College Football Today
[Guest post by DRJ]
Florida beat Alabama 31-20 to win the SEC title. Not much of a surprise there and I think Florida will beat OU if they end up as the Final Two. In regional action, USC beat UCLA 28-7, no doubt disappointing some of Patterico’s California fans.
This made me wonder about rivalries in the same geographic area. I generally know how people will react to Texas colleges. Alumni like their colleges but beyond that there are signs that indicate which school fans will root for. People who like Fort Worth and West central Texas usually prefer TCU, West Texans like Texas Tech, and Dallas/East Texas fans like SMU. Rural and small town folks often like Texas A & M while urbanites prefer UT.
Are there similar signs that differentiate USC from UCLA fans? And what about other states where there are several teams that divide loyalties?
— DRJ
USC fans have jobs.
Mike K (2cf494) — 12/6/2008 @ 5:06 pmHeh. Then it’s more than a football game, it’s class warfare?
DRJ (b4db3a) — 12/6/2008 @ 5:08 pmIt’s pretty easy in UCLA/USC. UCLA fans are good, and USC fans are evil.
–JRM
JRM (355c21) — 12/6/2008 @ 5:09 pmI’m gratified to learn that Californians bring the same maturity to football fandom as we Texans.
DRJ (b4db3a) — 12/6/2008 @ 5:17 pmThere’s the big K-Sate/KU rivalry…
The KU fans are the dumb ones. 🙂
Scott Jacobs (90ff96) — 12/6/2008 @ 5:24 pmYeah, but it’s at car washes and lawn-care services. 🙂
Scott Jacobs (90ff96) — 12/6/2008 @ 5:27 pmUndergraduates at the University of Southern California are not, under any interpretation of the letter of the law or of the the rules of the NCAA, required to have birth certificates.
Official Internet Data Office (2284a0) — 12/6/2008 @ 5:36 pmIn Philadelphia you have Penn that plays in the Ivy League so woohoo Go Penn! Beat Columbia!, Temple who are to football what truthnjustice is to intelligent insight, Villanova who I’m not even sure are Division I for football, and St. Joe’s and LaSalle who don’t have football teams. By default everyone is a Penn State fan despite it being 5 hours away in that foreign land known as the rest of Pennsylvania. All of the Irish Catholics in the rougher blue collar neighborhoods would latch onto Notre Dame. Basketball is where the college sports heat rises in Philly.
Jack Klompus (b0e238) — 12/6/2008 @ 5:36 pmReal Californians follow waterpolo.
Mitchell Young (6325a3) — 12/6/2008 @ 5:37 pmReal Californians follow waterpolo.
Dude, you’re so lame.
Another Drew (98abde) — 12/6/2008 @ 6:00 pmIt’s the waves!
Surf City Rocks!
Michigan-Ohio State.
It has its own Wikipedia entry.
What’s more, former Ohio State coach John Cooper, who posted a 111-43-4 record there (a record second only to Woody Hayes) was fired in 2001 in part because of his 2-10-1 against Michigan.
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (3a5751) — 12/6/2008 @ 7:18 pmMaybe the USC vs UCLA game would be interesting if UCLA had a real football team.
ML (14488c) — 12/6/2008 @ 8:12 pmThat’s the Granddaddy of all modern rivals. I grew up watching Bo and Woody coaching Michigan vs Ohio State and I still look forward to the matchup.
DRJ (b4db3a) — 12/6/2008 @ 8:14 pmYou have to be a neophyte college football fan if you’re not aware of the fierce crosstown rivalry between USC and UCLA. As most fans know, Southern Californians are sharply divided between the two schools — in fact, they cheer for the opposing teams against their LA rivals throughout the season. A few decades of annual TV coverage of the USC-UCLA game would have demonstrated that, I would think.
James Fulton (86d115) — 12/6/2008 @ 8:14 pmJames Fulton,
Of course I know there’s a rivalry. My question is how do Californians choose which team to root for (other than the obvious, such as alumni)?
DRJ (b4db3a) — 12/6/2008 @ 8:25 pmHonestly, I don’t care much myself, but the biggest difference between the schools is that USC is private and UCLA is a state school, so in my high school the kids who knew they could never afford a private school tended to root for UCLA, even though most of them never had the grades to get into either. Just my 2 cents.
Sean P (4e644b) — 12/6/2008 @ 8:28 pmSeeing as I never gone to no college,
ML (14488c) — 12/6/2008 @ 8:48 pmI like to disparage both sides of the USC, UCLA rivalry.
Although its be hard with USC having such an outstanding football team for so long.
My favorite SC/UCLA tee shirt had “I used to go to UCLA” on the front and on the back it said, “Then my father got a job.” That was in the days when I could earn enough to pay the year’s tuition by working all summer. I do have a UCLA grad daughter but we try not to mention it. My youngest daughter is at Arizona. Her out-of-state tuition would pay half the USC tuition.
I suspect that my 17 dollar a unit SC tuition bought a better education than the 40,000/year tuition now. Too bad. I’m afraid the 19,000/year tuition at Arizona buys a good deal less, as well. Her history class essays have been on the subject of white men’s privileges and on how the frontier settlers survived by learning to live like the Indians.
Silly me, I had never known that the plains Indians had invented the wheel and knew a lot about agriculture. Oh well. These kids will never know what they missed in the way of education.
Mike K (2cf494) — 12/6/2008 @ 9:11 pm90 miles up the coast we are USC football and UCLA basketball.
SteveG (a87dae) — 12/7/2008 @ 7:26 amFrom my jr high to high school era
Sam Cunningham went to USC football
Jamaal (then Keith) Wilkes went to UCLA basketball
I think you will find that sort of dynamic all around the Southland.
Muck Fichigan.
JD (059bab) — 12/7/2008 @ 7:38 amThe Florida Gators will have to score 70+ to win, as the Oklahoma Sooners will break their own record in scoring 60+ for the 6th consecutive week.
JD (059bab) — 12/7/2008 @ 7:40 amMuck Fichigan.
Words of wisdom by JD.
MayBee (d82a30) — 12/7/2008 @ 8:10 amMayBee !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How are you, beautiful?
JD (059bab) — 12/7/2008 @ 8:11 amJD!!!! How are YOU? Do you miss your hot nurses?
MayBee (d82a30) — 12/7/2008 @ 8:29 amI miss them, so very much. Though I was never able to talk them into a spongebath 😉
I am good, adjusting to life without an organ, changing my diet (only a little), and starting a new job.
All of my girls, including Better Half, are doing great. All in all, unless Baracky comes along and fucks things up, we are doing wonderful.
I blame Bush.
JD (059bab) — 12/7/2008 @ 8:34 amYou forgot to mention on your list of things to be grateful for the glorious news that Michigan will not be going to a bowl game this year.
MayBee (d82a30) — 12/7/2008 @ 8:48 amUSC VS UCLA is pure Southern California, but in Northern California the BIG game is UC Berkeley vs Stanford, it’s long standing tradition, and on game day nothing else matters.
All four schools are in the PAC 10, and all four want to play in the Rose Bowl, but if that’s not in the cards, beating the cross town rival is the next best thing, and sweet compensation indeed.
Ropelight (5b609a) — 12/7/2008 @ 9:13 amThe LA Times, once again, comes up with a unique insight into the football world. The reason DeWayne Walker, UCLA defensive coordinator, isn’t a head coach is racism ! I’m sure he’s right. After all, the guy has been there three years with a losing team. What else could it be ?
Pete Carroll hired Ken Norton Jr as a graduate assistant after the black UCLA coach turned down this former UCLA All American’s offer to help for free. Norton just wanted to get into coaching after an all-pro NFL career.
The story is here. Playing the race card every day eventually gets to be counterproductive.
Mike K (2cf494) — 12/7/2008 @ 9:34 amYou forgot to mention on your list of things to be grateful for the glorious news that Michigan will not be going to a bowl game this year.
Not going to a bowl game is an understatement. This year’s Michigan football team is the worst (record wise) in the 100+ year history of the program.
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (1f5390) — 12/7/2008 @ 9:55 amNot going to a bowl game is an understatement. This year’s Michigan football team is the worst (record wise) in the 100+ year history of the program.
Now you’re just trying to seduce me.
MayBee (d82a30) — 12/7/2008 @ 10:01 amUSC VS UCLA is pure Southern California, but in Northern California the BIG game is UC Berkeley vs Stanford, it’s long standing tradition, and on game day nothing else matters.
Isn’t Cal-Stanford a big rivalry, one of the longest in college football, especially after The Band Game?
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (1f5390) — 12/7/2008 @ 10:03 amNow you’re just trying to seduce me.
Nah, you got me mixed up with Scott Jacobs.
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (1f5390) — 12/7/2008 @ 10:04 amPaul, you are correct, Cal vs Stanford is the BIG game, however Cal is UC Berkeley.
Since it was the first UC campus, Berkeley has always been called California or Cal. It’s similar to other states with multi-campus systems, the original campus retains the state name while the newer campuses must make do with location added identifiers.
Berkeley retains the exclusive use of “Cal” although the UC system now includes campuses at LA, San Francisco, Davis, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Santa Cruz, Irvine, Riverside, and a new one at Merced.
Forgive me, but we who have labored in the provinces don’t often pass up an opportunity to pull the Golden Bear’s tail a bit.
Ropelight (5b609a) — 12/7/2008 @ 11:20 amUSC grads own businesses.
UCLA grads w*rk in these businesses, or more often, get useless government j*bs funded by the taxes on said businesses…..
redc1c4 (27fd3e) — 12/7/2008 @ 11:36 amOklahoma vs. Texas in the Red River Shootout is my favorite college football rivalry.
JD (059bab) — 12/7/2008 @ 11:43 amRopelight #33:
Didn’t realize Cal is UC Berkeley, probably because nobody born outside of California refers to the school as UC Berkeley, especially since the team has “Cal” as the logo on their helmets.
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (1f5390) — 12/7/2008 @ 11:52 amPaul – It doesn’t much matter, ‘cuz they really don’t play much football there, no matter what name you call them. Kind of like Michigan.
JD (059bab) — 12/7/2008 @ 12:02 pmKind of like Michigan.
Heh.
Problem with that joke is, JD, since 1869, only Yale, Princeton, Notre Dame and Alabama have won more national championships than Michigan, who happens to be tied with USC.
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (1f5390) — 12/7/2008 @ 12:19 pmPaul – I was born in Grand Rapids while my father was at Law School in Ann Arbor, so you are preaching to the choir. I am just doing a little Irish jig as a result of the joy of watching them suffer more than my beloved Illini.
JD (059bab) — 12/7/2008 @ 12:35 pmAll real Southern Californians know that:
USC = University of Spoiled Children
The USC license plate frame is most often found on a BMW with daddy’s name on the registration.
SPQR (26be8b) — 12/7/2008 @ 12:38 pmIllini fan, JD?
You have suffered much.
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (1f5390) — 12/7/2008 @ 12:45 pmYes, Paul, I have. But we are on the rebound, and have had 2 consecutive superb recruiting classes. Couple that with the fact that IU is at a nearly historicl low point in football and basketball, and I am practically giddy.
JD (059bab) — 12/7/2008 @ 12:50 pmMy husband’s alma mater went through a spell like that. I like your optimistic thinking, though.
DRJ (b4db3a) — 12/7/2008 @ 12:54 pmOi!!
Scott Jacobs (90ff96) — 12/7/2008 @ 12:57 pmI still believe that Florida’s horrific homefield loss to Ole Miss should disqualify them from national championship consideration, no matter how damn good they are playing right now.
JD (059bab) — 12/7/2008 @ 1:04 pmI’m tempted to agree that big early season losses to conference rivals should disqualify teams from contention but I’m not a neutral observer. Nevertheless, I like the Gators because I think Meyer is a better coach than Stoops, especially in big games.
DRJ (b4db3a) — 12/7/2008 @ 1:10 pmI wish Texas and Oklahoma could play for the title. In Indianapolis.
JD (059bab) — 12/7/2008 @ 1:13 pmJD, IU basketball indeed is at a historically low point in its history.
The football team, on the other hand, owns such a long history of futility that Antwaan Randle El, who was the IU offense during his time there, caught the entire Seattle Seahawk defense flatfooted in Super Bowl XL. You’d think Mike Holmgren and his coaching staff would know Randle El played quarterback in the Big Ten.
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (1f5390) — 12/7/2008 @ 1:15 pmHead to head football, I’m for USC over UCLA because USC has done more in the national arena.
Flip that around for basketball.
That said, I always root for the Southern California team against any other unless a win would deprive USC a shot on the national stage.
Right now on the national football stage I like USC’s chances on representing Southern California athletics better than UCLA.
I ran into some guys from an SEC school who were here during the week on business heading 90 miles south to LA to watch Tennessee.
SteveG (a87dae) — 12/7/2008 @ 1:19 pmThey assumed I went to every home game of either USC or UCLA since I lived so close.
I thought they’d lost their frickin minds. They were appalled when I ventured that in my whole town of 100K that fewer than 100 people would go to the Rose Bowl to see UCLA vs. USC.
More than 100 people were watching girl’s water polo played by the local high schools this weekend by the way. (some of the girls will play in the Olympics a few years from now, so they are really good)
I wish Texas could play for the title anywhere but the Fiesta is a great bowl, and bowl games should be about fun as well as winning.
DRJ (b4db3a) — 12/7/2008 @ 1:19 pmSteveG,
My town of 100K has 10x that many people who travel 150-350 miles (one-way every other week, and some go every week) to see their favorite college teams play. But we’re addicted to football and not to water polo.
We have a polo team, though.
DRJ (b4db3a) — 12/7/2008 @ 1:23 pmDRJ, are you feeling ok? you’re speaking in some strange language I can’t understand…
Homer Simpson: “Remember what Vince Lombardi said: ‘If you lose, you’re outta the family!!!'”
Scott Jacobs (90ff96) — 12/7/2008 @ 1:32 pmTexas and Ohio State could be a really fun matchup in the Fiesta Bowl.
JD (059bab) — 12/7/2008 @ 1:35 pmIt’s easy to get addicted to water polo once you see the guys that play it.
MayBee (d82a30) — 12/7/2008 @ 1:37 pmIt’s easy to get addicted to water polo
And to think I once thought you a wise lady.
JD (059bab) — 12/7/2008 @ 1:39 pmGonna have to disagree there. Maybe if they starts showing Women’s water polo?
Scott Jacobs (90ff96) — 12/7/2008 @ 1:40 pmScott,
I live in the heart of Friday Night Lights territory and I’ve seen what putting too much emphasis on non-professional sports can do. Winning is important but there are a lot of teams that would love to play for 3rd place in the Fiesta Bowl, so I’m not going to miss out on a great game because it’s not a title match. If I want to take football that seriously, I can watch the pros in the NFL.
DRJ (b4db3a) — 12/7/2008 @ 1:43 pmYeah, but those games still are about winning. I mean, we’re not talking about something that doesn’t matter, we’re talking about Football… 🙂
Scott Jacobs (90ff96) — 12/7/2008 @ 1:48 pmDoes anyone else remember the underwater banana hammock camera shot they had at the Olympics? Eye bleach required.
JD (059bab) — 12/7/2008 @ 2:10 pmMy stomache is still trying to spit acid on the parts of my brain that remember that.
Scott Jacobs (90ff96) — 12/7/2008 @ 2:12 pmI think that is what caused my gall bladder to explode.
JD (059bab) — 12/7/2008 @ 2:20 pmYou guys are so not gay.
MayBee (d82a30) — 12/7/2008 @ 2:23 pmIt’s a shame, because you are missing out on some really fabulous ab appreciation.
Nah, we watch women’s volleyball for ab appreciation.
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (1f5390) — 12/7/2008 @ 2:29 pmAnd women’s tennis.
Women’s anything, really. 🙂
Scott Jacobs (90ff96) — 12/7/2008 @ 3:18 pmTrue, Scott, football is about winning. My point is that once the game or the season is decided, it’s time to be a good sport and move on.
Furthermore, sports fans, do not sully this football thread with talk of water polo and pretty female tennis players. Real football fans talk about cheerleaders. (I’m kidding – you talk about whatever you want. But I will always have doubts about your football fandom that you didn’t think of this first.)
DRJ (b4db3a) — 12/7/2008 @ 3:38 pmI assumed it went without saying…
I mean, I’m 30… You think cheerleaders are often far from my mind at any given time? 🙂
Scott Jacobs (90ff96) — 12/7/2008 @ 3:43 pmI thought I had seen it all until I turned on the Kings Hockey game last night, they have cheerleaders on skates in between periods.
WTF is this world coming too, hockey doesn’t have cheerleaders they have fights and blood and gore in between goals.
But the Kings have sucked for their entire existence so I guess cheerleaders on skates are all we got.
ML (14488c) — 12/7/2008 @ 3:48 pmShut your hate-hole! Good looking women on ice? Do I need to do the math for you?? 🙂
Scott Jacobs (90ff96) — 12/7/2008 @ 4:14 pmAs I recall, when the Anaheim Ducks were owned by Disney, they had something akin to cheerleaders.
We went to see them play on their home opener once, and they had an opening show that had the Darkwing Duck mascot and some cheerleaders on the ice. Darkwing skated around, and the girls set up a gas burner with flames for the mascot to skate up to and jump … but Darkwing botched the takeoff and fell on top the burner, corner edge to groin putting the duck hors de combat. The lights went off, the girls quickly shut off the flames and pulled the mascot off the ice.
SPQR (26be8b) — 12/7/2008 @ 4:25 pmBut I will always have doubts about your football fandom that you didn’t think of this first.
Since we were talking about ab appreciation, volleyball players came to mind first. Now if appreciation of female beauty were the topic when I last commented, cheerleaders are second-to-none, especially Texas cheerleaders at the pro level; they know their football.
When Sage Rosenfels of the Texans made the infamous Helicopter fumble against the Colts, replays allowed viewing of Houston cheeleaders’ facial expressions during his rollout, which ranged from “What are you doing?” to “NO! NO!”
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (1f5390) — 12/7/2008 @ 4:32 pmSave the cheerleader, save the world!
ML (14488c) — 12/7/2008 @ 4:40 pm70, You would mention Sage. He and Senica Wallace are Iowa State grads. With the Iowa/ISU/Northern Iowa rivalry, it is fun to watch them beat up on each other.
My Ex graduated from ISU and I will forever be prejudiced agaist them.
On the Other hand, the Packers have to thank Iowa for Aaron Kampman.
PCD (7fe637) — 12/8/2008 @ 5:40 am