Wednesday, January 5, 2011

The Sugar Bowl is over and I'm still mad

Get over it.  Move on.  Worry about today.

We all tell ourselves, and each other, these types of things when something troublesome is behind us.  We want to change it.  We want someone - anyone - to listen to our concerns and (sorry Spike) "do the right thing."

It rarely happens.  Case in point: last night's Sugar Bowl.

By now we all know the story of Ohio State's "Tat Five" and the NCAA's subsequent "handling" of their case.  I for one had hoped Jim Tressel would give us even an ounce of honor and courage and sit the kids for at least a quarter, but their pledge to return and face the suspensions was obviously more than enough for the Buckeyes' head coach.

Maybe Dan Herron and Terrelle Pryor will miss the first five games of their NFL team's season next year instead. (Cue sitcom laugh track)  I know I'm being overly cynical, but the NCAA forced my hand by telling me their decision was based on the best interests of the student athletes and had nothing - NOTHING - to do with commerce.

(Hang on, the NCAA real estate division just called to offer me beach front land in Kansas)

Seriously, here's my biggest problem: what happens next?  Will all five stay in Columbus?  I'll believe it when I see it.  What about the next school to face a similar circumstance?  If they don't generate headlines (and dollars) like Ohio State or Alabama, judgement will be swift - and unfair.

Good luck moving forward NCAA.  You've shackled yourself to a bad ruling and lost a lot of credibility in the process.  Worst of all, you're good with it.  But hey, at least you can now tell the millions who feel like I do to get over it, move on and worry about today, which is always easier than dealing with the issue itself.

Alright, I'm off to ride unicorns near my new beach house in Kansas.

(Have more to add?  Let me know what you think.)

1 comment:

  1. Good column, Jay. Of course, for the NCAA to lose more credibility means that it still had some to lose. The decisions that have been made recently are all over the map from your beach house in Kansas to my mountain cabin in Miami. Their defense of taking things on a case-by-case basis hold up about as well as Mark Mangino's suspenders. There is clearly another motivating factor in their decisions, and everyone now knows it if they didn't already.

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