College Sports: part II
Believe it or not, I can be quite cynical. Oh yes.
A few months ago I posted about "College Sports" and how it all struck me as a bandwagon type of thing. I live in Knoxville, TN; aka Big Orange Country, aka Football Country, aka Land of the Big Orange, aka Orange Nation, aka...well, you get the point.
Last year the collegiate football team through which so many people live their lives vicariously (I am certain a rural white man from the hills of Tennessee and a 300 plus pound African-American from Urban California or Florida have all the world in common) did poorly with a lackluster 5-6 record. No bowl games, no nothing. This was more or less salvaged by an unexpectedly successful basketball season as a team that was normally lucky to make the NIT found itself with a winning season and progressing past the first round of the NCAA tournament. People could once again wear all that orange apparel they had stashed in the closet for football season. All was right with the world....
This year the football team is having a winning season and are in all truth one point away from being undefeated. People in these parts are overjoyed to say the least, and it's quite interesting that the same people who spoke so pessimistically about a failing program that needed an overhaul are saying that the Vols are now one of the best teams in the nation. On top of that, they are all talking about how great the basketball team will be again this year. Yep, these are the same people. These are people who without batting an eye will plunk down their credit card to pay for over $500 in Christmas presents all with the "sparkling"* orange color . Yep, what some people make in a week is dropped on material gloating over beating a Bulldog and how a place called Bama loves to "Choke" in its games (Although truth be told, the Tide almost always plays the Vols to the best of their abilities. They hardly ever choke, they just can't hold on long enough.) I am sure such is the case in any big college town, but I won't say one with a great sports program.
I went to a school that had its football team win a National Championship, and a conference title in the last year it was allowed in that respective conference. It also had a basketball program that won several Sun Belt conference titles, and in the last confrontation with a major team that dressed in blue, emerged victorious. In short, on paper, it had more going for it than these other big schools on the athletic front. Furthermore, the students and the community were supportive, but we never placed our social lives around it. If the football team lost on Saturday afternoon we could still have fun at night (which of us were there on Saturdays, but I digress).
None of the teams accomplishments were given much press outside of our area, but we really didn't care, because we saw sports for what it was, sports. Recreational activity meant to entertain in the spare time alotted. In short, we kept a foot in reality about what we were, and what was really important. Some people may disagree with me on this conclusion, but hey, cynics love for that to happen!
* I think "sparkling" is a better term than "ugly ass."
A few months ago I posted about "College Sports" and how it all struck me as a bandwagon type of thing. I live in Knoxville, TN; aka Big Orange Country, aka Football Country, aka Land of the Big Orange, aka Orange Nation, aka...well, you get the point.
Last year the collegiate football team through which so many people live their lives vicariously (I am certain a rural white man from the hills of Tennessee and a 300 plus pound African-American from Urban California or Florida have all the world in common) did poorly with a lackluster 5-6 record. No bowl games, no nothing. This was more or less salvaged by an unexpectedly successful basketball season as a team that was normally lucky to make the NIT found itself with a winning season and progressing past the first round of the NCAA tournament. People could once again wear all that orange apparel they had stashed in the closet for football season. All was right with the world....
This year the football team is having a winning season and are in all truth one point away from being undefeated. People in these parts are overjoyed to say the least, and it's quite interesting that the same people who spoke so pessimistically about a failing program that needed an overhaul are saying that the Vols are now one of the best teams in the nation. On top of that, they are all talking about how great the basketball team will be again this year. Yep, these are the same people. These are people who without batting an eye will plunk down their credit card to pay for over $500 in Christmas presents all with the "sparkling"* orange color . Yep, what some people make in a week is dropped on material gloating over beating a Bulldog and how a place called Bama loves to "Choke" in its games (Although truth be told, the Tide almost always plays the Vols to the best of their abilities. They hardly ever choke, they just can't hold on long enough.) I am sure such is the case in any big college town, but I won't say one with a great sports program.
I went to a school that had its football team win a National Championship, and a conference title in the last year it was allowed in that respective conference. It also had a basketball program that won several Sun Belt conference titles, and in the last confrontation with a major team that dressed in blue, emerged victorious. In short, on paper, it had more going for it than these other big schools on the athletic front. Furthermore, the students and the community were supportive, but we never placed our social lives around it. If the football team lost on Saturday afternoon we could still have fun at night (which of us were there on Saturdays, but I digress).
None of the teams accomplishments were given much press outside of our area, but we really didn't care, because we saw sports for what it was, sports. Recreational activity meant to entertain in the spare time alotted. In short, we kept a foot in reality about what we were, and what was really important. Some people may disagree with me on this conclusion, but hey, cynics love for that to happen!
* I think "sparkling" is a better term than "ugly ass."
posted by Darth Liberal at 1:16 PM
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