Blue and White Sports Debate – Oct. 1, 2008
| Blue View | White View |
| By Tim Olsen | By Mark Nance |
| What is worse, a Utah fan or a BYU fan? | |
| Oh, this is too easy. I can’t stand BYU fans; they are not only the most annoying fans in the state, but in the entire country. I would rather take a beating with a large stick than cheer for the “Y”. Cougar fans drive me nuts with their delusional feelings of self-entitlement, “I’m better than you because I go to BYU.” Right. I’ve never been around a more arrogant bunch of people, and every time I am forced into that situation I come away feeling even prouder to be an Aggie. Keep thinking this isn’t a rivalry, keep thinking you’re better than us, go ahead, keep thinking that you’re even relevant. I would NEVER want to be you. Y? Well, to those of us that truly bleed blue, the answer is obvious. |
Well, I’m going to get into a lot of trouble for this one. Send me your e-mails if you would like, but I’m only telling the truth. Utah has much worse fans than the Cougars. I’ve been to the Holy War in both Provo and Salt Lake, and Utah fans acted as if they were still freshman in high school. BYU fans may be “holier than thou,” but when you mix expletives in after every other word, and you can’t put a legitimate sentence together because of the kegger they had during the tailgate party, then you have a Ute fan. I understand there are plenty of great Ute fans out there, but you were all drowned out by the 12 shirtless men yelling for the linebackers to step on the quarterback while he’s down. The Ute fans have the advantage of bragging about their BCS bowl win several years ago under the made-for-college quarterback Alex Smith, but who cares if half of the graduating class thinks that a Ute is really a red-tailed hawk? |
| What was college footballs biggest upset last week? | |
| With six of the Top 25 teams falling to unranked opponents, there was quite a list to choose from. Looking at all the upsets though, I have to say that Michigan’s win over ninth-ranked Wisconsin was the biggest. Look at Michigan’s season up to this point: they opened with a home loss to Utah, eked out a victory of MAC bottom dweller Miami (Oh.), then turned the ball over eight times and got pummeled by Notre Dame. With five more turnovers in the first half and looking up at a 19-point halftime deficit, it looked like it was going to be a long year for new head coach Rich Rodriguez and the Wolverine fans. Suddenly the Michigan offense woke up, reeling off 27 unanswered points to knock off a Top 10 opponent for the biggest home comeback in Michigan history. That was a season-saving win for the Wolverines. | We can mention USC and Oregon State, but in my humble opinion, the biggest upset was Ole Miss beating Florida. Ole Miss was on a SEC nine-game losing streak, and blocked an extra point attempt to beat Tim Tebow’s Gators. It wouldn’t mean much if Florida wasn’t so packed with all-stars. Florida has the defending Heisman winner, two potential NFL wide receivers and one of the best running backs in the SEC. Mississippi has enough players to make a team. The Rebels only complete nine passes in the entire game, had more penalties and were in in Gainesville. How in the world did they win? With the SEC being the toughest conference in the nation, you would think that the national champions two years ago would be able to take care of the worst team in the SEC. Tim Tebow will not repeat as the Heisman trophy winner, because the Rebels made sure that an embarrassing loss would stick with him for the rest of the season. |
| What was the most surprising game in the NFL? | |
| What happened to Dallas? Picked as Super Bowl champions across the board after the loss of the Patriots’ Tom Brady, the Cowboys choked at home Sunday against division rival Washington. Fielding an undefeated team with 13 Pro Bowlers, the Cowboys never looked in sync against the Redskins. I guess if there’s one good thing Dallas can take away from its loss, it would be that despite looking awful the entire night, they only lost by two points and had a chance to win the game at the end. For a team with so much talent and potential, Sunday’s loss was a wakeup call. Luckily for the Cowboys, they have a good bounce-back game at home next week against the Cincinnati Bengals (0-4). On a side note, how tough is the NFC East this year? | Last week I had nothing but bad things to say about the Kansas City Chiefs, and then they go out and destroy an unbeaten team. Maybe I should rag on teams more often. Larry Johnson had 198 yards rushing and two touchdowns, which helped the Chiefs overcome a horrible passing game. The Chiefs scored 17 points in the fourth quarter, and Jay Cutler wasn’t able to bring his team back like he had done in the previous three games. I thought the Chiefs wouldn’t break their 12-game losing streak until next season, but I was wrong. Although the Chiefs will lose their next six games, until they meet the worthless Raiders, they can always remember the fourth Sunday in the season when they beat the Broncos. They surprised me with a great one-man performance. If Larry Johnson can continue to carry the team on his back, then the Chiefs are a lock to go 3-13. Better luck next year. |
| Who will win this year’s World Series? | |
| Despite not even winning their own division, the Boston Red Sox are in the playoffs and are my pick to win the World Series. The Tampa Bay Rays have been a great story, the Angles have the best record in baseball and the Cubs are looking for their first title in a century, but none of that will matter. Just like their fellow New Englanders, the Patriots, the Red Sox simply know how to perform in the playoffs. They are the defending champions, have won two of the past four World Series and that experience is going to lead them to another title. The loss of embattled slugger Manny Ramirez has brought the team even closer together. With solid batters and a deep bullpen, the Sox are primed to make another October run. | Deep down inside, I think the Red Sox will win. If you travel a little further inside you’ll see I want the Cubs to win. However, on the outside, I will predict the Milwaukee Brewers will win, as long as they have CC Sabathia pitch a complete game for 11 straight games. CC is unstoppable and the Brewers have a chance to win it all with him pitching. He has had nine complete games with five of those being shutouts. Add the power hitting of Ryan Braun (my fantasy all-star) and Prince Fielder, then you’ll find yourself with the next World Champions. The Brewers are in the playoffs for the first time in 26 years and won’t let it go to waste. Milwaukee will cruise through the Phillies and break the hearts of every Cubs fan. Even though the Brew Crew won’t have Ben Sheets to back up Sabathia, they will still show baseball they’re for real. |
| Rant | |
| Let’s get back to the Cougars. How in the world is BYU ranked in the Top 10? Sure they’re undefeated, but who have they played? Their opponents so far have a combined record of 5-12. Sure they blasted traditional power UCLA, but that is not a traditional Bruins team. And let’s not forget the Washington game. Helped by a controversial call, BYU edged out the winless Huskies by an extra point – a team that fellow Top 10 member Oklahoma demolished 55-14 the following week. I hate to break it to any Cougar fans reading this, but your team is not a Top-10 team. After beating Oregon (another team that blasted Washington) on its home field, Boise State has more of a case to be in the Top 10 than the Cougars do. I can’t wait until Utah or anther Mountain West school shatters your little BCS dreams. Who knows, maybe USU will save them the trouble. Go Aggies. | How I love irony in sports. After firing Joe Torre at the end of the 2007 season, the New York Yankees decided to bring in another Joe, from Florida, so the Yankees could get back the World Series. This year was a Yankee joke. Firing Joe Torre was one of the stupidest things the new Yankee management did. Now the Yankees aren’t in the playoffs for the first time in 15 years. I like to think that Joe Torre is laughing at the Yankee management as he leads the Dodgers into the playoffs. When a manager gets you to the playoffs every year he is there and wins multiple championships, you don’t toss him on the street when your team doesn’t win it all. The Dodgers are enjoying the playoffs while “Dr. Steinbrenner” gets to think that he is still making all the right moves. Look for the Yankees to miss the postseason and Torre to continue his success. The Yankees were powerhouses with Torre and now that he’s gone the Red Sox are basking in success. |