How do you start a blog in this day and age? It’s almost impossible to NOT be able to find a subject to talk about. There is sooooo much stuff out there to go back and forth with someone on that it’s almost impossible to choose one subject. I have an opinion on almost everything I hear come out of someones mouth. Abortion, Gays, Racism, Poverty, Child-rearing, politics, politics, politics. Need I go on? There is simply too much to talk about.
What this seems to have caused is thousands, if not millions, of people starting up blogs and stating their opinion on all manner of issues. I will guarantee that 99% of them feel like they are THE expert on whatever their chosen subject is. Hundreds of thousands of blogs and hundreds of thousands of egos. This makes for a wonderful recipe of people with no real idea of what they’re trying to be an expert on. This, in turn, makes most people skeptical about almost anything that is posted in a new blog.
All a person can do is do your best to put out whatever information you’re trying to convey to everyone in an honest and clear manner. This way you can build a reputation and a true feeling of trust between yourself and the people that decide to click on “your” blog and actually take the time to read it. So that’s what I’m going to try to do. I’m not going to blog about 1 particular subject and never change topic. Also, whatever topic I choose, I’ll do my best to be Clear and Honest. Other than that, I’ll try to allow you to see the side of me that most of my friends love. The funny, quirky, outgoing crazy guy that always has a comment on anything you can bring up.
Today’s chosen topic is Sports. College Football in particular. I am from the south, so I have a natural affinity for the game. I was raised up standing around fire barrels on those cold October nights, doing everything I could to get close to Candice Seaborne. Just hoping for a chance to get a touch or maybe even a kiss. Hot dogs and sneaking one of my dads beers out of the cooler. God I love football. I never went to college, if you can’t tell by my writing style. So I have always tried to keep myself open when it comes to picking a team and calling them “My Team”. Over time, being born in Florida and moving to Alabama, I finally settled on……………Florida State University.
I still tend to lean into the Alabama-Auburn Rivalry. Florida-Florida State is a great rivalry. But it doesn’t even come close to being the type of thing that goes on here in Alabama between the Alabama or Auburn SUPER FANS. Most of these guys/gals never went to college. Many, in fact, didn’t even graduate High School. But that has nothing at all to do with their chosen team. By God you had better tread lightly when it comes to talking about college football around here.
Being an FSU fan, I get some very strange looks in the bar when I try to talk about “My Team”. No matter how good or bad FSU is that year, they’re brushed aside by the great Alabama/Auburn. Always up for a National Title. Always ready to kill your teams players. Always ready to throw a brick through your windshield if you say the wrong words at the right time of night on a Friday night after a bit of alcohol has been flowing for a few hours .
Don’t get me wrong, I love my college football. But the rivalry between the Bama fans and the Auburn Fans takes away a lot of the fun I’ve always had when September rolled around every year. Once upon a time I would get the tent, blankets and coolers out and get them ready for the season every year. I traveled to a few games every now and then. I followed ESPN like a true lover of the game. Never focusing on FSU only. I watched them all. I wanted to see what team was going to win their division. I wanted to know what team was going to win their Conference. I wanted to know what team was going to face off against “My Team” come January 1st.
So much of that has faded away. Not only because of the Crazy SUPER FAN here in the deep South. But with the whole “Playoff System” in general. I know that the “Bowl Game System” was antiquated and had some holes in it. I know it wasn’t perfect. But it’s the system I grew up with and I miss it. Over 50 years I’ve gotten used to certain things in my life. I have to pay taxes every year. I have to keep cutting this grass. My feet are going to hurt, no matter what insoles I use. AND Alabama, Auburn and FSU are going to play in a Bowl Game this year. But wait. One of those things isn’t exactly accurate anymore. And it ain’t the one about taxes.
Now Alabama, Auburn or FSU might not play in that Bowl game I’m so used to. They might be such a great team that they have to wait and first play in a bowl game. But if they Win it they play again in a week to see if their the National Champs. This could go on into into the middle of January. Talk about rednecks leaving our Christmas lights up too long. Now I have to keep my cooler, tent and other materials out until, God forbid, the 15th of January. Just so some system is happy with the outcome of the National Championship Game.
But wait. So far, each year that this “Playoff System” has been in place there has been a couple of teams that felt totally robbed of their opportunity to represent themselves in true “Playoff” fashion. Add all of this on top of coaches having their lives or the lives of their close family members threatened because they went 10-1 and had the nerve to lose to Alabama/Auburn. I know that Nick Saban has done a great job at the University of Alabama. But you let him have 2 years with 7 wins and maybe even a loss to Auburn thrown in there and the “Super Fans” of the Crimson Tide will have him strung up in the center of Tuscaloosa and skinned.
This kind of thing tends to take something away from sitting around the fire enjoying a few S’mores with my kids on “College Football Weekend”, if you know what I’m trying to say. So once again, I’m getting all of my stuff together and I’m getting ready for the first games of the year to get started. I’ve already got my tickets for our first game this year. It’s going to be played on “Neutral” territory. We get to go to Atlanta, Georgia this time. Florida State opens up its season against an SEC and National powerhouse, the University of Alabama, Crimson Tide. I’ve even got a prediction.
Now I’ve already told you that I’m an FSU fan. So I’m biased a bit. Sometimes this gets in the way of my thinking and I will end up making a stupid bet with one of my buddies. Maybe that’s the case this year. I sure hope so. I guess we’ll see after the game. I’ predicting that Alabama will win against “My Team” FSU, 48-14. Yep, you read that right and you heard it here first, Alabama over FSU, 48-14. Hope to see ya’ll Saturday in Atlanta!
Calling "The Web" 