Who's Number 1?

[bigoldron]

Well, I guess "THE" big game is tonight! I'm normally not a Gator fan (OK, I HATE the Gators and wouldn't pull for them if I had to.) but, tonight, I hope that they, without a shadow of a doubt, STOMP OKLAHOMA'S BUTT up and down the field!

Go Gators!

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd81/bigoldron/gatorchomp.gif

[Katastrophe]

Agreed. As a UT fan, Oklahoma needs to lose.

By a lot.

[Brian Krashpad]

I'm down with this.

My office's parking lot is filled with cars with Gator flags on them. Guess I need to wear my Gator cap, it's the only Gator paraphenalia I have.

[R_of_G]

Personally, I hope OU wins because it furthers the argument that we need playoffs in college football. When the team that Texas beat on a neutral field is crowned champion, it will be meaningless. I see it as better for Texas if OU wins because it only makes their case stronger.

Then again, how deserving is Florida of this shot? They lost to Ole Miss on their own home field!

I remain unconvinced either team could beat Utah, Texas or USC. Maybe, maybe not. In fact, I am convinced Oklahoma cannot beat Texas, because they tried and failed.

When it comes down the game itself, I think Florida will win. I think defense wins games like this and UF has the much better defense.

[marnold]

I don't know about #1, but my Wolverines sure were #2 this year.

[mrmudcat]

Gators:beer:

[R_of_G]

I don't know about #1, but my Wolverines sure were #2 this year.

:rotflmao:

Nice one.

[Bloozcat]

As a Floridian and a Miami Hurricane I'll just paraphrase Charlie Daniels on this one...

"We may have done a little fightin' amongst ourselves,
But you outside folks had best leave us alone
'Cause we'll all stick together, you can take it to the bank
The cowboys and the hippies, the Rebels and the Yanks" (all of which we have here in some numbers)

Now I'm not so sure about that, "we'll all stick together" line with some 'Noles I know, but everyone here that I'd sit down and break bread with is rooting for the Gators. :D

Go Gators....

[bigoldron]

Now I'm not so sure about that, "we'll all stick together" line with some 'Noles I know, but everyone here that I'd sit down and break bread with is rooting for the Gators. :D

Go Gators....

I'm a Georgia boy and a 'Noles fan to boot! (That'd explain the "I hate the Gators" comments.) But this time, I'm going over to the dark side. :poke:

Chomp down on them Okie butts, you nasty swamp lizards!!! :punch: :saw: :deadhorse:

[bigoldron]

Final Score:

Florida 24
Oklahoma 14

Looks like the Florida made "Gator Bait" out of Oklahoma.

Congratulations Florida on your 3rd National Championship! :bravo: :AOK: :dude: :beer:

[R_of_G]

That was not a particularly exciting game at all. I had to fight just to stay awake to see it all.

Now that it's over I am no more convinced that these were the #1 and #2 teams in the country than I was before the game. I saw nothing that showed me Florida can beat USC or Utah or Texas.

Tebow put out a great effort, but I also could have dealt without the announcers constantly talking in platitudes about him. He is a great player for sure, but one of them just said he is one of the two greatest players in college football history. That is simply preposterous.

[Bloozcat]

Well, there's little question in my mind that Florida would beat Texas after watching Texas struggle against twice beaten Ohio State the other night. Strong defenses along with fast, explosive offenses have proven to be a lethal combination against Ohio State for several years now. Texas, for all of it's pre-billing, didn't show the kind of explosiveness against Ohio State that both LSU and Florida did the last two years. Both of those teams completely dominated those Ohio State teams that were supposedly better, and ranked higher than this years version. There might be different personnel on Florida this year, but their system produces the same results.

I think that a Florida/USC, Florida/Utah, and/or a USC/Utah match-up would be really great to watch. IMHO, those three teams are the real contenders for the title. I find it hard to predict just who would come out on top in those contests, but they'd sure be exiting to see.

...But we'll never know...

[marnold]

And Urban Meyer will now burst into a supernova of hubris.

By the way from henceforth I want no one to complain about Captain Sweater Vest and his record in big games without also throwing Bob Stoops under that exact same bus. I'm glad this season is over because if I have to defend duh Ohio State University one more time I'm going to vomit.

[R_of_G]

By the way from henceforth I want no one to complain about Captain Sweater Vest and his record in big games without also throwing Bob Stoops under that exact same bus. I'm glad this season is over because if I have to defend duh Ohio State University one more time I'm going to vomit.

I couldn't agree more. To me, Stoops is the NCAA equivalent of Marty Schottenheimer. He'll win big in the regular season, but when the big game at the end of the season comes, he's a loser.

So how long do we have to deal with the "Tebow is the greatest ever" nonsense? The argument that I've heard the most is that he won a Heisman and two national titles. Ignoring the fact that for the first of those titles he was still a backup to Chris Leak, didn't Gino Toretta also win a Heisman and two titles? Does anyone contend he is the best college player ever? Of course we'd also have to ignore the fact that the titles were gifts of a broken system. Until someone can prove Florida can beat Utah or USC (or yes, even Texas) the title is essentially meaningless.

[marnold]

Tebow certainly is a great college player. There's no denying that. Whether that will translate into anything in the pros is another matter, or if he'll be Eric Crouch Mk II.

[R_of_G]

I agree, he is a great college player. I am just sick of hearing how he is the "greatest" college player. Firstly, it's necessarily subjective. Secondly, even if someone tried to make it empirical, the statistics don't bear out the conclusion.

[Bloozcat]

I agree, he is a great college player. I am just sick of hearing how he is the "greatest" college player. Firstly, it's necessarily subjective. Secondly, even if someone tried to make it empirical, the statistics don't bear out the conclusion.

Oh, man....you're goin' all analytical on us R_of_G...:D

Just kidding, R_of_G...well said.

And that's what happens when one starts with a conclusion and then ignores any evidence except that which supports the conclusion. Unfortunetly, this is what passes for intellectual (and sometimes even scientific) arguement these days. State the "infallible" conclusion, defend it with partial fact, half truths, and opinion, then ridicule as some kind of an idiot anyone who would dare challenge the obvious wisdom of the infallible conclusion.

I think Tim Tebow will be remembered as one of the best college quarterbacks. Not for being a great pure passer or the greatest runner, or for having the most gaudy statistics, but for the way be played within Florida's system. Part of the reason that Tebow looks so good, is because Florida's offensive is built around him and his particular skills. The offense has been adapted for him, and not the other way around as it usually is on most teams. Genius on Meyer's part? Not really. More like smart and practical. Pragmatic. Credit Meyer for recognizing Tebow's skills and building an offense that could best utilize those skills. Tebow might not have made it as a quarterback if he had to try to fit into some other system, like a straight I formation pro-style for instance.

The other factors that make Tebow a great team player (note I didn't say quarterback) are his leadership skills and his tenacity. Additionally, he's just such a good guy that others respond well to him on a personal level as well. You can't help but like him.

[R_of_G]

Good points Bloozcat, and I agree with all of them. I don't question Tebow's greatness at all. He's proven himself to be an excellent football player and if he returns to school next year, Florida will very likely be a contender for another SEC title and whatever lies beyond.

As for the whole "greatest" thing, it's a major fault of the contemporary sports media that they need to apply superlatives in every sport. Is Tebow the best college player ever? Were last year's Patriots the best football team ever? Are the Celtics the best team ever? Etc, etc, ad nauseum. It gets to be too much.

Is it so hard for the sports media to accept things within their own context? Is it even possible to realistically compare teams of different eras in games that have evolved over that time? Who knows how Johnny Unitas would play today's game or how Peyton Manning would have played in the 1950's? Randy Moss has impressive numbers, sure, but what would those numbers look like in the 1970's and 80's when defensive backs were still allowed to play defense? Conversely, what would Jerry Rice's numbers look like today?

My dad has it exactly right when he says that sports reporting used to be about reporting and analyzing what happened in actual sports competitions. Instead it's now about the personalities of the reporters and athletes themselves and trying to sell made-up controversies. I think it's detrimental to the overall enjoyment of sports fandom. I can enjoy my teams' successes just fine without having to speculate on where they rank in terms of someone's subjective vision of all-time greatness. When you combine speculation and subjectivity you get stupidity.

[Tynee]

As for the whole "greatest" thing, it's a major fault of the contemporary sports media that they need to apply superlatives in every sport.


But isn't this what sports is about? The team with the most points at the end (or the player with the lowest score, in golf) is the greater of the two competitors that day. Its only natural that the competition to see who's better extend beyond the current matchup to all possible matchups. We always want to know if we are just the biggest fish in our own tiny little pond, or are we the greatest of all time?

And there are times when direct comparison is possible. Who wouldn't have wanted to see a matchup of Ali in his prime versus Iron Mike at the peak of his skills? I personally think that Ali would have embarrased Tyson, but that's where the fun comes in, is the debate.

Just my $.02, and it probably isn't even worth that much.

[R_of_G]

And there are times when direct comparison is possible. Who wouldn't have wanted to see a matchup of Ali in his prime versus Iron Mike at the peak of his skills? I personally think that Ali would have embarrased Tyson, but that's where the fun comes in, is the debate.

Sure, in boxing you can more accurately compare two people because boxing is based on individual performance against a single individual opponent.

I was speaking specifically of media coverage of the major team sports in which these kinds of comparisons are much more tenuous which brings into question their relevance. There is no algorithm one can design to accurately compare two athletes who played the same sport in different eras given the number of changes to these games and their rules.

It's not that speculation isn't fun, it's just annoys me when the people involved (the sports reporters, not people here) don't acknowledge that it can't be more than speculation. I'm for accuracy in labeling. :)

[Tynee]

it's just annoys me when the people involved (the sports reporters, not people here) don't acknowledge that it can't be more than speculation. :)

I'll agree whole-heartedly with that, we all got opinions, and they all stink...