Monday, March 15, 2010

My biased perspective

I am a very faithful fan of the Florida Gators.

However I still somehow like all their rivals. I would root for the Seminoles, the Vols, the Bulldogs and the Tigers on every other game. I love their uniforms and their traditions. The one rival I dislike is the Miami Hurricanes. Bad orange uniforms and too much cockiness in the name of swagger (the U? really?). All the other rivals have more swagger than you without mentioning it. I love FSU's uniforms. I love Neyland stadium. It is bigger than anything I have seen. I love game nights at Tiger stadium. I love Georgia for being the quintessential SEC team.

I "hate" most traditional powers. That means you Ohio state, OU, USC, Notre Dame, Michigan and Alabama. You are the lot that has exploited the capitalist nature of college football over the years and will continue to do so. I do not think much of your traditions and I will always root against you even if you play each other. I hate your cocky fans. I somehow have still managed to like Texas because they have great uniforms. I like Texas' fight song and the hook'em horns sign. I hate you the most Notre Dame. For someone what has not won a bowl game in twenty years, you have way too much time, money and media focus invested on you just because you did well before the cold war started.

I hate most of the Big Ten because they marginalize a lot of money and still perform badly. You are arrogant because you have eleven members and still call yourself ten because you want to. I hate Ohio state's blinding scarlet uniforms (with grey!). I hate Michigan and its fans and hope they have another bowl-less year. Somehow despite all their acclaimed tradition some logic still does not sit with me. You are called the wolverines but have no mascot. Your slogan is not go Wolverines but go blue and thats not your mascot either! Is it because you cannot make up your mind on which yellow is yours - maize or chrome or whatever else your fans show up in? If I wanted to see all the different yellow hues in the world, I would go to Michigan stadium. Even your official site is mgoblue.com! Awesome.

I however do like Wisconsin, Penn state and Michigan State because they are smart recruiters and do a good job with their colors. I love Wisconsin's jump around. I love the Penn state white out. Michigan state a lot less because its a traditional basketball power. I do not like it when a basketball school does well in football too. So I sometimes root against you Blue Devils, Tar Heels, Spartans, Wildcats, Bruins and a lot of the Big East. You have your seats in basketball, let football belong to some others. I like Illinois. I do not know why though. Probably because they had somebody called Juice Williams play for them.

I do not like the monopoly that is coming to the SEC. It is like the SEC is becoming the new big ten. But it still has become the peak performer in recent years and is relatively less polarized than the other big conferences (except for in 2009). I do not like the polarized Pac-10. It should have been renamed to 'USC and its minions'. I love Washington because they have the loudest stadium in football. I love Oregon state because they have the potential to beat anyone. I like the Sun Devils for some reason. I love the Bruins because of their rivalry with USC. If your home ground is the Rose Bowl, you are balling. I like Cal's logo and new uniforms. At some moments, I hate USC more than I hate religious fundamentalism. I hated you for O. J. Simpson, I hated you for your recruiting and I hated you for a thug called Rey Maualuga. Now I hate you even more for Lane Kiffin. I love your fight song though. Oregon. I don't know man. I liked Oregon in 2007 because you were an emergent power and had some nice new uniforms. And then you dropped an axe on your own toes. You have these awful new uniforms. Nobody knows what your colors are anymore. Even the day you actually wear green and yellow, it does not match what your fans show up in. You seem to have become Nike's guinea pig. They even messed with your mascot for a while. I don't know what to make of you. But a rivalry game called the Civil War is good. I root every year for the beavers though because their uniforms are relatively less gay.

I like the ACC despite Miami because of FSU and Virginia Tech. I love the blue-collar attitude of the Hokies. I love the Enter Sandman pump-up entrance. I like the seminole war chant. I would have loved Clemson if it was not for that god awful purple that they throw in with the orange. I have already shared my views on that with Divya.

I like Cincinnati's emerging program. I like Baylor's jerseys. I like Texas Tech trying to hold its own in the big 12 south. I like Iowa doing the same up north. I do not like Arizona and Oklahoma state for some odd reason. Despite the recent bad record and the easy mockery, Gamecock fans are still loyal and make a great atmosphere and for that I love South Carolina.

I like spread offenses but I like traditional-arm quarterbacks like Colt McCoy. I like it if quarterbacks run more than they throw unless it is an zone-read option play. I like big running backs like John Clay. I like catching tight-ends like Jermaine Grisham. I like tall recievers like David Nelson. I like strong linebackers like Eric Norwood. I like unconventional defensive-backs like Joe Haden. I like one-man army linemen like Ndamukong Suh.

I wish every year that a new team win the national championship though I would not mind it at all if the gators won again. This year, my secret wish is for the Boise State Broncos to win it. With 21/22 returning from a brilliant season, no less can be expected. I like all the non-BCS schools whether the perform well or not. I have a special like for Utah, TCU, Fresno State and Buffalo. I love Buffalo's colors. I love the fact that they turned down a bowl game in protest of racist college football rules.

I do not like the high end capitalist nature of college football. I like the NFL for its relatively socialist policies. I do not have a particular team to follow so I generally root for someone that has not won a superbowl before. Of the ones that have, I like the Colts because of their old-school feel.

I like my views.

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