end, and aggressively grabbed his genitals while hollering in their direction.

The Racing fans, for their part, were really impressive. Though in smaller numbers, they made as much noise as their counterparts, but all of their cheers and songs were really in unison. I think they must meet and practice during the week. At halftime, they donned yellow construction helmets as a way to razz Independiente for their still-not-completed stadium. And when I say “they”, I mean thousands of them. And they all waited for halftime to do it. The thing is, their team is generally terrible, and even when Independiente scored goals, they hardly groaned. I can’t think of a college football equivalent – where a team is such a cheerful glutton for punishment. Washington probably came the closest. Notre Dame at least has all that history. This would be like if Vanderbilt had the most passionate fans in the country.

If only the team was ready to go to work

Independiente controlled most of the action, with Racing rarely creating a promising opportunity. The best player on the field was easily the Red Devils’ Rolfi Montenegro. It struck me how amazing it is to watch someone in any sport that is so talented that you feel like they don’t even belong on the same field as the rest of them. During my trip, the only ones that come to mind are Jake Locker, Justin Beaver, and, gulp, Vernon Gholston. (Tebow didn’t have his best outing in the Cocktail Party). A touchy foul in the penalty box gave Rolfi a penalty kick for a score after which he took off his shoe and sprinted around the field, displaying it above his head for everyone.

Rolfi looks a lot younger from far away

Throughout the match, fans cheered for every minute event. Again, if you take soccer too passively, it loses a lot. Whenever anyone made a mistake, the crowd whistled and shouted “Boludo!” Boludo is a local term meaning something in between asshole and moron often heard when driving or joking around with friends. A player from either team could accidentally kick the ball out of bounds, and the reaction would be the same “Boludo” --> You f*ed up! Ha-ha. or “Boludo” --> You f*ed up! You asshole! When #11, a striker for Independiente had the ball, the package man to our right consistently yelled, “Dale Negro!” (pronounced “dah-ley, neh-gro”), which basically means, “Come on, black guy!” This was probably yelled at least 30 times by crotch guy alone. Take that to mean what you will, but adding to the oddity of is the fact that the guy’s last name is Moreno, which pretty much means “dark guy”. Had he simply said, "Dale Moreno!", I would have thought the same thing anyway.

With about five minutes left in the game (it’s impossible to know exactly because there was no clock in the stadium), we decided to make an early exit. Chris had arrived on the red eye the night before and we had a heavy does of Argentine nightlife planned. They make the home team’s fans wait a half-hour to leave because, again, they don’t want any altercations. But by all accounts, it was a peaceful finish, with the Red Devils reveling in their triumph, and Racing firing their coach before we made it home. After my first game here, I’m most struck by the enthusiasm. In some ways, there’s no question that it tops anything I’ve seen in a college football stadium, and I’ve been to an LSU home opener. I can’t wait for round two.

This video is in Spanish, but is very worth watching. Note especially the paper from 22-32 seconds.

Futbol Season Is Nearly Upon Us

2009-01-30T09:52:00.005-06:00

There's some sort of Super Bowl thingy this Sunday. It's been interesting to see the reaction, er, non-reaction to the event here in Buenos Aires. I have pretty much avoided all coverage of it, and that's the way I likes it. I don't even know if I'm going to watch the game at all. I don't care who wins and am only rooting for Steve Breaston to garner the MVP (or at least be stopped just short of the goalline by Larry Foote). Maybe if I can teach some locals about the game, it'll be worth enduring. After all, it is America's fourth biggest holiday, right?

With the real football season already in the books, and one last game to go in the version that still employs Tony Siragusa, we're in the thick of the offseason. Reports about recruiting and coach-hiring and all sorts of other barely-football-related matters abound. But here in Argentina, the autumn season of La Primera División Argentina is about to kick off. Everyone tells me that the fans here are craaaazy and thinks I should compare them to the college football fanatics from home. Putting aside false modesty for a moment, I can't think of a better person to play judge.

Soccer is nearly unwatchable if you're not actually rooting for one of the teams. At this point, I have no team of my own and don't have any preconceived notions about any of them. It's a rare opportunity to make a fresh choice. I feel like every other team in my life was somewhat chosen for me, but this is my chance to become a fan with eyes open all the way. So I aim to pick one and will do so very publicly here in this space. Coming next week, the criteria I plan to use and a synopsis of every team I can realistically choose. Before making my final decision, I plan to check out the stadiums and fans as well. Hopefully by mid-season, I'll be painting my face and cursing at the television again.

As I said, soccer games are kinda hard when you don't care. Soccer highlights, on the other hand....seriously groovy:

Fisking the ESPN Prestige Rankings

2009-01-22T06:06:00.005-06:00

ESPN has put together a "prestige ranking" of all the I-AA college football programs. "ESPN's Prestige Rankings are a numerical method of ranking the best FBS college football programs since the 1936 season." Obviously, this is more of an exercise that is just for fun and not to be taken too seriously. But at times, I like to take frivolous things more seriously. It's the nerdy statistician in me. So let's take a look at what they did and where they may have erred.

Their system:
National Title: 25 points
Major bowl berth: 10
Major bowl win: 10
Conference Championship: 10
AP Top 5 Finish: 10
AP 6-10 Finish: 6
AP 11-25 Finish: 4
Heisman Winner: 8
Bowl Appearance: 3
Bowl Win: 3
10-win Season: 2
Week as AP #1: 2
Win over AP #1: 1
Each All-American: 1
First Round NFL Pick (since 1970): 1
Losing season: -2
TV Ban year: -1
Bowl Ban year: -2
Probation year: -1
Financial-aid Penalty year: -1
Recruiting Penalties year: -1
Each penalty of "show cause action:" -2

What they definitely got right:

25 points for a National Title is dead on.
They handled the conference championship perfectly, and have the right amount of points on it (see their page for details or just trust me).
8 points for a Heisman trophy is probably right. Perhaps it could go to 10, but it is a major aspect of the sport, even if you disagree with it.
The AP finish rankings are pretty much perfect.
When it comes to one point for each All-American, you could debate that this isn't important and that team success should supersede everything. But everywhere I went, the great players were integral to the thoughts and feelings that everyone expressed to me. At LSU, I heard no less than 40 renditions of Billy Cannon's punt return vs. Ole Miss. Even the youngest Dawgs wanted to discuss Herschel Walker's amazing freshman season. Tommie Frazier could run for governor of Nebraska one day and win in a landslide. When talking about prestige, certainly the great players who made the great plays matter. Do offensive linemen really belong in this category? Maybe not, but to keep the methodology consistent, you have to include them.

What they got wrong:

Including points for a 10-win season is very problematic. It inherently means less than it used to, thanks to the additional games on the schedule and the fact that those additional games are almost exclusively facing the weakest competition available. I don't think that beating Georgia Southern really improved Georgia's prestige any, but it did get them to 10 wins this season. Furthermore, it shouldn't be included because it is redundant with all the other measures. In statistics, it's akin to what we'd call an overspecified model.
Including each week ranked as the AP#1 and giving it two points, yet counting a victory over the AP#1 with only one point seems totally backwards to me. Alabama held their #1 ranking the week they beat Mississippi State. Did that really add to the program's prestige in any way? The sport of College Football is inherently about the big moments. And there is no bigger moment in the sport than taking down the #1 team in the country. This should be worth 10 points on its own. Just ask Texas Tech fans. Crabtree's touchdown against #1 Texas trumps any prestigious moment in the history of the program and will until they win the conference (and even then, there will be some who argue that this was bigger).
Strength of Schedule is basically absent outside of the one point for taking down the AP #1. It's a part of the game (well, it used to be anyway). I realize it would be hard to include this, but the "big games" are important. Perhaps including nationally televised broadcasts would have been good (though quite unfairly skewed as well). Or at least a point for every win over an AP ranked team.
First round NFL Pick doesn't belong here. Does Ryan Leaf's NFL experience add to the prestige of Washington State? He was chosen 3rd overall. Also, since it only goes back to 1970, it will skew the data to more recent success. ESPN still has trouble understanding that the two sports are not the same. Also it's relatively redundant with the All Americans.

What's missing?

Part of a program's prestige has always been wrapped up in its all-time great coaches. Can you think of Ohio State without Woody Hayes? Or Alabama without Bear Bryant? It would not have been hard to include points for any coach that was with a school for at least ten years and had at least a .700 winning percentage. For Penn State, give Paterno credit for each decade of tenure.
Because their system goes season by season, there is nothing for all-time records. For most fans, this certainly plays into the argument for the prestige of their school. It would not have been hard to include a certain number of points for every 100 wins all time. Yes, there would be some redundancy, so perhaps this is not needed.
Nothing for attendance? Shouldn't Miami should be penalized for their lousy fan base? Fans are a part of the game, too, and certainly affect the prestige of a program.

1936?
They actually address this issue, saying:

The AP poll was introduced that season, making it the first time the longest-standing news organization in the United States began ranking teams and crowning a national champion. Starting in 1937, the NCAA began recognizing "major college programs" (now known as the FBS). To accrue points, a program had to be recognized as one of these major programs by the NCAA.

This is a curious decision to me. When we are talking about "prestige", that doesn't precisely equate with "history", but they're certainly related. To begin in 1936 is to begin after the death of Knute Rockne. In these rankings, we have no Four Horsemen, no Red Grange, none of the "point a minute" Fielding Yost teams, and none of the great Army teams from that era. However, all these seasons matter to many fans today, and are talked about specifically in terms of prestige. Go to South Bend sometime and see if nobody quotes Grantland Rice to you. I promise you it's not possible.

The omission of all early seasons will knock down Michigan and Notre Dame at the least. Perhaps this is by design? As I learned on the road last season, Notre Dame is universally resented around the nation. Michigan is coming off a down year. They have two of the most active internet fan bases and will surely be irate about a lower ranking, causing them to talk about this endeavor that much more. Uhh... kinda like I'm doing right now. It seems like their rationale here doesn't really meet with the overall goal of the project, so I find myself skeptical about the decision. I mean, shouldn't Michigan beating Stanford 45-0 in the very first bowl game add to its prestige a bit? We'll see how things net out as they reveal 1-10 over the next two days. So far, #s 11-119 feel pretty accurate.

Overall, these rankings make a lot more sense in the pre-BCS, pre-horrendous scheduling era. If anything, they point out how much of the tradition has eroded in the last ten years. If I had to bet, my money would be on Nebraska or Oklahoma to take the title. Those "bonus" scholarship players and years of beating up on the other 6 teams in their conference are going to pile up the points.

Road Games Top 25

2009-01-13T09:30:00.001-06:00

I'm not part of the Blogpoll (and really, it would be unforgivable if I were considering how hard it was to see games from Buenos Aires this year), but I'm putting together my own Top 25 anyway. As I said last year, these rankings are based on season-long performance, not “who would win right now.” Because that would be an exercise in conjecture and inherently debatable. Explanation at the bottom:

1) USC
2) Florida
3) Texas
4) Utah
5) Oklahoma
6) Penn State
7) TCU
8) Alabama
9) Texas Tech
10) Oregon
11) Ole Miss
12) Boise State
13) Ohio State
14) Oregon State
15) Georgia
16) California
17) Florida State
18) Virginia Tech
19) Oklahoma State
20) Iowa
21) LSU
22) Cincinnati
23) Missouri
24) West Virginia
25) Arizona

Here's the thing. The way the schedules are nowadays, most of the teams play a pretty weak slate. A great team should win all its games. But teams either have off days or happen to schedule opponents who are equal to the task. These days, such dream matchups are all the more rare. When multiple teams are tied in the loss column, some choose to disregard the loss and only look at the wins on their resumé. I tend to go the opposite way. Some losses are more forgivable than others.

USC was penalized for losing to a perceived lousy team. But as the season progressed, it became clear that Oregon State was much improved after their first two performances (thanks largely to the discovery of tailback Jacquizz Rogers). In addition, nobody seems to recall the Trojans' loss was a Thursday night road game. Year in, year out, we see more road teams struggle on weeknights than in any other type of game. There must be a backlash against them after all the rampant pro-USC coverage because I don't hear anyone pleading their case. I don't particularly like 'em, but to me, USC played the best football this year, including their absolutely flawless performance in the Rose Bowl. Penn State made a bunch of mistakes, but even with a perfect game would not have seen victory. Florida had a great season, but a home loss to Ole Miss is clearly worse, and USC generally dominated every game they played afterwards. Plus, I don't think that Oklahoma is that much better than Penn State anyway (one slot to be precise).

What to do about Utah? Like it or not, style points matter in college football. Utah barely escaped against Oregon State, Air Force, New Mexico, TCU and, um, Michigan. Nobody was lamenting the supposed shoddy treatment for Utah until they handled Alabama. Now they're national champions? Alabama was overrated all season thanks to their opening-weekend victory over Clemson (who, incidentally, ended up at 7-6 and fired their coach). 'Bama played a schedule with few heavyweights, but included Arkansas State and Western Kentucky. They failed to dominate any of their stronger opponents. Yes, I know they're the SEC West Champion, but this was the weakest SEC year in a while. In my mind, the result of the Sugar Bowl did more to validate the notion that 'Bama wasn't that good than the fact that Utah is the best in the land.

I feel like I have TCU too high (credit for the bowl win, but what else did they really accomplish this year?), but I don't know who else to put in that slot, so they remain #7.

I'm left feeling very disappointed by this season, and not just because Michigan was terrible. As I said in the aforementioned posting, I have come around on the playoff debate. It is inevitable (eventually), and at this point it is best for the game, as long as they keep it to six teams or fewer (as many others have noted, look no further than this week's NFC championship game for supportive evidence). Given the current system, Oklahoma didn't deserve the BCS nod, and I can't fathom why any voter outside of Bob Stoops and Urban Meyer would have put them where they did. Sure, their schedule was slightly stronger than that of Texas, but they were beaten by the Longhorns, whereas Texas lost a road night game to a strong team by one second. Haven't we now learned about teams rolling up extravagant point totals yet not having a consistent defense. I said no conjecture, but I do believe that Texas could take Florida head to head. As it stands, they each played Oklahoma evenly, though the Sooners made a lot more errors against Florida. So we must yet again lament the matchup that should have been, just like we do seemingly every other year.

Like Sands Through the Hourglass

2009-01-07T19:36:00.007-06:00

It feels like so many aspects of college football have been changing lately. It's been over a year since I finished my big journey, and in that time, we've become acquainted with so many new names, teams, and rules. A few weeks ago, the folks from Stone Station made their annual trek to Salem, VA for the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl. In 2007, even though my itinerary was complete, I decided to brave the winter weather and make an extra road trip to Virginia at their invitation. Obviously, that would have been darn near impossible from Buenos Aires this season. I chose to only be there in spirit.

Hmmmm. These teams look familiar.

At Auburn, the richest boosters finally got rid of Tommy Tuberville, and not because he nearly trampled me at the Iron Bowl. Apparently, Tommy never licked the right boots in Auburn, but as the trees at Toomer's Corner were loaded with toilet paper, no one in attentance could have imagined that he'd be gone a year later.

Tommy's second-to-last Iron Bowl

Meanwhile, across the nation, everyone from Barack Obama to the lowliest intern at ESPN has been weighing in on whether we need a playoff. Blah blah blah. So maybe things haven't changed so much. Actually, my opinion has been altered a bit since I wrote about the topic last time, partly due to my interview with Lloyd Carr. His main point - right now, we're deciding a champion, but not letting it be decided by what happens on the field. And that's pretty right, especially to fans who today happen to be in Austin and South Central.

Still, I can't help but be filled with uneasy trepidation about the topic. When at Wisconsin, I interviewed a man named Ken Simmons who'd played for the Badgers as a walk-on. He'd been a part of the team during their only winning season between 1963 and 1981 when they managed a 7-4 record in 1974. Decades later, he was able to see his son walk on and a daughter play for the softball team. He continues to work with the athletic department. Like many veterans of the game, he held a long perspective on things. The last thing he said to me in our interview was "Look at why there is the passion there is for college football. You don’t want to change that a whole lot. I think that’s why they’re moving as slowly as they are."

Not Ken Simmons

Over at SI.com, Stewart Mandel recently recanted the story of his first trip to the Rose Bowl. It was a visceral reminder of mine two years later. That's a tale I've planned to tell in this space for a while now. I hope to share it soon. Needless to say, it was one of the highlights of my life. The point is, so many of the people who offer their expert opinion on bowls, playoffs, and championships don't really know anything about college football. It's not the NFL. And in fact, that's a big part of why we like it.

Clearly the BCS isn't working. We were told it would provide a definitive answer on the National Championship. Like many newfangled doo-dads, it failed to deliver on its promises, but we all should have known they were too good to be true. Now fans are left with unattainable expectations. One day, the NCAA will institute a playoff. It is inevitable in the long run. But since they have totally botched the BCS since its inception, do we have any faith in the idea that they won't completely botch a playoff, too? The BCS is terrible, but it's still better than a wrong playoff would be. 16 teams? Welcome to the NFL minor league. As Ken said, if they're not careful, they could ruin the game completely. With ESPN and Fox having as much control as they do, it's more fragile than you think. Besides, if the NCAA isn't going to address the issue of cupcake non-conference scheduling, then I don't trust them to tackle this with the good of the game in mind either.

When you see the games live and in person, you catch a lot more than you can over TV. That's just the way it is. It's how I was able to identify Ohio State's weaknesses on defense just days before Illinois exploited them last year. But when you can't see the games at all, it's like you're watching everything underwater, depending on blogs and youtubes and choppy Slingbox connections to capture the moments for you. You're that much farther removed. That's how this season has been for me. Honestly, I miss Saturday. And whatever changes occurred were far away. With Michigan this year, maybe it was for the best. But it's still my favorite sport, the game I can't get enough of. It's been hard not to be close to it after my year "on the ground." But with a National Championship(ish?) game to be played tonight, let's just pause a second to remember how special it is. No amount of controversy, even it comes via executive signing statement from the White House, can trample that.

Bowl Pick 'Em

2008-12-17T14:39:00.002-06:00

Some readers participated in the College Pick 'Em this season. It was a lot of fun. Yay! We're doing a Bowl Game Pick 'Em as well. Just one set of picks, winner take all. Of course, there are like 32 dang bowl games, so it's a lot to pick. But also a lot of fun. So, in case you want in, here are the details:

Click here to sign up. We're Group ID# 16182 and the password is "goblue". Sorry, non UM fans. It's all we have this year... Name your team and leave a note on the message board if you like. The first game on the schedule is December 20th, so get your picks in now. See you there!

On Going Home Again

2008-11-23T10:06:00.009-06:00

Recently, Life Magazine released all of their photos online via Google. It's a remarkably large archive, and of course the first thing I did was search for University of Michigan Football. That didn't exactly provide a motherlode of shots. But when I dropped the word football, all kinds of interesting aspects of life in Ann Arbor were revealed. Student nurses supervising while sick children play with live animals. Young dudes gathering to strum guitars in a dorm stairwell. Young couples openly defying the town's "kissing ban". And of course, excited students cheering for some reason:

Dude in the glasses seems less enthused, but his hands are gigantic!

It's neat to see all these things because even though they're from over fifty years ago, they remind you what college is all about. The times were different, and therefore so were the standards. But the goals were the same. Maturing to adulthood in such a place is a luxury, one that often takes a long time to appreciate. It's a big part of why we watch college football in the first place - to remind ourselves of those salad days.

I came back from Argentina this weekend, in large part to return to my college town, reunite with old friends, and cheer on the team one last time this season. Perhaps foolishly, and perhaps because I haven't seen but four of the games, I thought that we had a chance to compete in this one. That we had played better on the road is where I hung my faith. Catching a glimpse at the still-in-progress Michigan Stadium gave me pause. "How can a team play in front of girders and expect to succeed? No wonder they stink here." From nearly the beginning of this game, however, what I saw appalled me. Like many other bloggers, I have understood the need for patience this season. But in the last game of the year, against our rival, it was a pathetic display. We all know that there is a limit to the team's talent. But they looked disorganized and passionless to me.

A tradition for us at this reunion is to visit the old college homestead, drop off some fresh beer for whoever happens to reside there now, and briefly reminisce about who passed out where. For the first time, we were not allowed inside. They wouldn’t even accept the free beer. Maybe that’s OK. When I was in college, we never lost 42-7 to Ohio State. Actually, we beat them three out of four years. This rejection was perhaps indicative of how the mood has soured. Stewart Mandel claims that Michigan’s players didn’t “buy in” to Rodriguez’s system and his efforts this year have resulted in nothing but failure. Meanwhile, Brian defends the plan, and Dave stares off into the future with calm acceptance. I am afraid to say that after this game, I am inclined to agree with Stewart. My long-term hopes have soured a bit. I cannot blame a loss like this on talent disparity alone. Something is wrong.

When out at a bar in the after-aftermath, I talked to a girl who claimed to be friends with members of the team. She commented that when the team stays in their hotel for home games, they have bed-check at 11pm. Then some of the players invite their friends over to party. This woman seemed a credible source, though who knows if she has any idea what she's talking about. Consider this hearsay and rumormongering at this point. Then again, what kind of team plays so horribly at home? Perhaps the girders have nothing to do with it. If this is true, it is obviously unacceptable behavior. That’s all I’ll say about a rumor impossible for me to verify.

I used to hold up my four years of college as the unluckiest in modern Michigan fan history. After going undefeated the year before, we lost four games every season I was a student. We didn't beat Northwestern once. And the year after, the team won a National Championship. But the pain felt by current seniors has clearly trumped anything I endured. Right now, today, Michigan isn't really Michigan. That's a very sad thing.

But hey, they can't take the past away from us. We'll always have Tom Harmon and Charles Woodson and that time we stole the chairs from Burger King and used them in the kitchen all year. This season's over, and frankly I don't want to think about it ever again. The past may only be so much use, but I'll take it because right now, it's all we have.

So What Now?

2008-10-21T17:45:00.007-05:00

I'm dreading this posting. A lot has changed in just a few weeks. I'm afraid of what I will convince myself. I'm still having trouble getting over the Toledo loss. While most of the Michigan blogosphere has rightly been defensive of the team, given the bare cupboard and new system, I don't know what to believe. Losing to "little brother" did little to help matters.

When people, usually the most fair-weather of Michigan fans, would complain over the years that "Lloyd Carr needs to go," I would always respond with the same question: "Who do you want to hire, then?" None of these folks ever gave me a halfway decent answer to that question. One said "Marty Schottenheimer." Part of the problem was that they never appreciated Carr, which to me, meant they never appreciated Michigan. We may not have had the flashiness of the mid-90s Florida Gators, but every year, we had the chance for greatness and at worst found ourselves in the Alamo Bowl. Even when Michigan was "terrible," Michigan was always good. And I think it's especially clear now how many people took that for granted.

For the last ten years, friends and I have participated in a weekly college pick 'em contest. Put simply, you pick the winning team for each game among the AP Top 25. In ten years, I have never once picked against Michigan, no matter how grim a game may have looked. There was no point in playing the game if I couldn't pick my team. But Penn State was an entirely different scenario. The spread was 23.5, and I was certain it was low. While I didn't hesitate to pick Michigan, cross my fingers, and hope for the best, others changed their approach. That they ended up picking correctly did nothing to assuage the outrage and incredulity heaped upon their heads by those who kept the faith. But now that the dust settled, and Michigan has lost to our "little brother," these acts of "treason" stand significantly. This isn't just about razzing our buddies.

I go back to those whiners that demanded a coaching overhaul. I wonder what they have to say this year. My guess is that they're not watching games, and certainly not reading this blog. They've moved on to Halloween costumes or winter vacations or something else to complain about. But the rest of us are still here. And we're trying to deal. Dave is numb. Brian, defeated by ennui. Hoover Street wants the season to be over. Wolverine Liberation Army sighs and then dutifully trudges onward. And Vijay is resorting to picking winners of all the other games. The bloggers are not dead inside, but in a sense, they are creating shelter for hibernation. Me, I just feel more disconnected every week. If I could get the slingbox to work, maybe I could share in the pain better. But reading boxscores of these games is like living through the last scenes of Chinatown every week. I'm helpless and frustrated. People here keep telling me to forget about it, that I'm living in one of the most exciting cities on the planet with summer just around the next corner. And maybe they're right.

Jake can't forget, and neither can I!

But I can't help noting that the life of a Michigan fan has changed dramatically this season. And honestly, it's OK for people to view it differently. My friends who have "turned their back" on the team have every right to do so. But I can't. I didn't go to Michigan for the football team. I went because it was the best education I could get and the right environment for me. My first steps into Michigan Stadium were on a gorgeous August day to watch the team trounce Washington State. I arrived and left by myself, not knowing anyone else who had tickets yet. That was really my first steps into this game, and even though that contest was hardly significant, I know now that it stirred something in me that has only become stronger every year until it culminated in a 22,000 mile road trip. Michigan football isn't that girlfriend I can't quite get over. It's more like a part of my family - suddenly in the role of the unreliable uncle who you have to forgive all the time.

I'm going to stand by this team, even if some of my buddies can't or won't. In the aftermath of my stunned, "woe is we" posting after the Toledo loss, some commenters reminded me that when we do bounce back, and we surely will, it will be all the better for this suffering. I don't doubt that. Though I have some great friends here in this new country of mine, none of them is a Michigan fan. Actually, none of them is a college football fans at all.

The past can't be taken away. We won a National Championship when I was 22 years old. We've been good ever since I set foot on campus. Maybe a little suffering isn't so bad. And hey, AARP Magazine named Ann Arbor the best city in America for retirees. (#1 in the nation, baby!) I just hope I don't have to wait until I'm that old for the joyful times to resume. But even if I do, I'll always consider myself a Michigan Man. I don't know how else to live at this point. Now let's get Uncle Borracho to rehab, quick.

Sagarin Check - Week 7

2008-10-13T19:21:00.001-05:00

Things have changed a bit since our last Sagarin Check just a couple weeks ago. Again, speaking as a trained statistician, the Sagarin ratings have long been my favorite of the computer rankings around town for college football. Let's run the voodoo down.

The eyes have it - Atop this week's rankings, we find the Texas Longhorns, in agreement with both mainstream human polls. It's the win of the year so far. We'll see how they fare this week against Missouri.

I'm smelling what you're steppin' in - The Top Ten is in general accordance with the AP and Coaches polls with the only exception being that Boise St. is swapped in for BYU. Why is BYU still so lauded? Because they pasted UCLA? Give the Broncos some love. They've still got Ian Johnson! Who doesn't like that guy?

The decline of western civilization - As expected, the mid-majors are slowly dropping, though. Two weeks ago, they ruled the bottom half of the top ten. Now, they're stretching towards the teens.

Still Traveling - USC is perched way up at #2. Now, remember last time I talked about how the Bayesian Shrinkage shouldn't be an issue. Maybe I was wrong because their wins-and-losses-only ranking is 15 and is unbiased. But maybe I was right because their Predictor # is off the charts. However, some other goofy rankings may indicate we just don't have a big enough sample size without scores - Utah at #4 is one.

Whitlock must be proud - Ball State is the other. I'm not sure how this is actually possible, but Ball State is #5 on the wins-only chart. Here, they've been blowing people out, but if their SOS is 107, and we're only talking wins-and-losses, I don't see how they could possibly be #5. Also benefiting, Michigan State is way up at #10. They've had their share of close games, so

Moving up - Texas Tech now appears legitimate at #11.

More dams to build - Because they've played three teams in the top 13, Oregon State sits at #17 even though they're 3-3. Watch out for this time to rise and be ranked by the end of the year.

Failing the smell-test - Iowa at 38 seems high.

Sheesh - Clemson, whose coach was just let go, all the way down at 77 in wins-only. And Tennessee is at 115!

Harrisonburg in the house - James Madison University, a place I (kind of) visited on the road last year is the highest FCS team in the list at 63. That's ahead of Purdue, East Carolina, and Arkansas.

Conference call - The Big 12 has opened up a pretty solid lead on the Big Ten, who were in 2nd place when we last did this. Actually, the ACC is closing in on the Big Ten as well.

Worst Place! - Last time we did this, Army went out and won their next two games against Tulane and Eastern Michigan. This week, North Texas barely edged out Idaho for the lowest ranked I-A team. Watch out, Louisiana-Monroe, the Mean Green is coming for you!

I don't want to talk about it - Michigan is 82. Call it a wild guess that it's the lowest they've ever been since Jeff started this in 1985 (and hopefully ever will be - even if they get thumped this week, it'll be by the #3 team).

Concerning Unspeakable Acts

2008-10-11T14:30:00.009-05:00

I just walked out to my balcony. It's cloudy here in Buenos Aires. A dark day. A single bird told me "Poo tee weet." I came back inside.

What on earth…? No, I didn't watch that debacle. We don't get the Big Ten Network here. With minutes left in regulation, I sped through the play-by-play online. Believe me, I think that was enough. Still, we remained on the precipice of avoiding the worst loss in Michigan history. Then that little, brown football icon flipped to Toledo. Then it was game over. The jury reached its verdict. Your football team is terrible.

As much as I was disgusted with people booing the team this season, and as ugly as things have been at times, this is a new low. A loss to Utah was forgiven because it was the first game with new personnel. Notre Dame was bothersome, particularly since the team had every chance to climb back into the game, but fumbled it away. Illinois was explained away with the assumption that the Illini were just that good (incidentally, the gophers may have something to say about that). But this? I can’t possibly express the feelings. I’m not even angry. Just beaten. I was an out-of-stater. I didn’t arrive at Michigan expecting to get caught up in football. But after my second game, a tight loss to Notre Dame, it was a part of me. Now. Now? Again, I'm a beaten fan. And I couldn’t even see the game.

Has any college football fan base been through more torture over the past four seasons? Nebraska? Tennessee? I don't think there's a comparison. Let’s break it down.

2005: the team blunders its way to its worst season since 1984. Fans are tortured by the following: Losses gift-wrapped by Chad Henne to Notre Dame and Wisconsin, losing the Brown Jug to Minnesota by choking at the end of the game in mind-numbing fashion. Tyler Ecker staying in bounds against Ohio State. Tyler Ecker running out of bounds in the Alamo Bowl after being shivved by Sun Belt referees.
2006: the team dominates all opponents in the regular season leading up to the most anticipated Ohio State game in history. The modern patriarch of the program dies the day before the game. Michigan loses a wild affair in heartbreaking fashion, then goes on to the Rose Bowl where USC pounds them.
2007: Appalachian State, Oregon and the Statue of Liberty, Teasing us by winning the rest of the games until Chad Henne’s shoulder and Mike Hart’s ankle, and Ryan Mallett’s ham-hands turn on us. A fleeting, joyous goodbye for Lloyd Carr in the Capitalism Bowl.
2008: Please don’t make me do it.

What have we done to deserve this?

Last Thursday was Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement. I can only fathom that we as a fan base have not done our due diligence in recent years and are therefore falling victim to a vengeful Old Testament God. If that's the case, which number plague was this game, and how much worse is it going to get? Let my people go.

There will be no bowl games this year. There may not be any more victories at all. Somewhere in South Carolina, a very close friend may be considering taking up smoking again. It’s not his fault. Here in Buenos Aires, is it time to switch to soccer? The bird was right. Because what else can you say at a time like this?

Update - others react:
MaizenBrew looks on the bright side
MGoBlog threw things (not like you think)
WLA crack open their history books
Hoover Street Rag quotes Bush. Yeah, the band. I know!
Genuinely Sarcastic is fed up with you people (rightfully so)

The Times That Try Men's Spirits

2008-10-06T11:48:00.001-05:00

Last year, everyone I met expressed equal parts jealousy and excitement about my road trip. Nearly every day was a joy, meeting great people and talking about the game I love. But of course, there were many moments where I quickly realized I was dealing with loudmouthed imbeciles. That was funny for a month or so, but halfway through the season, the loudest spewers of nonsense started to get to me. Nowhere was this a bigger problem than at the Florida/Georgia game in Jacksonville. I actually got angry, particularly during the game. It came from both sides of the red and blue divide. I went and found some of my favorite Gator and Bulldog fans afterwards to remind me why I was on the road in the first place.

Saturday, I had no plans, so it was an easy call to hit up El Alamo again to see what we were made of against a good team. I wasn't optimistic at all about this game, and was roundly chastised by Brian for feeling that way. Maybe that got to me a bit, but for some reason I started to think that we had the goods to take Illinois out. Joe the Bartender is an Illinois grad, so I was stunned to find that the TVs were already claimed by Notre Dame/Stanford and Alabama/Kentucky. Unknowingly working against my own self-interest, I had directed the Notre Dame fans to the bar in the first place (via the internet), so I decided to chat them up and see if we could split time. While seeming a nice enough fellow, the Domer in charge was so old school, he thought Notre Dame was still good. Lauding all their wonderful recruits, he compared Michael Floyd to Randy Moss and averred that Notre Dame will beat Michigan in their next five meetings. He was so intent on Notre Dame, that he was reluctant to share the TV even during the halftime show. Little respect was given for the fact that without my help, he would never have found the only bar in BA showing football in the first place.

To my right were two older men relatively uninterested in football, choosing instead to banter about the US presidential race. Misinformation abounded. When they forcibly tried to explain to the waitress (adorable girl, by the way) that Obama wants to raise everyone's taxes and how that's going to kill the economy, I nearly butted in. But thinking back to those Cocktail Party frustrations, I let the argument go. Besides, by then the game was on, and Michigan was up 14-3, and a slew of Michigan fans in BA on vacation had just come in.

A day that began with minor irritation ended with frustration and further disbelief at Michigan's inability to hold on to the football. Mama said there'd be games like this, right? At least this year. And the all bonus mistakes don't help the cause any. I have to wonder if all the fumbles are because they're still spending so much time thinking instead of just playing. When we lost another on a kickoff, I and the other Wolverines had had enough. We let them put on baseball. Joe shouted out an "I-L-L", but nobody returned his call. He didn't seem to mind. Like last year, even though I can't get enough of this sport, there are days when the cards don't fall right. At least I could hit the nightlife in Buenos Aires. Juice Williams can't take that away from me.

Maybe I'll go back again next week. I know the Michigan/Toledo game won't be on, but perhaps that will be for the best. It's a must-win to be sure, and I don't know what I'll do if we lose. Maybe slug the nearest available loudmouth. College football is the wonderfullest game around, but it sure can bring you down sometimes.

Other reax:
MaizenBrew is decent
MGoBlog is deflated
Wolverine Liberation Army is defeated

Sagarin Check

2008-10-03T08:08:00.003-05:00

To the people I met on the road last year, I would imagine it would come as a surprise that I'm a statistician. Yes, it's true. I'm a total nerd, and have been for most of my adult life. When I would hear complaints from fans about those sinister "computer polls," I'd have to cringe a bit. Computer rankings are not perfect, but they do serve a purpose. They take the emotion and "conventional wisdom" out of the decision-making process. That can have its own flaws, to be sure. By the end of the season, maybe everything is clear anyway, but soulless (and bias-less) computers can be a ballast to our beliefs or at times alter our convictions for the better.

Of all the computer systems, the Sagarin ratings are my favorite (until I find the time to create my own). The methodology is sensible, and founded in proper statistical analysis. I won't get into all the gory details, just take my word for it. It's probably still a bit early in the season for this, but with everyone's heads spinning from last week's rash of upsets, let's see what the poll has to offer. Note - even Sagarin himself thinks it's a bit early so he incorporates Bayesian Shrinkage which, in effect ties the rankings back to a pre-season assignment. But we're far enough along in the season, that its impact is lessened. So let's dive in and take a look at some of the more interesting points.

Roll Tide - Alabama tops the rankings, disagreeing with the AP, Coaches, and Blogpoll rankings, though many bloggers have outlined their reasons that Bama should be on top. However, when it comes to "pure points" without regard for wins and losses, they're only in 5th, suggesting that they're vulnerable.

They'll Have to Fight On - USC shows up at #3. This is where that whole lack of emotion comes in, but also the fact that the Trojans have only played three games. Remember, early in the year, blowouts are going to matter, and their two wins were stompings. But they're still #6 going solely on wins and losses without regard to points. Don't write this team off yet.

Mid-Major Love - BYU's getting all the press, but Boise St. is even higher at #6. And going just on wins and losses, Utah is #2! Note that "just wins and losses" is the version that gets used in the BCS (and comprises roughly 5% of the total outcome, so relax). There are four mid-majors in the top 12. In general, the strength of schedule for these teams will decline as everyone plays more conference games, but at this point, it looks like the computers won't prevent a mid-major from gaining a BCS bid.

Don't Believe the Hype? - Gameday may be coming to Vanderbilt this week, and the Commodores are ranked 16 in the blogpoll, but on "pure points", they're way down at 28. Sagarin thinks this means they're gonna lose some games, but I've long felt there's something to be said for teams that know how to eke out victories, no matter the score. If they keep it rolling this week against Auburn (and you know it won't be a blowout), consider me on board.

Forgotten, But Not Gone - Virginia Tech shows up at #16. They're all the way down at #24 in the coaches poll. Written off after that loss to East Carolina, they're still hanging around and are #10 in the BCS sumbission. Oregon is in a similar situation (#17).

Lions and Tigers, Oh My - Penn State and Missouri have both played Illinois, and in all conventional polls, the Tigers are well in front. But Penn State is #4 here and Mizzou is alllll the way down at #30. They have 142nd worst schedule. You'd think with the high-powered offense they'd be in good shape, but "pure points" has them even lower at 35. How all the pollsters can put Missouri above Penn State at this point is baffling to me. PSU performed better against their common opponent and have a shellacking of Trojan-killers, Oregon State. Similarly, Kansas is way down at #42.

In the Middle of Seven Sad Forests - Washington, 0-4 after losing to Stanford (and losing their QB), has played the nation's toughest schedule. They've lost to Oregon, BYU, Oklahoma. We can safely say that they're the best 0-4 team the country. Well, at least the one with the best excuses.

Some Kind Glitch? - McNeese State has the #2 rated schedule. They've only played one team in the FBS - North Carolina. Uhhh... wtf?

At the Bottom - The nation's worst team is Army, who just lost to Texas A+M. So I can't imagine anyone is going to argue with that.

Conference Call - When it comes to ranking conferences, the computers can be that much more useful. It's hard enough to keep 119 teams straight, but you can at least examine a team's entire schedule. But our emotions may put too much into a game between, say, Illinois and Missouri. According to Sagarin, Big Ten is the second best conference in the country. Hard to believe, ain't it? Incidentally, SI's - Bill Trocci at least mentions that fact and actually appears to take it under advisement in his weekly conference rankings. The Big 12 is just behind them, and the SEC is way out in front. The Mountain West remains back at #7 even though they claim three teams in the top 12. Let's keep that in mind, 'kay?

We're Going Bowl Streakin.....maybe

2008-10-02T10:01:00.017-05:00

As you probably know, Michigan holds the current record for longest consecutive bowl appearances. After owning it for years, Nebraska missed a bowl during the transition to Bill Callahan. Don't they feel silly now? Given the current "requirements" to participate in a bowl game, once this record is relinquished, it will never be regained. I mean ever. Michigan fans love to tout the programs many historic accomplishments, but unlike "Most wins of all time," this one is precarious. Perhaps even more important than the streak itself is the fact that qualifying for a bowl game means an extra six weeks of practice. This would obviously be a huge boon for next season given the new system. Plus, recruiting, donations for facilities and plenty of warm fuzzies.

To guarantee a bowl slot, Michigan must get to 7-5. At 6-6, there would remain a chance, but we would probably need some help. First, let's break down the lay of the land.

The Big Ten has seven bowl tie-ins: Rose, Capital Citrus, Hall of Outback, Alamo, Champs, Insight, and Motor City. A Big Ten team with a 6-6 record can not be selected over a team with a better record, even if the bowl in question is in Detroit and the team in question played Northern Illinois, Bowling Green, Montana State, and Florida Atlantic in their non-conference schedule. 6-6 only gets Michigan in if the Big Ten has remaining slots. Bumping up to eight bids for the conference via the BCS could be huge. With the current +1 format that means there are three at-large bids, plus the two slots for the BCS title game. A second bid for the Big Ten would be very helpful. Unfortunately, it does not look very likely. With Michigan beating Wisconsin, and with Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Penn State all playing each other, the odds of two teams with only one loss are not high. Furthermore, the mid-majors are currently on a tear with three teams currently in the top 17. They will grab at least one of the at-large bids, possibly two.

Now, a 7-5 Michigan team will surely be offered a slot, even if we are 11th in the conference. Sorry, Northwestern, that's just how it is. The key question is, if Michigan ends up 6-6, will that be good enough for top seven, record-wise? Where things stand today:

Team	Overall Record
Penn State	5 - 0
Northwestern	5 - 0
Michigan State	4 - 1
Ohio State	4 - 1
Minnesota	4 - 1
Wisconsin	3 - 1
Iowa	3 - 2
Michigan	2 -2
Purdue	2 -2
Indiana	2 -2
Illinois	2 -2

The top four teams and Wisconsin are sure to be going bowling and will surely be better than 6-6. That leaves two open bowl bids. Guessing their final record based on what the teams have remaining:

Team	Final Record
Minnesota*	6 - 6
Iowa	5 - 7
Purdue	5 - 7
Indiana	3 - 9
Illinois	7 - 5

*It is impossible to tell how good Minnesota is at this point, so I assumed that they are moderately sucky.

Beacuse these are mere guesses, you see that for those final two spots, it's going to be very tight. Anyone except Indiana could conceivably reach 7-5 this season. There's no clear prediction, but we do know that getting to 7-5 will guarantee Michigan a berth, regardless of what happens.

So what's Michigan going to do then? On one hand, I'm going to get a bit mathy with this, and on the other, I'm going with my gut. But I had math flakes for breakfast, so maybe my guts can crunch these numbers.

The schedule:

Game	Chance of Victory	Expected Record
Illinois	35%	2.35 - 2.65
Toledo	90%	3.25 - 2.75
at Penn State	15%	3.4 - 3.6
Michigan State	30%	3.7 - 4.3
at Purdue	50%	4.2 - 4.8
at Minnesota	65%	4.85 - 5.15
Northwestern	40%	5.25 - 5.75
at Ohio State	25%	5.5 - 6.5

Perhaps I'm being a bit pessimistic here; let me know what you think of the percentages. If these guesses are correct, the final prediction comes down to whether you round up wins or losses. The Wisconsin win changed everything. If the team were sitting at 1-3 right now, change that final prediction to 4.5-7.5 and start praying really hard. The bottom line is, every game counts from here on out. A bowl game is within reach, but not without at least one more upset. This week would be a great time to start. I recommend beginning by fielding the kickoff.

The Start of an Era

2008-10-01T12:02:00.002-05:00

More than any time I can recall, Michigan fans came into this season in a forgiving mood. We knew how difficult it would be. It is college football. In the beginning of any season, hope is always available. But we're no longer at the beginning. And the only hope remaining was that the team could improve as they go. I almost didn't make it to the bar, knowing we had little chance of winning and that the Slingbox signal, so far from pristine, would only add to any frustration felt during a defeat. Of course, once Saturday rolled around, I couldn't resist. I've never been one to accept negative fate in advance.

El Alamo is pretty much the only bar in Buenos Aires showing college football. Consequently, there are people from all over the US. We had fans of Auburn, Tennessee, Florida State, Texas, Notre Dame, and a Panamanian who doubled as a devoted and vocal Sooner. And that was just for the early games. Unfortunately, this meant that we had to take an egalitarian approach to the changing of channels. When you're watching via the internet, you can't split that signal between TVs. We missed large chunks of the game, but perhaps that was for the best. At the end of that first half, I had serious contemplations of delving more deeply into my alcohol and giving up my lobbying efforts for more time on our game. Brock, the Wisconsin fan sitting next to me, felt the opposite, calmly enjoying the score updates that seemed to come every couple of minutes.

But we bounced back just in time to see Koger's touchdown. And there was that hope again. Further channel hopping added to the tension before we finally got back, once again just in time for a Michigan score. Brandon Minor's touchdown run got the whole bar excited. Well, nearly everyone. We hung on through Thompson's interception return after which there was much rejoicing. High fives all around! OK, not quite. Poor Brock looked more like this:
With time winding down and the Auburn/Tennessee match finally over, I tracked down the bartender demanding a swift return to the activities Ann Arbor for Wisconsin's last, tension-laden drive. Then it was over. I and the other Michigan grad in the bar belted out an unruly and off-key rendition of The Victors. Sometimes you win.

No matter how it went down, whether you want to attribute the outcome to pluckiness or luck or karma, the impact of this win will last. It's a confidence boost, to be sure, but beyond that, it proves that Michigan is still Michigan. The fans that didn't leave at halftime were rewarded, but knew not to rush the field. This isn't Rutgers. Regardless of a new regime and freshmen running the offense, we know what we are. And the team proved it in the second half. The hope's no longer blind. The future looks brighter today.

Others react:
Mgoblog
MaizeNBrew
Johnny (RBUAS)
Wolverine Liberation Army

She Caged Him Up With a Cyclone Fence

2008-09-26T07:36:00.006-05:00

Being out of the country certainly has its demerits. You have to learn a whole new system for everything. From getting to work to buying groceries to getting a drink at a bar. Even though I'm in a place where nobody gives a damn about college football, I've been able to follow things pretty closely. But with nobody else here the least bit interested in the game, sometimes things are going to slip through the cracks. I knew that the top 25 schedule seemed a bit light this Saturday, but somehow totally forgot that USC had a game last night. Maybe they forgot, too. At least until the second half, but by then it was too late. What the hell happened in Corvalis last night? This was a team that lost to Stanford and lost 45-14 to Penn State. They had no business hanging with USC, let alone beating them, right?

I had planned to write a post today talking about how the season had been unbearably predictable and rant for a while about the crappy non-conference scheduling taking all the fun out of the game. Those problems are all still relevant and will continue to haunt the game until the NCAA decides that health is more important than wealth. I'm not holding my breath on that one, and may pop off again soon, but in the aftermath of the biggest upset of the season, it seems an odd time to complain about ennui.

SEC fans must be ecstatic. Their two least favorite teams have already screwed the pooch, and thanks to their survival of their usual slate of non-conference cupcakes (Arizona State & Clemson not withstanding), they have half their teams ranked - even Vanderbilt. The odds of an SEC team making the title game are extremely high. Who knows, maybe they'll face someone from the Mountain West.

Maybe this season will turn out more interesting after all. Perhaps even this week. Can TCU beat Oklahoma? Can Michigan upend Wisconsin? And just how good are those Nittany Lions? Someone's due for a fall. Here's hoping I can see it through the blurry broadcast at El Alamo. See you there.

Worse Than It Looked

2008-09-16T18:34:00.002-05:00

I remember I once lauded the Michigan Notre Dame rivalry as one of the nation's greatest because no matter how good the two teams were, the game was always a close one. Games that should have been blowouts were competitive, if not nailbiters. Then 2003 happened. #5 Michigan walloped the #15 Irish squad, 38-0. Ever since, the close games have been full of mistakes and the rest have been embarrassments for one team or the other, deserving of all the yakety-sax derision heaped upon them. Michigan's seven fumbles and two interceptions are all you need to know to determine which category this game belonged to. Though somehow, Notre Dame let the Wolverines hang around for nearly the entire contest.

Back to the game at hand. Friends who have seen other Michigan games this year claim that this was our strongest outing yet, and I believe them because they're honest, thinkin' folks. Plus, they seem to agree with MGoBlog's take. Still, that was pretty excruciating, not to mention disconcerting. What I once held up as one of the true pinnacles of college football is now a dead rivalry because one of the two teams is certifiably dead. And that team won the game. Because if Notre Dame couldn't dominate this Michigan team, especially when gifted six turnovers, the Fighting Irish are officially down for the count. After the game, Charlie Weis said, "We definitely showed up against a good opponent and it’s sweet." I can count at least three incorrect aspects to that sentence and one resides in a gray area. As I said last week, Notre Dame desperately needed to win this game. But to win it like this is almost worst. Had they lost - lost to the worst Michigan team since 1968 - they could have cut bait, thrown Charlie Weis and his bumb knee overboard and went about hiring a real head coach. This win is a reprieve of Weis and a reason not to eat his bloated contract at the end of the season. There is still a chance that such a thing happens, but Weis has now proven his hiring a failure. That's why, even though they won, Notre Dame lost. They won't be playing like champions any day soon, and I honestly feel badly for them. Heck. I feel badly for the game of college football. It never should have come to this.

At least I was finally able to watch some college football here in Buenos Aires. I found a bar here that was loaded with fans from all over - Texas A+M, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State (yikes!), USC, Auburn, UCLA (double yikes!), and a gigantic contingent from Georgia. It would have been a great time if it weren't for those damn fumbles. Heck, it was a great time anyway. I got to hear from fans of the Big 12, Pac Ten, and SEC how awful the Big Ten is. What fun! How peeved are they going to be when either Wisconsin or Penn State runs the table and ends up in Miami? Really peeved, that's how peeved! And I'll be at "El Alamo" with them to hear further grievances. The .500 bowl record versus the SEC is my lone trump card - a weak one at that, but I plan to continue playing it as long as I can (likely termination date - January 1st, 2009). The real test is if I come back next week when Michigan has a bye. We'll see.

Keys to tomorrow's game

2008-09-12T14:00:00.001-05:00

From The Onion

(ht: Maize N Brew)

One for the History Books

2008-09-11T06:41:00.006-05:00

It was late April, 2006. I remember my upstairs neighbor, a proud Notre Dame graduate, glowingly asking me, "Did you hear we got our quarterback?" In a similar tone, I replied, "Yep. Did you hear we got ours?" My how things have changed.

When I started my trip last year, I chose Notre Dame for three reasons. 1) They had one of only two compelling home games across the nation to start their season. 2) It was close to home, so last-minute arrangements would be easy. 3) I had a feeling they were in for a down year, and I wanted to catch them when things were still cheery. But I don't think I or anyone else believed that the wheels would fall off quite so dramatically. Every week. In the weeks leading up to the debacle versus Georgia Tech, Domers were cheery as anyone. At the tailgates, they were all certain of victory, and to a man, they all had immense faith in Charlie Weis. I can't imagine that South Bend will be quite so sunny this Saturday morning. The cloud now looming is not merely threatening; it is dark enough to block one of the most successful programs in history from view completely.

Michigan, on the other hand, was to accomplish great things last season. We all know what happened starting that very day. Let's not dwell on it, OK? After all the events of last season, the approach for Michigan fans is an new and bewildering one. Nobody was very surprised when we lost to Utah. We're clinging to hopes of making a bowl game to keep the streak alive, and have real fears that we're going to suffer the same fate as the Irish last season. And our Golden Boy tasked with taking the program into the next era skipped town. (The saga of Ryan Mallet isn't the only reason I removed myself from the yearly recruiting chatter, but it certainly played a role.)

Hardly the clash of titans we expect when the two winningest programs in college football face off, the game is being openly derided in the media. Perhaps it should. Certainly, neither of these teams is going to win the national championship this season. However, in the context of college football, this game is immensely important. If Notre Dame loses this game, their situation becomes quite hopeless. Despite his outrageous contract extension, Weis has to be fired. Retaining him essentially proves the accusations of racism levied at the school, regardless of Willingham's failures at U-Dub. After a 3-9 season, if he can't beat this Michigan team, what possible argument can he make to continue as head coach?

Michigan, on the other hand, is staring that 3-9 possibility in the face. Excuses abound. No offensive linemen, no quarterback, and a new regime are all somewhat fair reasons for failure. To lose this game is somewhat expected. But winning this game will give the team the same boost Notre Dame got in 2005. That game is probably the biggest reason that the school and its fans showed such confidence in Weis. It was a sign that brighter days were ahead. That the sign turned out to be connivingly false shouldn't bother Michigan at all if we pull this game out. What a boost it would be for the rest of the season.

I find myself in a weird position this time around. I grew up despising Notre Dame, and attending Michigan only steeled my hatred. I've long said that the world of college football is a better place when the Irish are doing well, even though I had no love for them. But a funny thing happend to me last year. I spent enough time with the Domers that I began to understand them a bit. Even worse, I realized I actually liked them. I know. Gross, right? It was a bit like making out with your sister. It affected me to the point that when Michigan won last year's battle of 0-2 juggernauts 38-0, I really felt sorry for the folks in South Bend.

So what of this week's game? I have my viewing location staked out in Buenos Aires. They promise me the game will be on. Does my soft heart coupled with the fact that Notre Dame needs this game so much more than we do affect my mindset at all? Of course not. I hope we win 39-0! That is wholly impossible, and I will take a win under any circumstances. At this point, I'd still take some solace in being called tallest midget as opposed to the dumbest imbecile. In the long run, it might actually matter a lot.

A Work In Progress

2008-09-02T20:07:00.007-05:00

Sometimes the parallels are too easy. This Argentina thing is a major change for me. I'm approaching life in an entirely different way. How can I not? I struggle to speak the language and have only a handful of friends here. It goes without saying, they're not college football fans. But I was still pumped up for the start of the season. I didn't have Monday off of work, but I still knew it was time to watch the greatest sport on the planet.

So I began my quest to track down a broadcast. My hotel TV has 80 channels, with seven of them devoted full-time to sports, three flying the ESPN banner. Yet no mention of the season's kickoff could be found; and later, no scores reported. Coworkers and hotel staff provided no promising leads, but my Buenos Aires guidebook did have one that seemed promising. Surely the World Sports Cafe & Restaurant would be my salvation. I mean, of all the Saturday sports out there in the world, NCAA football must make the cut, right?

Well, I'll never know if I could have found the Michigan game - or any others - because when I arrived at the World Sports Cafe & Restaurant, here is what the site had to offer:Apparently World Sports haven't been bringing in the business. Much like my team, I'm starting over. Brian referred to the situation as being under construction. Just like the World Sports Cafe & Restaurant and my viewing plan of attack. The Slingbox is hooked up in Chicago now. Unfortunately, it's not playing nice with my laptop yet. Breath is held and fingers are crossed for this weekend.

But the games were still played without me. Since I've seen none of them, it's like I'm telling second-hand stories. As bad as Michigan's day reportedly was, at least we didn't have any problems with our weekly conference call. And at least we're not Texas A+M. But there seems to be a strange acceptance of mediocrity after the first game. We all knew this was coming. And we're stung after the '05 and '07 seasons, so we know it can get worse. WLA seems to have a "the outcomes don't really matter, so let's reminisce about the bad-old times" mentality, while Johnny feels calmly disconnected from this year's team. I'm like them, but one step farther removed. I knew there would be various challenges with this move, but after such an incredible ride last year, and really the last fifteen, I'm not about to step aside. Like the Wolverines, I think I can find a way to figure this stuff out.

Welcome Back, Jack!

2008-08-29T07:40:00.007-05:00

Last year, I gambled with my own fandom, seeing if I could handle the season without catching every minute of every Michigan game. I'd never done that before, but I was still getting plenty of football, obviously. This season is a lot more, well, arrrgggghhhh. Nobody can seem to tell me where I can watch college football here, and that is likely because there simply isn't a place for it. Not even on a satellite dish. In sum, I'm out over my skis like Sarah Palin.

To be totally honest, that has tempered my usual excitement a bit. At this time last year, I was ready to holler my brains out. Now, I am going to scouring the internet for live feeds, trying desperately to get in touch with my Slingbox buddy back in Chicago and mainly hoping Michigan pulls out a win tomorrow when they officially beta test Rodriguez Version 1.0. I have no idea if that will happen and neither do you. Ah, college football. This is exactly why it's the greatest game on the planet.

Other people who are excited out there, too:

Jason (OSU)
Cory (UT)
Johnny (UM)
Jonathan (USC)
Doug (Georgia)
Dave (UM)
Brian (UM)

Go Blue!

Wake Up Paul. Don't Believe You're All Alone.

2008-08-12T06:46:00.003-05:00

There’s nothing like the tail end of summer. The beastly heat that torments us through July and most of August begins to subside. Some of the trees start shedding their leaves. And at long last, football season is just days away. For some of us, we’ve known this feeling ever since our fathers took us to those first games – back when we paid as much attention to the hot dogs and marching bands as we did the touchdowns. For others, we didn’t catch the bug until we arrived on campus and fully embraced school spirit, forever connecting ourselves to our university. No matter how you came to adore college football, you know the feeling so well. While many Americans lament the end of summer and dread the autumn, concerned about winter lurking just around the corner, we feel differently. Though summer offers the opportunity to be outside and enjoy life, we keep one eye fixed on Labor Day weekend. The first kickoff can’t come fast enough.

Every year around this time, I always think back to my sophomore year of college. It was the welcome end of a summer spent back in the old bedroom at my parents’ house, working at a grocery store, finding myself living a life I thought I’d grown out of. I arrived back on campus with breeze pushing me. It was time to start living again. And the first kickoff of a new season was inherently intertwined in that feeling. It didn’t even matter that Boston College completed an 80 yard bomb on the first play of the game. Football reminded me what it was to be a Michigan student more quickly than any of the other endearing aspects in Ann Arbor. It was immediate.This past season I was privileged to experience college football in a way that nobody ever had before. If you’ve been reading this blog, you know all about it. I met so many incredible people across the country. I think I must have interviewed over 1000 fans. This was after most of those fans had fed me hand-crafted eats and more regional beers and bourbon-laden cocktails than I could possibly remember, particularly after some of those cocktails – you know what you did, Knoxville. Not that I’m complaining. But it wasn’t just crashing parties week after week. I got in touch with regional cultures and attitudes. I heard most of the great fight songs ever put to stepping. I made friends all across the country. For all of these things, I feel blessed. Over the last decade, I always claimed that going to college was the time of my life – that nothing will ever compare to it. The statement had always remained true until my trip last autumn. It was a journey I will always hold close to my heart. Lucky for me “going to college” is just ambiguous enough that I can say I wasn’t lying.The crazy thing is, as big a fan as I was before last season began (my friends who don’t follow the game naively assumed I was among the most extreme outliers), after the trip, I’m more obsessed than ever – more appreciative of the fact that there is no better game. And even though we all have our differences, there’s far more that binds us than separates us. From the first Notre Dame fans I talked to all the way through a sit-down with Lloyd Carr last week, every single person I met smiled with an eager sparkle when they started talking football. This game means a lot to us, and we can't help but get excited when we get the chance to explain as much.

On several occasions toward the end of last season, emotion struck me suddenly. Not just when the Michigan players raised Carr upon their shoulders in Orlando, but on the field at the Iron Bowl when I heard the fight songs and realized this was about to come to an end. When I hit Los Angeles, all alone and tired, but with the knowledge that I at least had one more day in the sun to meet, eat, and enjoy my last game. And of course when I got to see some new old friends at the Stagg Bowl. I can easily say I care more about this game than I ever have before. I don’t know if that’s supposed to happen at age 33 or not.So why am I so sentimentally reflective today? The season is nearly upon us. My team is starting a new era. Based on how unsure everyone seems about who’s #1, we could have every bit the exciting season we had last year. But unfortunately for me, it’s going to be a lot harder to follow. After spending ten years working the same job here in Chicago, I had the ultimate adventure last season. But I’m not done roaming. This week, I will be moving to Argentina. I’ll be living there for two years. Maybe longer. They are bonkers for futbol there, but I am told by my new coworkers that Futbol Americano de Universidad is extremely hard to come by. I am holding out hope that I can find a sports bar to serve as my Saturday home, a place where I can continue to mingle and debate with fans of all the schools across America. If that fails, perhaps the internet can be my savior, but watching alone will be especially difficult after last season.Senator John McCain has said on several occasions that he never really loved America until he was deprived of her company. While I’ve always considered myself a good citizen who cares about my homeland, I understand what he was saying, albeit in a slightly different way. I never truly loved the land until I got to see nearly the whole thing last fall. As much fun and excitement as the football season gave me, I often find myself thinking about bounding over rolling hills in western Idaho or following the Mississippi River to find my way home from Baton Rouge. I recall recharging my batteries in Charleston, South Carolina and a lazy, hung over afternoon in Sausalito. I go back to three brisk days in Manhattan or cruising across the Bonneville Salt Flats at dusk. Maybe I always loved America, but I never really appreciated it like I do today. And now I’m leaving. It’s a strange fate I've given myself.Of course, I couldn’t be more excited about the trip. My Spanish is improving daily and the job will be full of challenges and interesting work. Now is the time of year when we all start rationalizing our team’s prospects, convincing ourselves that the season will work out just fine after all. No matter the departure of experience or problems from the year before. Maybe the kids will grow or improve. With college football, you never know for sure. I've certainly been doing that with regards to Michigan. I have to since right now, we don’t even have a quarterback. But I may also be doing it with regards to this trip, too. There will be struggles, but for now, I still believe in BCS dreams (¿Buena Comunidad y Suerte?).No matter what happens, I plan to continue blogging this year. Obviously the topics and approach will change a bit, but I definitely want to keep this site a place for all the teams, not just mine. We’ll just have to see how well I can cover everything from the southern half of the globe. I’m not any less excited for the season, even if I end up going to 17 fewer games than last year. And if disaster strikes and Michigan has their worst season in history, at least it'll already be spring for me. Those autumn memories can remain pristine as ever.

I'm Kind of Tired 'Cause You Wouldn't Let Me Sleep Last Night

2008-08-10T12:53:00.007-05:00

Odometer: 22,131
Location: Chicago, IL
States Visited: Indiana, Michigan, Illinois

I'm extremely short on time right now for reasons I will explain very soon. But despite my current busyness, I was able to fit in one last road trip. This was the culmination of a year's worth of research and a pilgrimage on various levels. I headed back to Ann Arbor, likely my last chance to do so for quite a while (again, I'll explain soon). Of all the driving I've done, this trip is the most familiar. I think I could do the Chicago to A2 jaunt in my sleep at this point. But I wasn't just going up there for the hell of it. I had been fortunate enough to set up an interview with Lloyd Carr. After getting all charged up reading Dave's heartfelt posting, I tried to make the most of the meeting.

We spent an hour in his office, talking about the state of the game and taking a few minutes to reminisce about that glorious 1997 season. The focus of my questions were primarily for my book, so certain curiosities such as, "What do you really think of Urban Meyer?" went unasked (though he briefly dropped the subtlest of hints at that particular topic). I hope to get an excerpt up here soon, time permitting. But I will say this, the man is sharp as a tack. Not only did he remember the name of my high school coach from his days on the recruiting trail while coaching at Illinois (1978-79), when I was unsure of which season Washington had played Minnesota in the Rose Bowl, '60 or '62, he knew it was 1960 immediately. We found ourselves agreeing on so many areas, I had to wonder if it was solely because he was my team's head coach and had therefore informed my sensibilities. I'm sure that must be at least partially the case. In sum, it was a fantastic hour for me, and I think he enjoyed our chat a little bit, too.

Yeah. This'n'll be framed.

After leaving Carr's office on a bit of a high, I poked around campus just a bit before going south to take a look at the progress on Michigan Stadium. The way things look right now, I question how ready they will be for that Utah game in three weeks.
They have begun to put the bricks on, though.

Gate 9 on the north end is "done", though it looks as plain as a prison entrance. I assume there are forthcoming additions to spruce things up a bit.
Near the Indiana/Michigan border on my way home, I stopped at a fruit and vegetable stand across the street from a Panera Bread. Over the course of the season, I rarely had time to hit any side-of-the-road, family-run joints. I picked up some corn, blueberries, and tomatoes. They were about the same price as the local chain grocery store would have charged, but my goodness could you taste the difference. The tomatoes were so ripe they were practically bursting. They hadn't been carted halfway across the earth to arrive on my plate. It was nice to know that at the end of this trip, I'm still able to get a bit of the local flavor, even if I ended up savoring it in my own kitchen.

As I referenced above, I'll have a big update in the next day or two.

A lesson in how to play football

2008-08-03T10:01:00.001-05:00

...from Borat:

Mike Slive Interview

2008-07-28T09:21:00.003-05:00

In some ways on this past season, I felt like William Miller in Almost Famous. Not only was I touring the nation, I was able to see sports at a level I never expected. This included press box seating near such big names as Stewart Mandel, Roy Kramer, and Barry Alvarez. It even included a head coach inviting me over to his house for breakfast, but you’ll have to wait for the book to hear that tale. Several months ago, I was fortunate enough to interview SEC Commissioner Mike Slive. Below is an excerpt of our conversation. Remember that this project of mine was always focused on the fans, so that’s the nature of the majority of these questions. To be sure, I could have pressed him on a few of these issues and wish I had done more of that. Here's what he had to say.

How would you describe the typical SEC football fan?
There’s no such thing. I think more about the fans as a group than I do as individuals, and I think they share common characteristics. When I think of an SEC fan, I think of loyalty, passion, knowledge, concern and abiding interest in their institution and in their athletic programs. And it matters not whether they’re graduates. A fan base is made up of people from all walks of life. People with all different backgrounds.

One of the things I’ve often watched and really marveled at and enjoyed is the fact that in our league, our institutions and athletic programs have a definite family orientation. It’s not unusual to see three generations of a family attend, for example, a football game together You often see Mom and Dad, children and grandma and grandpa. And you realize that it wasn’t long ago that the grandma and grandpa were mom and dad. And before that, they were the children. The family shares an experience – they look forward to it as part of their family rituals, family events, family life cycle events. It’s always very heartwarming when you walk through a stadium and you see that.

Coaches salaries seem to be increasing at a rapid rate. What do you think about that?
I approach it first from the point of view that the conference or the NCAA can’t control salaries by law. The last time the NCAA tried to do that, they settled a case for 53 million dollars. There isn’t anything we can do about it. These are institutional decisions and have been driven by the marketplace for coaches, which is impacted by the NFL and also by the importance of success at all of these institutions. I am concerned about increasing costs, of which salaries are a part, and the ability for revenue to keep pace with the cost. So yes, it’s a concern as an overall part of the health. As I understand, the number for salaries is about 3% of an institution’s overall budget and that hasn’t changed in 15 years. The visibility has made it a significant issue. I think our presidents have been looking at this issue. They are subsidizing athletics.

In the final analysis, what’s the nature of the question – are we asking whether or not it’s a fiscal issue, moral issue. Given the way athletic departments are required to fund themselves by our major institutions and to the extent that football revenue can support 20 other sports. Should a president make more than a football coach? In a perfect world yes, in the way intercollegiate athletics has grown up as an auxiliary enterprise w/o university funding, the generation of that income becomes imperative.

Being commissioner, is it harder to be a fan?
This is my standard answer. When I go to a conference game, I’m neutral – I just hope the officiating goes well. During bowl games, I become a fan. The anxiety that one feels in being a fan is hell. Because it’s exciting and fun, but it’s a very different experience for a commissioner when a team is playing a national championship game versus a conference game. You just become a fan.

Regarding the playoff debate, does the SEC have an official position?
In our annual spring meeting, our presidents met, and last year when Dr. Matching brought up the concept – our presidents and chancellors talked about it. They overwhelmingly said that they were not interested in a playoff, but at that time authorized Dr. Kian at Ole Miss and me to explore other formats in the context of the BCS. Our exploration has been more in the area of a plus one within the context of the BCS.

When I ask fans what they wish was different about the game, the only complaint on which everyone agreed was the way non-conference games keep getting less and less competitive. This came up again and again. What’s your take on the issue?
I have been outspoken from here, not having to coach these teams and not having to produce the revenue – it has always been my hope that we will play more significant inter-conference games on a home and home basis for the fans, and selfishly for the conference because the more high quality home-and-home games that we play gives us much better inventory to negotiate with when it comes to talking with television. With a home-and-home, every other year gives us a better schedule for our television folks. Right from the beginning when we went to twelve games, it has been my goal to improve the non-conference schedules. That’s one issue where I totally agree.

When I was at Tennessee, a couple of fans suggested that we create an SEC-Big Ten Challenge, similar to the ACC-Big Ten challenge in basketball. Take one weekend early in the season and match up home-and-homes with the strongest teams playing one another. Then switch the teams every two years. Is there any chance we can get this to happen?
I have heard such a suggestion before, and the positives are very clear. It is an interesting idea, one we would look at, but at first blush some of the obstacles may be insurmountable.

What do you like best about college football?
Oh boy, I like a lot of things about it. There’s just the same experience you have. When you drive up to a stadium and feel the pulse and the excitement and see the tailgating and the recreational vehicles and the colors and the anticipation, and in our league, the stadiums are full, the weather’s usually good. The anticipation is great. And the games have been fabulous in our league. They’re so competitive and so unpredictable. There’s something special about a football weekend, the Friday night leading up to it, the Saturday game. Also the institution is the focus of attention. It’s a rallying point for alumni, friends, and administrators. There are so many offshoots of the game itself that can be very positive for the institution. That’s really a very difficult atmosphere to duplicate in other sports and at other level of competition.

Do you have a favorite memory?
It’s hard to duplicate winning the National Championship two years in a row and being on the field and being on the podium and sharing the excitement. But I will tell you this, that’s exciting, but it’s no more exciting than that same experience at the SEC championship game. Our championship game has all the same trappings of the NC game. Same, if not more intense fan support b/c it’s both our teams. It’s sold out in the wintertime before anybody knows who’s playing. Our people will tell you it’s as good as any bowl game if not better. It’s as good as any NC game. Sharing with them the other ecstasy and sense of accomplishment that they feel at that moment.

Some New Movies

2008-07-17T23:50:00.006-05:00

...well, not new, but newly available. Just up and running, SnagFilms.com is to documentary film projects what Hulu is to television. Among the multitude of films there for your perusal are a handful of college football specials. I'm most partial to the extremely comprehensive Rivalries: The History of Ohio State and Michigan, which features the following remarkable quote from an aging Pat Summerall: "1991 was a rout all the way but it was exciting because of the magic of Magic Desmond 'Magic' Howard." But I recommend taking a peek at the following movies as well:

Live The Dream (Texas' national championship run in 2005)
National Champions: The Story of the 2006 Florida Gators
Out of the Blue (Boise State's 2006 season and Fiesta Bowl victory)
Rivalries: The Tradition of Georgia vs. Florida

(HT: /film)

Stagg Bowl Recap

2008-07-16T08:12:00.001-05:00

Continuing my series of "nostalgia files" that didn't make their way into SI On Campus due to my own lethargy or otherwise busy news weeks, I am turning on the way-back-machine. Today I present the column I originally wrote after the Stagg Bowl, way back in mid-December. Travel with me back to the past to reminisce about my trip to Salem, Virginia for the D-III championship game.

For the last 15 seasons, Salem, Virginia has played host to the two teams who have survived the gauntlet of the Division III playoffs. One could call it the D-III Super Bowl, but everyone uses its given name, the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl. For the third consecutive year, Mount Union faced off against the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater for the national championship. Predictions of freezing rain had clearly kept some folks from making the trek, but plenty of enthused fans and alumni arrived at the stadium parking lot early to celebrate making it this far.

Mount Union came in as prohibitive favorites, having only lost three games this century, and owning two straight victories over the Warhawks in Salem. To an impartial observer, the landscape of revelers could be a bit confusing. Both teams claim purple and black as their colors. Perhaps that was just as well. They say familiarity breeds contempt, but fans from both sides were friendly to one another, greeting their opposition with smiles and, quite frequently, beers. The celebratory air did much to cut through the freezing cold, and when that failed, purple people jumped in their cars to warm up. Those who made the drive down from Alliance, Ohio did so with supreme confidence that the Purple Raiders would win their tenth crown, flying banners that said, “Merry X-mas” and “Welcome to the Kehres Bowl” in honor of their coach, Larry Kehres. That the team had outscored opponents 605-55 over the course of the season only served to buoy that confidence. In a bold move, some Mount Union fans wore t-shirts listing their national championships, including 2007.

Just some of the confident Purple Raiders

However, the visitors were not limited to Purple Raiders and Warhawks. Alumni and current students from across the D-III landscape showed up to take part in the festivities. Representatives from Virginia’s Christopher Newport University, Wesley College in Delaware, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Texas and countless others made the trip to meet some of their brethren and talk football all weekend. In an example of the minor clash of cultures on display, a man from Texas kidded another from Wisconsin, “You talk funny! I have a cousin from Ohio. He talks funny, too.” Despite some gentle ribbing, there is a clear kinship among everyone making the pilgrimage to Salem. Division III doesn’t garner the national attention of the big schools. When it does find the spotlight, derision is often not far behind. These fans are quick to complain when talking heads call their sport “High School Football.”

Fans came from all over America

A group from Virginia’s Bridgewater College has been coming down to Salem every year since their team lost to Mount Union in the 2001 Stagg Bowl. Stone Station, so called because they do their home tailgating in front the house of school president, Dr. Phil Stone, employs contributions from all of their constituents. The result is a buffet fit for a king bestowed on any hungry soul in the vicinity. Much to the delight of the entire parking lot, they served up pulled pork, deep fried turkey, crab soup, barbecued chicken, ham sandwiches, fried potatoes, various salads, and made-from-scratch brownies and cookies. Once the first person yelled “Dig in,” the line didn’t stop flowing until ten minutes before kickoff. When the Whitewater band arrived, they headed straight for the spread, with one member exclaiming, “We’ll find the Whitewater tailgate later. I’m getting in line.” More than simply an impressive display of generosity, the folks at Bridgewater look forward to this event all season. It’s just as fun for them to meet far flung D-III fans as it is for those fans to chow down on all the tasty grub. While folks sampled the group’s eats, they did their best to stay warm, huddling near wood-burning fire pits. Stone Station knows how to pamper.

By the time the game kicked off, the dreaded rain finally arrived. Outside of some of the ballcarriers, nobody seemed to mind. Most unaffiliated fans pulled for Whitewater to get the upset, hoping the third try would be the charm. The game featured big hits, shifts in momentum, and some huge plays. Through the strength of Gagliardi Trophy winner Justin Beaver’s legs and an impressive defensive performance, they managed to outplay Mount Union. In the game’s closing minutes, the Warhawk fans briefly dusted off the “Over-rated!” chant, but quickly switched to “U-Dub-Dub!” A much more appropriate cheer given the respect these two teams have for one another.

Being photographed with the lowest rung on the Sports Illustrated ladder was hardly the biggest thrill of the day for the Whitewater Dance Team

After players from both teams shook hands, the Warhawks collected their trophy and posed for a team picture. Once that was finished, they shouted in unison, “Miller Time!” When one of the neutral fans blurted out, “It’s a Wisconsin thing,” a Whitewater fan said, “That’s right! We don’t drink Budweiser.” The Whitewater players then ran over to celebrate with their fans. Within fifteen minutes after the games end, the skies opened up and doused the area with rain. That cut the post-game celebration short, sending people back to their hotels. It was just as well. The pinnacle of Division III football had delivered. The game was excellent, but perhaps more importantly, the game’s followers had gotten to know one another. They all have hopes of their team’s chances to play their way into the Stagg Bowl next season. But even if the team doesn’t bring them to Salem, they plan to come anyway. After comments about the thrilling game, the most frequently heard farewell was, “See you next year,” a promise sure to be fulfilled.

Tailgate Report Card: Florida vs Georgia

2008-07-14T08:13:00.009-05:00

I know what you're thinking. They tailgate for Softball? Well, perhaps they do, but in going through all my notes, I realized there were a couple SI On Campus stories I wrote that were never published. Consider this my "things I lost in the fire" era. So we are going way back to the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party for this one. I don't even remember what I wrote, but here it is...

Setting A neutral-site game has a lot to offer in terms of heated pregame passion shown by both sides. But the area surrounding Alltel stadium in Jacksonville is hardly anyone’s version of paradise. The tailgating areas mostly consist of cement parking lots packed with cars and little room for major grilling or tenting. That said, one has to be impressed with the immense scale of the scene. You could walk for ten blocks in any direction and still not leave the tailgating areas. Grade: C+

Knowledge of Fans As the day wore on, it seemed the level of football knowledge decreased. I’m sure it was just buried beneath all the bourbon, beer, and other consumables. A lot of people were local Jacksonville and not as into the college game as one would expect in an on-campus setting. Every Georgia fan I spoke with was convinced they had no chance to win the game. Then again, had any of us heard of Knowshon Moreno before Saturday? Grade: C

Eats Most tailgates served pre-prepared grub or made sandwiches. Grills were rather scarce for an SEC football matchup. Part of that could have been due to the fact that this is neither team’s normal home turf. However, some more committed groups managed to put together beef tenderloin, low country boil, BBQ ribs, hot nachos, and of course heaping piles of barbecue. But how seriously does one have to take grub at a cocktail party? Grade: B-Drinks They don’t call it the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party for nothing. While there was plenty of beer to be had, bourbon was the most popular ingredient of the day. Mixed with ginger ale or coke, big bottles found themselves emptied by the end of the day. One group busted out the champagne as soon as they arrived, but many Georgia folks popped corks after the game ended. You’d be hard-pressed to find a thirsty soul in Jacksonville Saturday. Grade: AYard Games Tight quarters meant little room for throwing and tossing. Still, people managed to get in a little cornhole, beer pong, and washers. Grade: B-

Cheers and Songs It seems these neutral site affairs bring out the best in pregame enthusiasm. Florida fans started with “Orange! Blue!” The Georgia backers then countered with “What’s that coming down the track? A huge machine that’s big and black!” Gators shouted “It’s great, to be, a Florida Gator! It’s great, to be, a Florida Gator!” Dawgs woofed with a tenacity that would make Arsenio Hall blush. As kickoff approached, chats grew louder and more frequent. Walking into the game, many young men and women had already blown out their vocal cords. Grade: A

Eye Candy One could easily argue that this game is the reason the category was invented. Beautiful Georgia girls dressed in red and back sundresses and traveled in groups all day. If that wasn’t your thing, Florida cuties donned jerseys and short shorts. The day’s competition wasn’t limited to the on-field action. Ladies from both fan bases brought their A game. Even the unattractive girls looked good. I didn’t want to leave. Grade: ASuperfans Hardly anyone was painted or wearing outlandish getups. One guy’s outfit featured a plush coat in Gator blue and was topped with a homemade pimp hat. But beyond that, everyone sported team colors. Red slacks were frequent, as were Percy Harvin jerseys. Grade: C

X-factor Many games feature large huddles of RVs assigned to special sections near the stadium. But there’s nothing quite like RV City in Jacksonville. Because neighbors for the week are from opposing camps, they make special effort to wave their team’s flags and decorate their home. The result is a bizarre sort of anytown USA feel, with pride on display. Everyone managed to get along. Grade: B

Best Tailgate The standout effort belongs to Gator Hawg’s Lawg Annual BBQ. Fans of both teams flocked to their spot in RV city throughout the day, and with good reason. Over the course of the weekend, they went through four bushels of oysters, 600 pounds of barbecued pork, and enough ribs and baked beans to choke a tyrannosaurus. But perhaps the best feature of their setup is that they had two porto-lets all to themselves. The only complaint would be that their TVs were a bit dated. Plasmas would have been nice, but the classic screens fit with the vintage RV motif. Grade: B-

Perhaps because of the recent one-sidedness of the rivalry, everyone was pretty cheerful and there to have a good time. Digs on the opposition were frequent, but altercations were few and far between. I was surprised at how many Florida and Georgia fans arrived as part of the same crew. The stadium itself is awfully sterile, as is the environment nearby. I know it’s tradition to have the game in Jacksonville, but I don’t see any major reason not to go to a more typically home-and-home matchup. But it was a great experience and I’ll be recommending to friends and acquaintances to take their own visit to the WLOCP at least once.

Looking Back, Part II

2008-06-10T08:24:00.027-05:00

Of course I meant to have this up earlier, but things have been extremely busy 'round here at Road Games HQ. A couple weeks ago, I covered some of the highlights of the season's visits, accomplishments, and experiences, handing out awards for various categories. So let's keep it rolling. Remember, whenever possible, these are based completely on the thoughts of the fans I encountered and not my own opinions.

Most arrogant fans
I was nervous when I visited Ohio State. Nervous because they tend not to look kindly upon people who graduated from that school up north. My concern was enhanced by the fact that nearly every place I went, fans relayed their Buckeye horror stories. I decided that I would have an "ask and I'll tell" policy regarding the site of my education. The funny thing was, I had nothing to worry about. Not one person asked me about it the entire weekend. This was a major surprise. Every place I visited had its share of bragging and arrogance, but in Columbus, they took this to another level. They were #1 in the country at the time, but the fact that they weren't the least bit interested in any other programs speaks volumes. People treated me as nicely as they did anywhere else, but a certain air of superiority was present, particularly with the older fans. At the end of the weekend, I concluded that not only are the they most arrogant folks around, they'd be proud to hear me say so.

#33 looks hungry - and is apparently the TV Title Holder.

Hottest Girls
I should preface this award by stating that there is a clear correlation between the calendar and attractiveness of the women. Tennessee didn't fare all that well in this category, but because it was an 11:30 am kickoff late in the season the deck was stacked against them. (And people kept claiming it was cold. Clearly none of them have lived through a Chicago winter.) Furthermore, the excitement of a home opener seems to bring out the latest sundress technology. While I was extremely impressed by the talent on display at Georgia, USC, Texas, LSU and even Michigan (in freezing cold weather!), Clemson took the cake for me. Maybe it was just 'cause it was my first southern football game, or maybe I spent enough time with the right sororities, but there's a reason SIOC kept using this picture over and over again:

I have no idea what these girls' names are.

Loudest Fans
This is without question LSU. Clemson folks proudly claim that they have the loudest decibel rating on record. That may be the case, but I've never heard anything quite like that LSU crowd. They beat Virginia Tech 48-7, and screamed relentlessly right up to the last seconds ticking off the clock. Kids, old folks, boys and girls all got into the act. My favorite moment was when they showed the Alabama score and the nine year old kid sitting behind me hollered, "I HATE NICK SAYBAHN!" His four year old brother added, "I hate Nick Saybahn, too."Drunkest Fans
The oft-heard cheer goes, "When you say Wiiiiiisconsin, you've said it all." That the brief chant is taken from a Budweiser commercial is only fitting. Well, kinda. They brew Bud in St. Louis not Milwaukee. But anyway, when Wisconsin hosted Iowa in their Big Ten opener, I was blown away by the raw amount of drunkenness on display, particularly by the students. People party at games all across the country, but nobody drinks more aggressively than the students in Madison. It was named Playboy's #1 party school in the country for a reason. I mean, look at how this guy ended up:

That's right. They were playing Iowa.

Best Marching Band
With all due respect to the Wisconsin band and their festive fifth quarter, they didn't manage to win this award. As mentioned in my post the other day, I love fight songs more than ever, and have an even greater appreciation for the sweat these often unrecognized college kids put in every week of the fall. Almost all the bands sounded great and blasted their exhortations with verve. But one did manage to outdo the others. The kids at Ohio State don't just get the crowd whipped into a frenzy, they high-step their way with such technical precision that it appears they are all operating with the same brain. It's truly a thing of beauty. So congrats to the Buckeye band, even if you did get the Script Ohio idea from Michigan.

Best Beef
The most oft-heard phrase in Lincoln at stop #4 was "Tommie Frazier," but right behind that was "corn-fed beef." I had my fair share of red meat that day, but nothing compared to Vaughan Blum's steak sandwiches. He and his compatriots brought 300 pounds of steak and freshly baked french rolls. It was enough to feed the whole team! Tasty, delicious, and succulent all at once, it will always be one of the first things that comes to mind when I think of Lincoln.
Best Individual Item I Ate
Believe me, I have never had a time where I was consistently treated to more quality eats in my life. At nearly every stop, people who had labored hard over their best outdoor culinary efforts brought a smile to my lips and warmth to my belly. I am surprised by my choice for this award, but I have to admit, there is one particular item that stands out to this day. I can still recall every detail of its flavor and texture and how absolutely glorious it was. No surprise that it was likely the least healthy thing I consumed. However, the fact that it was served in a cardboard racecar I could never have predicted. That item was deep fried cookie dough procured at the State Fair of Texas. Hot, sweet, and rich with chocolaty goodness, it surpassed all expectations.

I could see in its eyes that this turkey would have loved a taste.

Least Friendly Fans
I don't want to be misinterpreted here, because everywhere I went, I was met with politeness. But outside of the gang at the Beershoes tailgate, the University of Washington tailgates were a series of nice, but somewhat reserved folks. It was easily the hardest I had to work over the course of this trip, and even after I nudged my way into parties, people were not all that forthcoming with information. Everyone was very nice, but they didn't even seem that interested in neighboring tailgates. The fans are every bit as passionate there. I am told by friends in the know that it's simply how things are in Seattle.

These guys were awesome, though.

Prettiest Campus
Let me be clear, I didn't go to a single ugly campus (well, OK, the Rutgers Piscataway campus is considerably dumpy, but New Brunswick has a rustic, urban-lite charm). Clemson, nestled in the Appalachian hills, Georgia, with its pretty downtown section, Notre Dame, particularly by the grotto, Tennessee, the Hill on the river, Bridgewater, with its quaint small-town charm, and Wisconsin, perched on two lakes all left lasting impressions. But USC really takes things to a whole new level. The surrounding area is a typical Los Angeles urban environment (read: GTA San Andreas). But the campus itself has clearly had truckloads of money poured into it. From the Romanesque facades to the perfectly manicured greens and flower beds, it was unlike any other campus I visited. No wonder they get all those recruits.

This is a school? Looks like the Hearst mansion.

Best Scotch
"Shag" Shaugnessy, Harvard alum and team captain from 1958, tailgates at every Crimson home game. After the team dispatched Princeton, he arrayed a series of bottles of the good stuff under his tent. I can't recall which brand I sampled, but it was excellent. The most memorable moment happened when he tried to get a senior student to give it a taste. The young man couldn't handle the intensity and returned to his Miller Lite.

Shag holds court at postgame.

Random thing that brought the biggest smile to my face
As it turned out, nearly all the games I hit ended up being evening kickoffs, and at the Iron Bowl, that meant extra time to party. At one point, I crossed paths with a family rounding a corner between tailgate lots. Straggling behind was grandma, looking a tad disoriented and holding in a small plastic cup the Auburn blue remnants of the jello shot she had clearly just consumed. I can't begin to describe how happy this made me.

Didn't get a photo of grandma. These cheerleaders made me smile, too.

My favorite "from the car" photo
I'm going to have an upcoming posting that's all photos and captions because I have so many good ones. But this is the only one I tried to make artistic. I thought it turned out pretty well, no?

My favorite game photo
My camera certainly showed its prowess at capturing the beauty of coeds around the nation. But action shots were where it faltered a bit. There were many decent ones, but I dig this shot from the Red River Shootout the most. Nobody's really moving yet, but you see some horns in the air and can imagine how much more difficult it was for Oklahoma's offense to deal with crowd noise at this end of the stadium.
Best game I saw in person
Before the trip began I of course envisioned seeing upsets or dramatic finishes every week. But that's just not how college football works. Your expectations are often dashed (just ask all the fine folks I met in Lincoln before USC's offensive line put the hurt on 'em). Still, I was able to catch my fair share of quality contests: FSU/Clemson, Iowa/Wisconsin, USC/Washington, Rutgers/South Florida, and Florida/Georgia were all competitive and exciting in their own regard. But nothing compared to the drama and thrills of the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl. When Justin Beaver scampered for 70 yards to seal the upset and National Championship with just minutes to play, I have to admit, I lost my mind a bit (and joyously hollered the word "Beaver!" over and over again). It was a tremendous way for me to finish the season. Check out these highlights if you don't believe me.

Most Satisfying Experience
Gosh, here's where I get humble and proud at the same time. I can't remember if I've written this before, but on my way home from the west coast - after the USC game, I had a somewhat bizarre epiphany somewhere between Salt Lake City and Cheyenne. It was before the nasty weather pummeled me across the plains. I thought about all the fun I'd had, and all the sights I'd seen, and all the people I'd met - old friends and new. I became a bit overwhelmed. Maybe it was the first time I had a moment to step back and think about the big picture. I can think about all the games and all those people - every hilarious comment, generously donated beverage, and comfortable home. But I guess what this trip has truly given me above anything else is a renewed appreciation for my country. The stunning sites we have to visit are only surpassed by all the wonderful people that call this place home. I have always known this, but now I really get it. Now it's a part of me. I can't pinpoint any one moment that sums this up (though if you could put the Grand Canyon, screaming LSU fans, Shag's Scotch collection, a pile of barbecue, and Tiger Rag in the living room of my college house, you'd be a third of the way there). I guess what I'm saying is, thank you to everyone I met along the way. It was the most exciting time of my entire life and I owe you all a lot more than the feeble praise I write in this space.

One last thing I want to mention today. I came across a blog of another guy who's doing a cross-country trip. His name is Daniel, an Army veteran who lost his right arm in Afghanistan. Check out his blog here. A bit more inspiring than my journey, perhaps, but I know at the end of his road, he'll surely have many of the same feelings I do.

I'll have at least one very big announcement here very soon, but I'm not tipping my hand on it just yet. Until then, I keep sparring with my own prose, doing my best to put together something people will want to read. Shoot me a note if it's been a while or ya just want to say hello.

Fight Songs Are Cool

2008-06-05T10:55:00.005-05:00

Still working on that next "Looking Back" posting, but I had to share this video. It's nothing necessarily profound or dramatic. Just one fan's top ten fight songs with some game photos. But since I visited all of theses schools and heard the songs played again and again and again, it stirs something visceral in me when I hear them. Before I set out, most of them didn't really mean anything to me - or maybe I even condemned them as inferior, dumb, or just plain uninteresting. But now I get a bit of that same joyful feeling that each school's fans get. These are fantastic pieces of American history. Thank goodness they're here forever. Yes, even you "Across the Field."

(HT EDSBS)

And because they didn't include it and I had the pleasure of hearing four different school marching bands play it, here's the oldest version of Tiger Rag I could find:

The new posting will be up soon. I promise!

Looking Back, Part I

2008-05-15T12:26:00.005-05:00

On a recent late Saturday night (or early on Sunday morning, depending on your definition), I found myself driving fast on an open road for the first time since returning from the Stagg Bowl in mid-December. With my music blasting and the Corolla bounding along at cruising speed, it reminded me of all the miles I traveled last fall.

Writing my book has been cause for reviewing all of the notes I collected throughout the season. As you might imagine, there are a whole lot of 'em. I already declared my Tailgate Awards back in January, but I thought it worthwhile to cover some other aspects of football fandom and give everyone further insight on what this observer saw along the way. When possible, I'll focus on what everyone else believes, not just my thoughts. All the fans I spoke with have a wealth of opinions and they were not shy in sharing them. Next week, we'll continue the roundup with another slew of judgments.

Most hated fans
This topic came up way more than I expected, and I expected it to come up often. Y'all love to hate one another. While the Florida Gators are widely considered rude, abrasive, and generally obnoxious by fans throughout the south, no fan base engendered quite so much out and out disdain as the one that supports the Ohio State Buckeyes. People from all across the nation regretted encountering nuts dressed in scarlet and gray. Sure in Ann Arbor, there was enough mutual hatred to go around, but from South Bend, to Seattle, to Austin, to Lincoln, to pretty much every southern school, the Buckeyes were deemed the most notable of a-holes. Everyone had their own story about their obnoxiousness. I was treated very well in Columbus, but had they asked about my college football pedigree, things may have gone differently.

How can you hate a sweet face like this one?

Most resented team
Having your own network will piss off a lot of people. I don't believe I heard a single bad word about Notre Dame fans or South Bend or really even the football team (though that may have been because of their pitiable performance this season). But all across the country, everyone seemed particularly sensitive to the special treatment afforded the Irish. Whether it's the whole NBC thing or claims of being overrated in the polls or an easier time getting into the BCS, many folks wish that Notre Dame would just go away. They even quickly dismissed the team's glorious past while in the same breath lauding their own program's history. A lot of this is envy, but it's not going anywhere, no matter how well Notre Dame plays in upcoming seasons. Honorable mention here goes to Rutgers for the special attention they get from the New York media at the first signs of success.

Resented or not, this tat is an All-American

Most hated team
Why is there a team that's most hated and one that's most resented? Because to say that people resent USC would be a gross understatement. They hate those guys. This is likely all ESPN's fault. When their "pundits" gave the Trojans a two-month tongue-bathing in the leadup up to the 2005 Rose Bowl, they simultaneously turned everyone against the team. I vividly recall Mark May claiming that Michigan's 1997 defense wouldn't hold USC under 50 points. If I had a nickel for every time someone said, "If USC was in the SEC, they'd lose four games every season," my gas would have been free.

OK, maybe they deserve it?

Greatest "respect for the game"
This is really a tough call. I'm tempted to give Notre Dame the nod simply because nobody gave me even the smallest sideways glance when they learned I was wolverine. But by a hair, I'm going with Nebraska. Sure, one guy nearly started a fight with me after inadvertently poking me in the eye, but all day, the fans seemed to put the game above their own program. Really, at every stop, I found tons of fans who eagerly claimed that this is the best sport on the planet (not that I needed any convincing).
Least "respect for the game"
You think I'm going to say Rutgers here, but you'd be wrong. Even though they're relative newborns, they couldn't be more excited about joining the masses and doing things the right way (though the pathetic shuttle bus system there is an affront to all that's right in the world). Honestly, this is a really tough one, and I am having trouble labeling any fan base the "least respectful." In a pinch, I'd go with Wisconsin simply because of the harsh attitude toward any Hawkeyes in town, but there were enough good fans that I feel a bit bad saying so.

Stay classy, Madison

Funniest Fans
The splendor of the in-game Wisconsin Badger student section is pretty amazing. It's incredibly well choreographed and joyfully irreverent. But at Tennessee, everyone made a point of being hilarious. They were either drunkenly making a sweet fool of themselves or cracking one-liners about all measure of topics.

Can't recall what they're laughin' about, but it was pretty funny whatever it was

Best razzing
There was a ton of banter in all shapes and sizes at the Cocktail Party, but as the day wore on it degenerated into arguments about fashion (yeah, the jorts thing). All in all, pretty good. There were mocking t-shirts galore at the Red River Shootout as well. Surpassing those efforts, however, was a gang set up on Donohue Drive for the Iron Bowl brought a toy megaphone and hurled the most creatively vociferous invective available at every Bama backer that passed. They told me that they were "collecting birds" and the over/under for the day would be 20. I think they surpassed their goal by mid-afternoon.

This guy didn't get razzed in the least, though

Meanest thing I saw
On the whole, people were pretty respectful out there. Some people told me tales of knocking over porta-potties or violent fisticuffs. But I didn't witness much true hostility. The worst incident took place in Ann Arbor, where some Buckeye fans were doused with beers. Shame on you Michigan kids. We're s'posed to be better than them.

Best Surprise
When I set up my itinerary, I knew I wanted to hit a non D-IA program. Thanks to a compelling recent history and the fact that their homecoming game lined up perfectly with my schedule, I had the good fortune of selecting Bridgewater College. Not only was I welcomed with open arms, I was lucky enough to have stumbled on to one of the great tailgating crews in the country, Stone Station. I ate high on the hog and made some great new friends who I got to see again at the Stagg Bowl.

A post-communion handshake

Best in-game tradition
I have to go with a split decision on this one. One for the players, and one for the fans. At Clemson, the ceremonial rock-cannon-hill combo is incredibly exhilarating. That I was there for the season opener and a nationally televised Monday night Bowden Bowl certainly didn't harm the energy. Equally exuberant is the jump-around between the third and fourth quarters at Wisconsin. I don't know if I've ever grinned harder than watching that entire stadium bounce around to House of Pain. TV doesn't do it justice. You simply must go jump for yourself some time. Seriously, check this out and try to tell me you don't want to be there:

My favorite fan photos
This is nearly impossible to choose. Many of the above would certainly be in the running. Here are my top three:

Why I love this one: Shows just how much fun everyone has at the tailgate leading up to the game

WILTO: The kids at Nebraska had been lined up the night before. Still a few hours away from kickoff, they couldn't contain their excitement, hosting the #1 team in the country and hoping they had a chance to win

WILTO: That moment in the seconds following a huge TD against the #1 team in the country. There's nothing in the world like it. Look how happy these people are!

Least rational fans
Every program had a ton of these. Many in SEC country conveniently forgot that USC had beaten Arkansas 50-14 in '06, and then when I brought it up they often denied the game's existence. Notre Dame probably deserves a mention as everyone thought they were in for a strong season, but that's pretty much your standard pre-season delusion, right? I'm just gonna go ahead and call this one a 25-way tie. It's part of the college football fan experience that we believe what we want to believe. No team has cornered the market on that one.

Biggest Disappointment
There was honestly very little I that I could claim disappointed me. Washington's crowd was pretty difficult to get talking about anything (with a few pretty cool exceptions). I was foolish enough to accept my dinner from a very sick waitress, nearly ruining my Grand Canyon trip, so shame on me there. But the greatest true disappointment was that Michigan didn't manage to find the endzone against Ohio State. I didn't even care that much about winning the game. I knew it would be tough with Henne and Hart injured. But I wanted that moment where everyone goes crazy and falls all over each other in jubilation. I saw it everywhere I went - got addicted to it, really. But in Ann Arbor, it just wasn't meant to be...

That's it for round one. If I seemed unduly harsh on your school, rest easy. I'll have more to say next week where perhaps I can change to lauding your finer qualities.

New Post A'comin'

2008-05-12T08:42:00.003-05:00

Hey Everyone,

I know it's been quite a while since you've heard from me here, but it doesn't mean I haven't been thinking about you - er about college football. Yeah, it's the offseason, and there's really not much news other than a few players getting arrested. Or those junior high kids making commitments which really won't mean anything since the coaches will likely be at different schools by the time the kid can drive, let alone go to college. I'm working on a posting looking back at '07 that should be up in the next day or two. So check back for that.

In the meantime, it's baseball season and that means others have taken up the task of punishing themselves by driving all over hill and dale. My friend Dan (aka the SI Tour Guy) and his pal Dave are traipsing across the USA, attending a baseball game in a different city every single day. I would try to claim that I inspired such an endeavor, but Dan saw me at my most humbled and exhausted (in Los Angeles for Game #16) which means such claims would be patently ridiculous. If anything, my drive would be more of a cautionary tale. I just force-fed the boys some Giordano's stuffed pizza here in Chicago, so they should have enough energy to last them through the rest of their schedule. You can track all of their travels on their blog, Foulballs.org, an entertaining read whether you're into beisbol or not. Check it out.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2008-03-17T10:42:00.002-05:00

I was very clear when envisioning the goal and substance of this site that I didn’t want it to be one of those, “here’s what I’m up to” blogs. But with the offseason upon all of us, and nothing to write about save for meaningless Terrelle Pryor speculation, I thought I would go ahead say here’s what I’m up to. (Plus, you gotta love any sentence that ends with two prepositions.)

The knee is quite literally kicking ass. I can bend it far enough to touch heel to butt, which feels far more liberating than it probably should. I am walking without a limp and able to go up and down stairs with ease which is even more liberating as I live on the third floor. The weather in Chicago has been so lousy this winter, perhaps I picked the best time to be incarcerated by the healing process, anyway. In sum, I’m ahead of schedule and fully expect to be running around again in six months (if all continues to go well, knockonwood, yaddayaddayadda). In the end, all I’ll have to show for this is a few small scars and significant medical bills.

These friends didn't recognize me (even before all those beers)

The beard is coming along nicely. It wasn’t supposed to get this far. I had a milestone set up for myself and figured it would be hit at least two weeks ago. I’ve yet to hit it. But I do keep plugging away at the book. It’s quite a process. Stew wasn’t kidding. Ideally, I’ll be getting rid of this thing by this weekend. The irony is that I have been writing about the Smoky Mountains and I am starting to resemble one of the Oak Ridge Boys.

The Oak Ridge Boys. Just 'cause.

If any football developments or travel-related news arise, you can expect me to weigh in on it here. I will likely put out a few more thoughts and musings on the past season. The only real story: Everyone can’t wait for next season – even the good folks in South Bend. In the meanwhile, the sister-blog, Fighting the Youth, is up and running with at least a couple postings every week. The topics are wholly different, but hey it’s the offseason. Aside from Orson's Fulmer Cup updates, there's not much to read anyway.

On The Mend

2008-02-19T10:54:00.004-06:00

Hi everybody! As promised, the new ACL is firmly in place. At least it feels like it is. Honestly, I don’t know how I could tell if something had gone wrong, but it certainly seems like the joint has been improved. I also got a nice dose of microfracture surgery as well. Let’s home I'm more Amare Stoudemire than Chris Webber. It’s now been nearly three weeks since the surgery, and it is amazing how every day I awake with obvious improvements. I can’t wait for each new morning because I know it’s going to be that much better.

Dr. Nick is not my doctor

But I highly recommend everyone avoid this predicament if at all possible. Arthroscopic knee surgery isn’t nearly as fun as it sounds. Fortunately, in the immediate aftermath, my parents offered me my old room and plenty of nurturing. Mom’s an excellent cook, so I ate far better than I deserved. And I didn’t have to worry about very much. But it wasn’t exactly the best week of my life. I grew a bit stir crazy. Seriously, it’s my old room – from high school. Plus, the knee didn’t feel too good. It had swollen to the size of a ripe cantaloupe, and even getting out of bed was a big chore.

The peak of discomfort came Sunday night at two in the morning. Despite being on narcotics for the pain, the top half of my shin somehow managed to throb, stab, ache and burn all at once. It felt as though it was not made of bone, but carved directly from pain itself. I have never felt anything remotely as painful as this, nor do I ever hope to again. But that is behind me and the pain is minimal at this point. I'm off crutches and can even climb stairs. The overarching lesson here is that I don't ever want to go through this again. I hereby pledge to keep these limbs in shape and stretch them before any future athletic contests.

Speaking of which, I’m back at Athletico, doing my kneehab. For three weeks in, they say I’m doing great and I plan to keep working my tail off to stay ahead of the curve. My overarching goal is to dunk. That’s technically not something I’ve done before – a football once, but everyone knows that doesn’t count. As long as I can conquer my own impatience, I am certain of a full recovery.

When not doing leg raises and heel slides (don’t ask), I spend my time working on the book. In advice-seeking e-mails with SI.com's Stewart Mandel back when I first quit work, he told me, “It’s quite a process.” The implication of that statement was surely, “Are you sure you know what you’re getting yourself into?” I didn’t. In some ways I still don’t. It’s the most daunting challenge I’ve ever faced. Some days are unnervingly devoid of progress, but the ones where the prose flows are incredibly rewarding. At the rate I’m going, you will be able to read the final tome just in time for the 2114 season.

Not an authentic mugshot

I’ve grown a “playoff beard” of sorts which is going to remain until I reach certain self-imposed milestones. It’s scraggly and unattractive, but that’s part of the point. Still, the Chicago Tribune claims that beards are making a comeback. So maybe I’m hip for the first time in my life. People ask me what the book’s going to be called. For now, the working title is something I heard a USC fan emphatically tell her friends a couple hours before kickoff: “I’m so drunk!” It’s got a nice ring to it, no?

Finally, thanks for all the well-wishing from friends over the past few weeks. It's meant a lot to me and made the boredom of being laid up that much easier. Hopefully I'll be leaping tall buildings before you know it.

The Song About the Sweet Lovin' Woman

2008-01-29T07:26:00.000-06:00

For anyone who’s been along for the ride from the very start, you may recall back in August reading about the unfortunate meeting of my knee and momentum’s sudden change. While I can recall the immediate pain of that moment and all the laments about fate sticking its thumb in my eye, I easily forget how close this trip came to never happening. For about a week, the entire endeavor hung in the balance. Thanks to a non-disastrous diagnosis and a lot of hard work at Athletico, I was hardly even limping when I rolled into South Bend.

This is a day I’ve been looking to with equal parts eagerness and dread for the last five months. I am not nervous about the procedure itself, for I have a capable and talented doctor ready to work his modern medicinal magic. However, the aftermath causes me great anxiety. I have no option but to deal with it. I have already put in countless hours of physical therapy every day since the injury occurred. The “kneehab” that lies ahead will be slower and surely more painful than the previous experience. It’s not something to be feared, but it is where the dread comes in. It is perhaps fitting that for the first time since mid-November, the knee has been hurting over the last few days. Maybe it knows what’s about to happen and is sounding its last yelp of independence.

Over the course of seventeen hard-hitting football games, I saw my fair share of injuries. Some of the players went down with bad knee sprains or perhaps worse. It’s so hard to tell when you’re watching a game live. Needless to say, I felt a sort of kinship with those kids in their moments of agony. They didn’t know of me, and had no idea the empathy I felt when they fell. But it was there nonetheless. I also had the good fortune of meeting dozens of regular Joes like me all across the country who’ve gone through this same experience and come out on the other side good as new. Today, I think of their encouragement more than anything else. While I know this will be painful, arduous, and perhaps even emotionally trying, I am sick of having a busted knee. I want to run again. Even a few steps would be exciting. This is the only way to do it.

I had the mixed fortune of stumbling across a video of one of these operations on Youtube. I provide the link here for those of you who are less squeamish. I really wish I would have waited to watch this until after I was finished. Click here if you’re up for it (not safe for lunchtime). Here’s a much longer one with way more information, and they actually digress to college football at some point.

Obviously the blog will take a hiatus for at least a week or two, but thanks to everyone who’s been wishing me luck lately. And thanks to all the folks, young and old who have shared their success stories with me. I’d like to claim that I’ll be thinking of you as they cut and yank and drill and fasten, but I clearly won’t be thinking of anything. That’s for the best, to be sure. With any luck, by next fall you can toss me a pass on a deep post pattern. I can’t wait.

Haiku Review, Part V

2008-01-28T08:50:00.000-06:00

Last round of these. Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, and Vermont, you'll all have to wait for the next excursion since I didn't see ya this time.

The Hill’s built to thrill
I found mine in Knoxville with
Tons of joyful Vols

Dallas sprawl and smog
Texas weather at state fair
Such deep-fried goodness

You can’t comprehend
The Salt Flats’ beauty unless
You’ve been there yourself

Three lines can’t describe
Exuberance of D-3
Visit Stone Station!

The hardest I worked
Many were too cool for school
A grand old venue

My two quick pass-throughs
Bolstered the stereotypes
Before AD did

Rowdy or vulgar
Bucky loves a good party
My hosts gave me one

It’s oh so vacant
The more I think about it
My ticket’s BS

Haiku Review, Part IV

2008-01-24T18:05:00.000-06:00

By now, you know the drill, right? In case you don't click here.

National Mecca
It's not for everyone, but
You must respect it

I’m just passing thru
Do they have college football?
Maybe a hoops book…

My first second state
Family took care of me
Columbus meant well

Oil wells bore away
While butterflies gently flit
Until I smash them

Can’t pump your own gas
Everyone gave me the bird
Not sure what I’d done

If I never drive
In this friggin state again
It will be too soon

The break I needed
And the school that embraced me
Fiiine ladies each time

Great to see old friend
Shocking how long it had been
Whoah, you have two sons!

Haiku Review, Part III

2008-01-23T16:44:00.000-06:00

Sorry this post is up a bit late today. I was interviewing SEC Commissioner Mike Slive. Nice guy. I'll figure out what I can share with everyone from the conversation and post here if appropriate. On with the review! Again, refer to the initial posting for info about this feature.

Blurred shot apropos
St. John’s merits a visit
Before it gets cold

I met you lonely
Frustration with all of it
Life’s a slower pace

Dad’s alma mater
Best season ever, but I
Only scooted through

Grandma said go on
Five hundred thirty five miles
That’s a big damn state

A warm reception
Until my faulty ticket
Nearly caused a fight

Did my own gambling
With the sheriff’s radar gun
It’s a sucker bet

Hosting number 2
Young brash fan base kept it clean
Rushed the field again!

Sparse to say the least
Something poetic in the
Lonely little towns

Blogger Awards

2008-01-22T15:51:00.000-06:00

For anyone who writes one, it is a commonly held belief that blogging is its own reward. It won't make you famous. It likely won't earn you any money. It certainly won't get you any chicks. I can personally attest that this is all true.

However, the one thing it may get you is the admiration of your peers. The community of college football bloggers is one that is supportive and friendly. I was able to experience this as well as anyone while out on the road. I once again urge you to visit the Friends of the Program at the top right. For the second year in a row, the community is trying to honor bloggers who gave it their all this season and produced tears of laughter, empathy, or just plain insightful content. Full detail of this endeavor can be found here. Readers are encouraged to submit nominations for any college football blogs, and Brian has set up an easy-to-use gizmo. Please don't get the gizmo wet or feed it after midnight. Also, do not taunt Happy Fun Ball.

Without further ado, here are the Road Games nominations for the 2007 CFBA:

Funniest Blog
Danny Ford is God - Totally irreverent and partisan in the best possible way. They'll hate on the opponent's mascot if they have to. "Dumb Shit on Tigernet" is an excellent ongoing feature, and they always manage to dig up ridiculous random hilarity like this, this, and unfortunately this.

Also, Every Day Should Be Saturday for all the obvious reasons (though they're not eligible as they won the category last year).

Best Community
d3football.com - I am sure that most D-I blogs have not given D-III much thought beyond Trinity's 15 lateral astonishing finish. However, if there is any justice, d3football.com will win this award going away. Their Post Patterns message board is one of the main ways that fans around the country get news on other teams. There is no D-III Sportscenter, after all. I spoke above about the blogging community being a brotherhood of sorts. The same could be said for D-III football fans. Post Patterns is merely a starting place for many of them. Long-term friendships have followed. Lucky for me, I was able to attend this year's Stagg Bowl, the D-III championship game, and met scores of fans who wouldn't have been there if it weren't for the message boards. It's a whole different level of community.

Nine teams are represented in this photo alone

Best Youtube
I have to go with Autumn Thunder's Mike Hart for Heisman video. Cracked me up again and again, especially the shot of him holding pizzas.

That and absolutely everything LSU Freek did, wherever the heck he's located.

The Job Award
Midwest Coast Bias has chugged along, continuing to put out quality content and podcasts in the face of the most trying season Nebraska has likely ever endured. Unlike Notre Dame, Nebraska has been completely ignored by the community at large, and with good reason. They've been an awful team this year. But MCB has kept things rolling for the entire decline into irrelevancy. They've covered the ongoing malaise in Lincoln with equal parts incredulity and optimism, always coming with a direct attitude. I don't think anyone's stuck it out better in a worse situation in '07. Cheers to them for soldiering on.

Haiku Review, Part II

2008-01-22T14:11:00.001-06:00

Hey that rhymes! See yesterday's initial post for what this is all about.

Never realized
Quite how long my home state is
And I longed for it

First stop on the trip
Domers showed me much kindness
My favorite tattoo

White knuckled skidding
Des Moines was first safe haven
God’s will was obeyed

Sky fascinated
Breathtaking moon and stars shone
Not a daytime state*

Bluegrass abounded
Between hills, dales, and cut rock
Horse farms a plenty

An all day party
Tiguhs roared into the night
Let the good times roll!

Thickest fog I found
Despite only a pit stop
Thought “I could live here”

Two days all too short
For long ago stomping grounds
Great fun anyway

Homecoming weekend
A truly amazing time
‘Cept the football game

*Missed the Kansas sign, and only had one crack at it. What can I say, the state snuck up on me!

Haiku Review, Part I

2008-01-21T15:50:00.000-06:00

Before I forget everything that happened this season, I’m taking a look back at every state I visited this fall. There are 43 in all, and I’ll have a new posting each day this week. I thought about writing a paragraph for each state. However, due to time constraints (mine and yours) I am keeping verbosity in check and utilizing the haiku. Some will be a bit tongue in cheek, but all are from the heart. Each photo was taken from behind the wheel of a moving car, which was rather foolish of me. It is also the explanation for the blurriness of certain states.

I fought exhaustion
War Eagle welcomed me, but
Mongrel had me scared

Grand Canyon indeed
One intrinsic conclusion
Nothing more awesome

Scary weather was
Nothing compared to germ filled
Burrito outcome

At end of my rope
SC fans know how to fete
“This is South Central”

Pricey tolls peeved me
Denver area bypass
That no one uses

An old nemesis
Always a difficult drive
Nearly peed my pants

Visit all too brief
Wesley College next time ‘round
In corporate land

J-ville felt sterile
Dawgs barked, Gators chomped, I gorged
SEC love-fest

Most billboards per mile
A sweet hangout OTP
Athens again please

Tumbling knolls gave way
To unbearable odor
Cows are really gross

Why We Do This

2008-01-14T18:39:00.000-06:00

With preemptive apologies to all the Indiana fans (sorry Joe), check this one out:

(HT: mgoblog)

I love this play more now than I ever did before. In 17 games, I was fortunate to meet passionate people from every corner of this country, all of them in love with this game. Over the course of the season, I became addicted to that passion, especially to the cheers erupting in stadiums on every big play. I miss it already.

When I attended Michigan I of course became a fan as soon as I arrived on campus. This play is way before my time, yet has been in my memory for well over a decade. I happened to watch it again the night before I drove to Ann Arbor. It was my fourteenth game of the season - my personal homecoming. Seeing the play again after everything I'd experienced this year, I latched on to something in the footage I'd never noticed, or at least never cared about. When Anthony Carter scores that touchdown, a fan, security guard or just some random dude in a yellow jacket who was lucky enough to be in the back of that endzone runs over and jumps up and down with him in unbridled euphoria.

I realized that I may get to have that same feeling, for my team this time, the following day. Sadly, Michigan didn't score a touchdown vs. Ohio State, preventing me from the opportunity for even a modest jumping-up-and-down. I'd have to wait until watching the Citrus Bowl on television, which is like so much methadone.

That little guy in the yellow jacket is the reason we even bother. That guy is all of us - at least sometimes. He's why we're in it. He's all over Louisiana right now, and come September 1st, we're all going to be looking for him within ourselves again.

I can't watch this clip nowadays without getting nostalgic. Not for this particular play, but for all the plays. The Michigan ones I saw where I got to be this guy right then and there. The countless ones I watched with random folks from around the country this year. Heck, for all the moments yet to come. That little guy makes everything worthwhile.

Road Games Top 25 Ballot

2008-01-09T14:28:00.001-06:00

In this ridiculously crazy season, it’s nearly impossible to come up with a list of the top 25 teams. Actually, it is impossible. But rather than complain about how the AP writers and coaches got things wrong (and there is much to complain about), I thought I would give it a crack myself. My perspective is going to be somewhat unique in that I was actually able to see most of these teams play in person. However, because of that, I rarely got to see the remaining slate of games on any given Saturday. So take everything with a grain of salt. I just found this a unique challenge so I gave it a shot. Note that these rankings are based on season-long performance, not “who would win right now.” Because that would be an exercise in conjecture and inherently debatable.

1) LSU
2) West Virginia
3) Georgia
4) USC
5) Missouri
6) Kansas
7) Ohio State
8) Oklahoma
9) Virginia Tech
10) Oregon
11) Auburn
12) Boston College
13) Texas
14) Cincinnati
15) Clemson
16) Arizona State
17) Michigan
18) Florida
19) Illinois
20) Oregon State
21) Wisconsin
22) Kentucky
23) BYU
24) Texas Tech
25) Penn State

Notes: LSU is the clear number 1. In fact, that is the only clear thing here. They easily performed the best this season. Sure, I was there for the Virginia Tech game, which was a blowout, but there's no other team whose resume comes close. OK, the other clear thing is that Michigan should be ranked ahead of Illinois, no matter what the other polls say.

I was extremely torn on Georgia/WVU. I’d like to call it a tie, but that’s chickening out. It was a very close call. WVU had the better resume by a whisker in my opinion.

I may be penalizing USC a bit because I saw them play three times and they never looked that strong to me in any of the games. That and they lost to Stanford. They were unfortunately given a bowl opponent who had no business in the BCS, so they didn’t truly have an opportunity to be tested like other teams. Same could be said for Georgia, actually. It’s not their fault, but there’s also nothing we can do about it.

Handling the Big 12 top three is more impossibility. Oklahoma doesn’t deserve a top ranking based on their season, and they only looked so-so when I saw them beat Texas. But they beat Missouri two times. I eventually opted to treat each team’s opponents as faceless entities and ended up with what you see. An argument could be made any which way, and they’d all be correct. And all wrong, too.

Normally I don’t believe in it, but because this year has so much randomness, I gave a few teams benefit of the doubt in injury situations. This includes Michigan (ranked above Wisconsin) and Oregon (ranked as highly as they are).

Whither Hawaii? They squeaked by again and again this season. Had they put up a fight against Georgia, they’d have made the list. But they didn’t. Strongest win for them this year was beating 4-9 Washington thanks to a fluke carom at the end of regulation. I believe any of the above teams would have easily beaten them at any point in the season.

Disagree? Comment away. I may even revise if the arguments are compelling enough.

Tailgate Awards

2008-01-03T12:26:00.000-06:00

Over the course of this fantastic trip, I have encountered two questions from people more often than any others. Early on, it was "Which place are you most excited about?" That's kind of like asking "Which Hawaiian Tropic model would you like to take to dinner?" It was totally unanswerable. I was excited for everything. As the journey progressed that query gradually changed to, "Which place was the best?" This question came from everyone. Fans, athletic staff, journalists, gas station attendants, friends and family all wanted to know.

That's such a difficult question to answer, but I've tried my best - at least from a tailgating perspective. To get the complete answer, I'll tell you to wait an unknown number of months and then "read the book." But for now, check out SI On Campus for a summary of the best tailgating I encountered in this wacky season of ours. Obviously, I couldn't get everywhere. Ole Miss is renowned for its Grove and its coeds. Penn State boasts the largest tailgating environment in the country. West Virginia fans e-mailed me throughout the season, demanding a trip to Morgantown for the big sofa bonfire. These places and many others will have to wait for future seasons. Believe me, I want to hit them all. But with 17 stops under my belt, we're working with a pretty wide swath here.

Dennis Blunden gets an "A" for Eats

Disagree with the awards? Rant, rave, or state your case here in the comments section.

In Defense of the Bowl System

2007-12-27T12:42:00.001-06:00

It is officially the season of the outraged interloper in college football. Pundits from all corners of the sports journalism profession love to spend their holidays complaining about the game so many of us hold dear. Whether they have written about or discussed the game at any point during the season is irrelevant and it’s time for everyone to jump on their soapbox. Permit me a moment to climb atop mine.

At the end of the most surprising and remarkable year on record, many have claimed that the bowl matchups leave much to be desired and that playoff brackets are the only solution. Even my friends over at SI.com devoted a series of columns addressing this supposedly broken system. Several weeks ago, they stated that pretty much every college football fan in the nation can agree on at least one thing: The BCS needs a makeover. What followed was an online symposium on how to fix it. But I must beg the question, how broken is this system?

First of all, we do have a playoff. It is a one game, two team playoff for which all I-A teams are eligible. As many people have pointed out, no matter where you draw the line, someone will gripe about their relative worth, saying they deserved to be above the cut line. The greater the number of teams included in a playoff, the more teams can reasonably argue that they belong. The BCS is now ten years old. In those ten years, there has been one and only one team that had a legitimate gripe at their exclusion. In 2004, Auburn went undefeated and finished third. Every other team that was “shut out” lost a game somewhere along the way. If they wanted to point fingers, honest people would have to start with themselves. Did Auburn “get screwed”? Probably. One can only assume they would have fared better against USC than Oklahoma did. But at least their fans didn’t have to sit through Ashlee Simpson’s halftime performance. Small consolation, I know. Adding even two more teams to the mix makes choosing the participants that much more complicated. If there were four this year, who would the other two be? Virginia Tech, USC, Georgia, Hawaii, Oklahoma, Kansas…? You get my point.

Due to its remarkable nature, this season should not be used to make any long-term decisions. That said, didn’t the BCS get it right? Does anyone really have a clear case ahead of the two teams we ended up with? Ohio State lost by one score to an (ahem) BCS bowl-bound team. LSU lost two games in triple overtime and has some pretty darn good wins on their resume. An argument for any other team would require some rather tortured logic.

Both SI.com and ESPN.com had a users “pickoff” where they set up playoff brackets and had people choose who would win hypothetical games. On SI.com, USC defeated Oklahoma. ESPN had the Sooners winning. Let’s say that this is what actually occurred. USC would have become the only team in college football history to win a national championship despite having lost a game at home in which they were favored by 42 points. Oklahoma's resume is hardly championship caliber either. My point is that allowing more teams a crack at ultimate victory is a fundamental change to a sport that has been awarding titles for over 100 years. To institute a playoff with more than two teams means that we are no longer awarding the title to the team that has had the best season, but rather the one that has had a good enough season and is playing the best at the end of the year. Like them or not (and most of you don’t like them), USC is not a title-worthy team. Not according to what the college football national title has meant for the last century. We’ll come back to this point.

In the course of my travels, I’ve met fans from 24 different I-A programs. I’ve been able to note some overarching trends. Regarding the prospect of playoffs, every single person I spoke with aged 28 and under avowed that “we need a playoff.” Fans 29 and older were split, with roughly 70% of them in favor of the current system and 30% demanding playoffs. (Note: At Auburn, it was pretty much 100% playoffs for obvious reasons.) What can we glean from this? Jon from Tennessee pointed out that when the BCS came into existence, people from the younger group were 18 at the oldest. They have essentially been raised in the era of the BCS. However, they’ve also been raised in the era of outraged interlopers. Have they been brought up as frustrated, tortured fans, or has the media persuaded them to be frustrated? Have they really given the concept proper consideration or are they simply repeating what Skip Bayless and Michael Wilbon have told them? It’s a chicken or egg thing to be sure.

A comment I heard frequently from pro-playoff fans was, “Look at the NCAA basketball tournament. It’s great! Who doesn’t think a football tournament would be great?” Certainly, a bracket full of football teams would be exciting. However, no one ever seem to mention the flip side to that coin. What about the basketball regular season? It’s on right now. Are you watching it? Does any of it matter? Compared to say, Rutgers/South Florida? Are you going to watch the Rutgers/South Florida basketball game this year? March Madness gives us all three weeks of excitement and makes Vegas a fortune. But its impact on the regular season cannot be underestimated. I was at LSU/Virginia Tech in Week 2. If we had an eight-team playoff, that game wouldn’t have really mattered. With the BCS, it served as the Hokies’ elimination. You don’t think that added to the excitement level?

What of the Northwesterns, Arizona States, and South Carolinas? Let’s be realistic. These teams will rarely, if ever make a playoff slate of 16 teams. A bowl game is their goal, and if they somehow make it to New Years Day, they’ve had a heckuva season. With a playoff tournament, the lower-tiered bowls would not only lose the small level of relevance they currently hold, the money for them would shrink to the point where we would lose them. Northwestern would have little to play for and their program would likely dry up. If you believe people would still tune in for bowl matchups, my counterpoint to you would be the NIT. It is completely ignored – a consolation game relevant to no one.

I close by simply stating, this is college football. It is different. Every game matters. It’s the difference that makes it the greatest sport on the planet. With even a four team playoff, Ohio State vs Michigan last year would have been just another rivalry game. Kansas vs Missouri this year would have merely been another border war. Ho hum. Interlopers may not understand that it is precisely what differentiates this sport from the others that makes it so incredible. But that’s because they don’t watch it. Not like we do.

Finally, check out this recent article from the Chicago Tribune’s Teddy Greenstein in support of the same argument.

Please feel free to refute, discuss, and argue in the comments section.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

2007-12-24T08:57:00.000-06:00

I suppose if Terry Tate can take a break, maybe we all can. I hope all my readers have a happy and safe holiday with family and friends. And try not to work too hard. At least not until Terry's back in the office...

Looks Like I'm Home Tonight

2007-12-21T15:18:00.000-06:00

Odometer: 21,635
Location: Chicago, IL
States Visited: Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois
Total States Visited: 43
Total Pounds Gained: -1.5

I grew up in Chicago. I took drivers ed during the winter. I know how to handle the snow. But I’m not stupid. With blizzard conditions predicted for Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia, I opted to take the long way around. A trip along the length of Tennessee meant that I would fittingly pass by Knoxville, the city I’ve encountered more than any other along the way. The early part of the drive was made difficult by powerful blasts of wind. Just keeping the car on the road became a challenge. I feared an incredibly long day and perhaps another stay at Motel 6. But once I got into the Volunteer State, it was smooth sailing.

Tennessee passed without issue, and my time in Kentucky was brief. My first thought after crossing the Ohio River with over five hours remaining on the trip, “Illinois is really long!” A little before I got to Champaign, I encountered the results of the storm I chose to avoid. It was clear I had made the right decision. Illinois had become a hazardous tundra, particularly in the left lane. Once again, I saw cars being towed out of ditches. This was nothing compared to my ordeal in Nebraska and Iowa the previous week, but I was beset with concern nonetheless. I returned to find my city shrouded in relatively fresh snow and in hibernation due to temps in the teens. Of course, after 14.5 hassle free hours behind the wheel, my car got stuck in the snow while entering my garage. So the road trip wasn’t truly over until I shoveled the Corolla free. At least I finally got some exercise.

Somehow I lost 1.5 pounds on this trip. My original plan was to go jogging at every stop along the way, but the wrecked knee changed all that. I’ve eaten more fast food than at any point in my entire life, bracketed by tailgate chow and beer every Saturday. Before you get excited, ladies, the pounds are somehow less, but the presence of a belly shows that I’m clearly not in the kind of shape I was when I hit the road. The only viable conclusion is that I’ve lost a ton of muscle. Or maybe it’s just one of those mysteries that we’ll never fully understand. Knee surgery is set for early January. Hooray!

My trusty steed

I have yet to mention the various ginormous crosses that can be found along America’s interstates. I saw my first one in Tennessee en route to Clemson way back on September 2nd. I encountered at least three others in various parts of the country. The original, I believe, is the one in the Texas Panhandle. Signs in advance of the structure urge motorists to stop at the “Largest Cross in the Western Hemisphere!” The one in southern Illinois has a website. They all appear to have the same dimensions, and I don’t believe any of them has a church at their site. Call it advertising, a beacon of hope, grandstanding, a heartfelt sign of devotion, or whatever you like. I’ll just say the same thing I said about Bipin and Rebel being colleagues at the Harrisonburg Econolodge. Only in America.So now I’m home. For good. That first game in South Bend doesn’t even feel like it was part of this season. I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. I figured it would be a fun time at the very least. This experience has surpassed every possible expectation. I was able to see so much of this wonderful country, something that everybody should take the time to do at some point.

The first photo

Of course, the football was fantastic, and the uniqueness of each stop was even better. The history and tradition on display at Notre Dame. The southern hospitality (and southern belles) I encountered at Clemson. The all-day party that is LSU football. The devotion to the game of football in Lincoln. The aggressive drinking and fabulous fifth quarter in Madison. The picturesque setting and fanbase craving better football in Seattle. The deep-fried goodness of the Red River Shootout. The small-town appeal of Bridgewater College. The new kid on the block enthusiasm of Rutgers. The old kid on the block appreciation for the finer things at Harvard. The raucous cultural opposition at the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. The unbridled devotion of Buckeye backers. The charming and endearing Volunteer fans at The Hill. The day I got to be a fan again in Ann Arbor. The radiant animosity on display at the Iron Bowl. The multi-cultural multiplicity in South Central. The greater community at the Stagg Bowl. With all those stops behind me, you’d think I could be cured of my wanderlust, but if anything, I now have a new urge to hit every college campus to see a game. Who’s with me?

New York Cares

The greatest thing about this endeavor, though, is surely the people I met along the way. Better than all the wonderful sights and terrain is the populous of our nation. I talked with more generous and friendly people than I could possibly count. At each of the above stops, I can claim somebody I encountered as a new friend. Many of them are listed above in the “Friends of the Program” section. I urge you to check out their work. They’re far better bloggers than I, and their devotion to their respective teams knows no bounds.
I finish this journey a bit in awe of everywhere I’ve been. I sometimes still can’t believe I did this, and am so incredibly glad I did. In fact, I find myself asking why I didn’t do it sooner. Though I’m staying put in Chicago for the foreseeable future, the season continues, and so will posting in this site, though it may change a bit. Please keep checking back for updates.I’ll close for now with a phrase I saw on a Nike running poster years ago, but is apropos for me today. For all of us, actually. “There are clubs you can’t belong to, neighborhoods you can’t live in, schools you can’t get into, but the roads are always open.” Amen.

Stagg Bowl Pregame Radio

2007-12-20T08:16:00.000-06:00

Audio from my appearance on D3football.com's Stagg Bowl pregame show is here. I, uhhhhh, didn't do as well as I'd, ahhhhh, hoped. But feel free to give it a listen by clicking here. Note: the audio starts off a bit crackly, but then gets better.

Stagg Bowl Highlights

2007-12-17T14:01:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure who put this together, but they did a bangup job. For those of you who missed the game, catch most of the significant highlights here. The moment comes at 8:30 and still gives me chills.

Stagg Party

2007-12-16T09:37:00.001-06:00

Odometer: 20,692
Location: Salem, VA
States Visited: Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia

I was safe at home. Ready to pursue next steps and all that. My bed, my shower, my electric toothbrush – it all felt more comfy than ever. After that last drive, I would have to be insane to hit the road again. But I wasn’t ready for this season to be over. Are you? Isn’t the only thing better than football… more football? I wanted to hear those cheers one more time. I wanted another game. One I could cherish, savor and just enjoy, dammit. In my visit to Bridgewater College, my new friends told me of the fun they have each year at the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, the championship game for Division III. It’s an eleven hour drive from Chicago to Salem, but I considered that a small price to pay. Without spending too much time thinking about it, I found myself driving south on the Kennedy Expressway before the sun came up on Friday morning. When the Corolla’s odometer ticked 20,000 precisely at the Illinois-Indiana border, I chose to view it as a sign that I’d made the right choice. After all, I hadn’t been to a national championship game in ten years.

I have found throughout these travels that any trip under ten hours is no big deal to me. Anything over ten is another story. After eleven hours at the wheel, I arrived at the Quality Inn a bit out of it, though it was a peaceful eleven hours with relatively open roads and calm weather. Reuniting with the Stone Station folks, we hit a bar in Roanoke. I quickly found that the Stagg Bowl is more than a mere championship game. Fans of Division III travel from all over the country to take in the experience. I may have driven the farthest, but some had flown farther. It’s like a corporate convention, but way more fun. People compared notes, bought each other beers, and of course talked about the next day’s matchup. The weather report for Saturday was an ominous one. Freezing rain with temps at or below freezing. Lucky for me, my job entailed traipsing around the parking lot, which kept the blood flowing. For nearly everyone else, their job only required wearing purple and tossing back some brews. That led to many hiding out in idling cars to keep warm.

The gang at Stone Station, however, was hard at work from the time they arrived at 8am. All the fantastic food I had remembered from my trip to Bridgewater was on display and then some. There’s no way I’m going to adequately list all the delicacies available, but it included some of Llama Guy’s special recipe chicken, Skoal Train’s pulled pork sandwiches, Religion Major’s crab and vegetable soup, Peggy’s fried potatoes, Chris’ deep fried turkey and was topped off by O-Line Mom’s homemade brownies. I’m sure I’m leaving a ton of people out here – it was an incredibly impressive smorgasbord and was free to all. Please leave comments for the ones I forgot! People from all across the parking lot lined up for the grub throughout the day. This included the Whitewater band and dance team, the game’s radio broadcasters, families, and Mount Union and Whitewater students. After stuffing my belly like everyone else, I appeared on D3football.com’s pregame show to talk about my road trip. Ideally this will be the first of many broadcasts where I discuss what I have seen and experienced. It was very nice of them to have me on. Hopefully I did a decent job. I haven’t heard a recording yet, so I have no idea how it came off. Anybody tune in? If so, leave a comment or shoot me a note. Anyway, it was great fun, and show host Gordon Mann did a great job of making me feel comfortable and asking good questions. We focused mainly on the D-III and the Stagg bowl, and a big topic of conversation was the wide array of fans present in Salem. Aside from the large groups of folks from the two teams playing, I met and talked to people from Christopher Newport University, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Huntingdon College, Wesley College, and saw others sporting Randolph-Macon College and Ferrum College gear. What an array! I guarantee you won’t see that kind of participation January 7th in New Orleans. A huge percentage of the people here for this game are simply die-hard Division III fans. Of course they all joined in for communion.

Taste the rainbow

After sixteen other contests this season, you’d think I was burned out. Or maybe just jaded or something. The kids in purple helmets on both sides of the field played so hard, and with such determination, I can safely declare that this was the best game I saw this season. Better than South Florida/Rutgers. Better than USC/Washington. Better than Oklahoma/Texas. Better than Florida/Georgia. Those were all great games, but this one had everything. Monster hits, huge game-altering plays, major swings in momentum, multiple coaching adjustments, and passionate fans on both sides. It certainly didn’t hurt that the Stone Station gang saved me a seat with them in row 2 at the fifty yard line, but the game earned all the praise I’m giving it. When Justin Beaver scampered for a game-sealing 66 yard run, I found myself jumping up and down, cheering my head off. It was one of those football moments that makes this sport so incredibly special. A simple run up the middle began with the hope that Beaver could reach the first down sticks, and ended with one team’s euphoric understanding that they were about to be crowned national champions. Of course the flip side to that understanding was that Mount Union realized they were about to lose their fourth game this century and come just short in their bid for an unprecedented three-peat. I can’t tell you how glad I am that I came down to Salem to witness it.

After having their team photo taken with the championship trophy, in unison the Whitewater team shouted, “Miller Time!” I blurted out, “It’s a Wisconsin thing,” and a woman standing near me said, “That’s right – we don’t drink Budweiser!” Ah, Wisconsin. It’s not quite the “fifth quarter”, but hearing that took me back to my trip to Madison. That was my fifth game, but nearly 16,000 miles ago which makes it feel like forever and a day. It was at that moment that I realized I already missed this season. And it had only been over for ten minutes.

Everyone retreated to the parking lot just before a major torrential downpour. I helped the Stone Station gang pack up, but not before we all dug in to some more of Llama Guy’s chicken. Plans were made to go out and grab a drink, but I think in the back of everyone’s mind, we knew that we were cooked. The bitter cold takes a lot out of you, especially when coupled with a thrilling football game. So goodnight from the parking lot also served as farewell. I’m going to miss those folks, but only so much. I plan to return to both Bridgewater and Salem – maybe as soon as next season if I can swing it. I’ve got one more drive, and horrible, nasty weather is predicted directly in my path. Looks like it’ll be a long one. I don’t mind. I don’t want this trip to end, anyway.

Auburn Tailgate Report Card and Stagg Bowl Update!

2007-12-14T17:59:00.000-06:00

We're going just slightly out of order, but only by a day. The Tailgate Report Card from the Iron Bowl can be found at SI On Campus by clicking here.

Also, I took a video of the players' on-field entrance. Dan Fouts would tell you that it's the last game of the year, and you can't hold anything back. Looks like those fans were ready.

Finally, I'm in Salem, VA this weekend for the Stagg Bowl (D-III National Championship game - broadcast on ESPN at 4:30, Eastern). Look for me embedded with the Stone Station folks wearing red near the 50 yard line. Additionally, there's a chance I may be on a radio program with Pat Coleman from D3football.com on Saturday afternoon sometime between 2 and 4 pm, Eastern. The broadcast is on ncaafootball.com, but I am not sure exactly where to pick it up.

Update: If you go to this site, you should be able to get the stream. Again, no idea if I'll actually be on or when that would happen, but I'm sure it will be a good show either way.

All right. I hope I'm ready for my last hurrah. As Dan Fouts would say, "Last game of the season, can't hold-" "We know, Dan. We know..."

USC TRC up at SIOC

2007-12-13T11:25:00.000-06:00

Check out the latest Tailgate Report Card on USC here.

Unfortunately, I didn't see this guy or he probably would have made it into the report somehow:

If you find yourself falling apart, I'm sure I could steer on...

2007-12-08T13:43:00.001-06:00

Odometer: 19,952
Location: Chicago, IL
States Visited: Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois

After some much deserved friendtime and funtime in the wonderful city of San Francisco, it was time to make the long trip home. My last trip. This season has been the craziest on record, and I’ve managed to catch my fair share of nailbiters, upsets, and blowouts. When I started this project, I envisioned many of the moments. Aside from Michigan being held without a touchdown in my personal homecoming game, there’s not one thing I can complain about. So many fans have said to me, “Man, I wish I had your job.” I have not taken this experience for granted. But I was ready to be done. This trip has been simultaneously the most fulfilling and most exhausting experience I’ve ever had.

The timing of my west coast departure was dictated solely by the weather forecast. I had no interest in driving a Corolla over the Rockies in the middle of a blizzard. There appeared to be a clean window between snowstorms with a Wednesday morning departure. I beat most of the bay area traffic climbed over the Sierra Nevada Mountains and began my cruise through Nevada. After powering through some fatigue early in the day, I found myself feeling strong and cruising at a comfortable 88 mph. I said to myself, “Man if there’s a cop here, I’m definitely going to get a ticket at this pace.” Five miles later, Smokey stopped me in order to deliver said ticket. In my haste to beat the weather, I had gotten greedy and foolishly tempted fate. Ah, well, “Cost of doing business,” I decided.

A Gulf-Western company?

The sun began to set as I traversed the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. They are yet another stunning American scene to behold. In every direction, the land is impossibly flat for miles, but then surrounded by mountains. I desperately wanted to get out of the car and take in the view, but concerns over impending storms remained front of mind. By the time I arrived at the Great Salt Lake, night had fallen. Before I knew it, I was out of Utah, still feeling wide awake without any help from caffeine.

Driving along the southern Wyoming border, recurring billboards for a “family hotel” called Little America reminded me that this was the same road my brother and I took en route from Seattle to Dallas. That drive was six games into the season, but now feels like it happened two years ago. I can only imagine that I’m quite the changed man since then. Perhaps more gregarious and bold, but certainly more well traveled and appreciative of my own experiences. Somewhere between Salt Lake City and Cheyenne, I began reflecting on various moments from the trip; all the friends I’d seen, the new friends I’d made, the beautiful places I’d been. I began to get a little giddy, even giggling to myself just a bit. The trip was finally ending and it had been more worthwhile than I could possibly have imagined. Perhaps those thoughts gave me extra fuel because I powered well beyond my original goal for the day, not pulling over until a rest stop near Cozad, Nebraska. Having not slept in my car anywhere along the way, and given the fact that it was roughly 5:00 AM, central time, I figured it was high time. This probably would have been a lot more fun in the early part of the season when the temperature wasn’t hovering around 20 degrees. After two hours of bundled up sleep, I awoke to find blocks of ice where my feet should be. The fact that I was wearing shorts (more comfortable for driving) and rather thin socks (hadn’t given that one much thought) were likely to blame. I turned on my car and let it idle with the heat running, wasted gas be damned. At 8:30, I felt refreshed enough and pointed the Corolla eastward. Grandma claimed that I should be home in my apartment by 3:00, the thought of which being all I needed to push me the last 700 miles.

As I stared my last day, the roads appeared clear and relatively empty. Flashing signs warned of winter weather, but I figured that they were always in use during the winter months. I was wrong. Within 20 minutes, I caught up to an unexpected snowstorm that had made its way from Canada when the jetstream plunged southward. What followed was an absolute mess. Far from a blizzard, the weather channel would probably have declared the conditions “wintry mix.” The preponderance of ice could not be assuaged by the sand dispersed by Nebraska Public Works. Tires failed to grip, and cars spun out all across the heartland. I was genuinely terrified of losing control and winding up off the road or worse. Tractor trailers had no such concerns, cruising past me and other nervous autos at 65 mph. It was their turn to be the speed demons. The hope for improved weather on the other side of the Missouri river and the implementation of salt in Iowa kept me going. While the salt helped, the snow worsened and I immediately decided that I would stop at the first hotel I saw. 70 miles, three instances of losing contact with the road, and two and a half hours later, a Motel 6 appeared in West Des Moines. Exhausted and thankful for safe passage, I gladly paid for a room and ordered a pizza. It was 3:00 pm – the exact time I was supposed to have arrived home. In all, I probably saw 120 cars either wrecked or resting in ditches at odd angles, persuasive reminders that I had made the right choice. My only conclusion is that God wanted me to extend this road trip by one last day. I’m not complaining. I didn’t have to urgently be home for anything. Had I been a younger man, I may have been foolish enough to soldier on, hoping to make it back to my bed. My final leg passed uneventfully on Friday. I was still ahead of the storm that initially caused concern, and the unexpected one had already passed.

I kissed the ground when I arrived because that’s what you do when you’ve been gone for a long time and finally get to your home. After such a trek, I can only appreciate my home that much more. Not just my home in Chicago, but my home in America. I’m sure I’ll have some more profound things to say in the coming weeks, and will certainly share them here. For now, I’ll end this posting with a quote from the John Wayne western Red River: “There’s three times in a man’s life when he has a right to yell at the moon. When he marries, when his children come, and when he finishes a job he had to be crazy to start.” If that’s the case, then listen for me howling my head off tonight.

We've Been on the Run, Driving in the Sun

2007-12-06T00:11:00.000-06:00

Odometer: 17,678
Location: Coalinga, CA

Note: This posting should technically be dated the morning of Sunday, December 2. Just pretend that's when you're reading it.

With my fourth quarter about to come to a close, I had one last game to meet, greet, and eat. Fatigue had really gotten the better of me at this point, and while I knew I was going to miss this wonderful experience, it was hard to keep my focus with only one game to go.

I wanted to check out the USC campus and its coeds on Friday, but it rained the entire day, causing me to hole up in a bubble tea café. On their flatscreen, they aired Poetic Justice followed be The Last King of Scotland. Does anyone know if it’s normal to show R-rated movies feature violence, nudity, profanity and liberal use of the N-word in Los Angeles eateries? ‘Cause I can’t see this flying too many other places. Anyway, Saturday’s weather was much more cooperative – it was beautiful, actually, and I was surprised to see that it full of revelers by the time I arrived at 8am.

I still had no idea where anything was in Los Angeles, but Grandma knew the way and got me to the campus before LA traffic had a chance to slow us down. Ominous electronic signs declared the Coliseum lots “JAMMED”, even at my early arriving hour. All open lots were charging 50 bucks a car which is the most I’ve seen this entire season. Furthermore, it’s not like you’re going to tailgate in the Shrine Auditorium parking lot, so it’s truly highway robbery. Safety concerns be damned, I opted for street parking a mile away from campus, figuring the daylight would keep any folks with evil intent away from my car and its contents.
My trip to USC was a bit different than all the others because I had no contacts set up before my arrival. Usually, a blogger or friend of a friend, or a random person I met on the internet acts as a partial host, giving me the tips on what to see and expect. But no matter, at this point, I’ve become quite accustomed to crashing people’s tailgates and sampling their food in addition to their thoughts, feelings and concerns about the wonderful game of college football. When I saw an entire lamb turning on a spit, I knew I had to chat with the people doing the turning. In my conversation with a man named Jack, I asked one of my usual questions: “If you could change one thing about the game, what would you like to see be done differently?” After sixteen games at various levels all across the country, Jack was the first person to express his disapproval of the college overtime format. I happen to wholeheartedly agree with him, and have been consistently surprised that nobody else shared this opinion with me earlier. We bonded immediately. I also learned that they squeezed 32 lemons for the lamb’s marinade. I said, “that sounds like a lot of work,” to which the main squeezer replied, “You don’t want to know.” The campus was packed with people of all ages, genders, and races, with plenty of UCLA fans to boot. The crowd was in full revelry mode, but in a more laid back fashion than most of the places I’ve visited. That may have been in part due to the home team’s status as heavy favorites, but I have to think that it’s a SoCal thing as well. The diverse fan base meant diverse food as well, and I was lucky enough to sample various meats, many of which were served in tortillas. One Trojan fan chastised my choice of corn tortillas over flour. In Chicago, only the gringos go for flour, but perhaps in LA, things are different. Anyone have an inclination on that? I was also pleased to find Patron and Modelo Especial, a major step up from the Jack Daniels and Coors Light I’ve encountered across the rest of the country. Unfortunately, I never made it back to taste that lamb. I can only assume it was succulent and delicious.

Couldn't find my cardinal and gold shirt

Everyone told me I had to go see Tommy Trojan, the statue located in the heart of USC’s campus. Apparently there was great concern over UCLA pranksters because when I found him, Tommy was covered in duct tape so that he would not be painted in blue and gold. That’s right, the Trojan was wrapped for his protection.

Insert condom joke... now

I have to give major thanks to my doppelganger, Jonathan who managed to set me up with an excellent ticket for face value. At the gate, the woman working security told me, “You can’t bring that bag in because it’s a backpack.” I have brought my black shoulderbag in to 14 other stadiums this season without issue. I said, “It’s not a backpack, it’s a shoulderbag.” “Well, you can’t bring it in because it’s bigger than 14 inches.” “It’s exactly 14 inches, those are the dimensions. It’s been 14 inches since I bought it.” Not wanting to argue with me anymore, she allowed me and my bag passage. Turns out it’s 15 inches, but I’m glad she didn’t break out a ruler because my car was over a mile away. The Coliseum always looks huge on TV, but in person it has an intimate feel. Their mascot, a white horse named Traveler, sprints down the sidelines chasing a scrawny guy with a flag in his hat who surely runs for the cross country team. The band is quite good, though the sunglasses look comes off as rather cheesy to me. Between the third and fourth quarters, they light the Olympic Torch at the end of the stadium. It’s a pretty sweet tradition that no one else in the country can claim. UCLA played sloppy and erratic. There’s clearly some talent on the team, but they’re so horribly coached that they never stood a chance in this game. The home crowd never really made much noise or seemed overly engaged in the game. I’m sure the Bruins deserve part of the blame. The game ended on a four yard run by Hershel Dennis. The last play of my season. No profound thoughts came to me at that point. I’d had my share of wistfulness near the end of the Iron Bowl. But this time I was pretty much just satisfied with the journey. Relieved to be done, and more than anything, glad that I’ve done this. Had UCLA made it more of a game, perhaps there would have been some sort of climactic end for me, but the game just ended and that was that. Poo tee weet and whatnot. I returned to revel with some of the fans I’d met before the game. They were all pleased and eagerly looking forward to the Rose Bowl matchup against Ohio State. Apparently I missed a pretty significant brawl between friends at the next tailgate over. Nobody knew what sparked the incident, but all who witnessed agreed that it was surprisingly violent. Fight On, indeed.

And so that’s it. Well, sort of. I’m heading up to San Francisco to see some friends and have some fun. I think I’ve earned a little R&R.

Risky Business

2007-12-05T01:48:00.000-06:00

All right gang,

I'm leaving San Francisco for Chicago early in the morning. I have a window where there appears to be no snow for one day. The plan is to get from SF to Cheyenne. It's 16 hours over the mountains. Wish me and the Corolla and Grandma luck. None of you people in Wyoming do any rain dances tonight, 'kay?

USC posting and further punditry to appear in this space upon my safe return home. Keep watching SI On Campus for tailgating insights and evaluation.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for joining me on this amazing journey. See you on the other side of the divide.