O For 09

So I have to be at work in 6 hours, but after coming out on the short end of a National Championship game, sleep isn't likely right now. So here are some thoughts:

1) Congratulations to Florida. I hate them, of course. But they won the game, they get the trophy, and that's really about the size of it.

2) Congratulations also to Utah. Great year and big win over Alabama. In no way, however, is there any kind of national championship. "Claim" whatever you want. "Recognize" whatever you want. I may claim a championship for my 8th grade boys basketball team, but who cares? You can't "win" a championship if you're not playing in the championship game, you see. And if you argue that it isn't "fair," I guess I don't really care. Here's the deal -- the minute you strap on your Utah gear, you basically forfeit any chance to play for the national championship. Play in a BCS conference, and then you'll have your chance.

(Side note -- I happened to listen to far too much sports talk radio this last week, and it's pretty much unanimous that it was an "incredible" win over Alabama. Doesn't that say it all? Was Florida's win "incredible?" Would Oklahoma's have been? No. Of course not. And it just goes to show that even the media members who say that Utah should (or does!) have the championship are implicitly acknowledging that there's a discrepancy between them and the schools that play for the championship for real.)

3) T** T**** (OH MY GOSH!!! Pee Wee Herman was RIGHT to worry, T** T****'s name actually HAS been worn out!) is probably a legitimate good guy. Ok, good. I hope he is. But the taunting as the game wound down sure forfeited any claim to the "high road" that he or the team would have had. Not calling him a bad guy or claiming that OU players are any better -- every team has their quality people and their obnoxious jerks -- just saying that the high road is gone.

4) In what turns out to be a fortuitous twist for me, I'm not the antichrist. After the Celtics and Phillies both take home the hardware in the same year, there had been some questions asked. I can only imagine that that trickle of speculation would have expanded into a hurricane if I were to be ordering another championship dvd instead of writing this post.

5) I'm already dreading the "Bob can't win BCS game" trash talk. I've always thought those were the most ridiculous slams possible. So he's lost 5 straight BCS games. So he's lost his last 3 National Championship games. How about you? Unless you're doing better (anyone? Bueller, anyone?) how are you going to slam the team that makes a splash every single year? It's like making fun of me because I keep getting dumped by supermodel girlfriends after 6 months when you're hoping to take Kathy Bates out for chili-cheese fries. Win a championship (just to get to even!) and be in a BCS game every year, and then talk. Or better yet, be gracious about it and just enjoy your sucess. But of course, you haven't HAD that kind of success, so that doesn't really apply to you, does it? (the chili-cheese fries are EXTRA good dipped in ranch, huh?)

6) I'm coming home from work tomorrow and watching my Celtics and Phillies championship dvd's. It's going to be great. I'm actually wearing a Phillies Championship sweatshirt right now.