Friday, January 09, 2009

Give 'Em the Crown And Be Done With It

Last night's surprisingly entertaining BCS Championship Game was also intensely aggravating, because Oklahoma had plenty of chances and just wasn't able to take advantage of them. The game I would rather have seen was Florida-USC, but I'll just have to play that one out in my imagination (the Trojans win it 27-17, by the way).

I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but I think I preferred the arrogant swagger of Steve Spurrier to the smug piety of Urban Meyer. But for all that smugness, Meyer has been unable to instill a sense of sportsmanship in his players; it's just the same ol' Florida b.s. that we've been treated to for years. Even Tim Tebow, admittedly a great player, who I'm sure is a great guy, playing with John 3:16 right there on his eye-black, was guilty of the trash talk that has become the staple of today's game, both at the collegiate and the professional level. And Tim? Next time, stick the scripture where the sun don't shine. We're not watching the game to see that.

A sign of the times? Perhaps. Easily fixable? You bet. Escalating penalties - 15 yards for the first, 30 yards for the second, immediate ejection for the third offense. You'd better believe that would take care of things, right quick. After all, we have plenty of officials on the field who can signal the first downs. We don't need receivers and running backs doing it after every f*cking catch and run.

But, congratulations are due. Florida is an outstanding team, and has as good a right as anybody to stake a claim to the [still mythical] national championship.

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