Big K's Q&A

[Once my fantasy football draft is in the books six days from now, I'll be back full-force for the Monopoly-style position-by-position preview of the football team, along with some other fun stuff I've been planning.  But for now... this...]

So Pierce gave me a bunch of [really tough] questions to answer, so here's my best stab.  I hope you enjoy.

But first, since Pierce taught me how to embed videos, I have this gift to bestow upon our loyal readers:

Sure beats soccer highlights, am I right?

Okay, let's get this shit show rolling...

Question #1 -- What's your opinion of Title IX and it's requirements?

Ugh.  Right off the bat, you come at me with this.  For those of you who don't know, this is Title IX:

"No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance..."

Under Title IX, there must be proportionality between men's and women's teams based on the total enrollment at the school. If a university has 16,000 students and an overall enrollment of 60 percent females, then under Title IX, there should be more women's teams than men's teams to create equality. This proportionality can be satisfied by a school in three different ways. First, the amount of participation should be proportional between men and women. Secondly, the law requires that female and male student-athletes receive athletic scholarship funding and spending proportional to their participation and this means having equal facilities, equipment and opportunities afforded to the players. The third part of the law states the school must show a continuous history of expanding opportunities for the underrepresented gender.

To me, thinking and writing about Title IX isn't fun, and I selfishly do this blog strictly for my own entertainment, so I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this.  However, you asked, and I get paid to give you bold opinions.  In a nutshell... I think Title IX sucks ass.  Don't get me wrong --- I have a daughter and absolutely want her to enjoy every opportunity her world has to offer, but not like this.  I don't like Big Government sticking her fat clumsy thumb into my sports pie.  I just think it's a travesty to strip away scholarships from men's teams that have an established following in order to balance the gender scales.  The cold, hard reality is that women's sports just don't appeal to as many people as men's sports (wise man once said "ah, women's basketball: life below the rim.")  From here, this probably devolves very quickly into a political debate, so I'll just skip it and move along to...


Question #2 -- What song(s) should the football team enter the field to this season?

Well, not to mimic Cousin Eddie down in the cowfield part of the state, but I do think we should enter to ONE song, OUR song.  What should that song be?  Well, it has to be badass.  It has to be rock-n-roll or heavy rap.  Sorry Dave Matthews, I get the affiliation, but no.  Gun to my head, standing and delivering, I pick this:

Or maybe this:

Or maybe this:

And by the way, Enter Sandman sucks.


Question #3 -- Should D-1 athletes be paid? How much? All or just the money sports?

Damn it, Pierce.  Title IX, and now this?

I'll admit, I thought thought the whole idea was stupid, until I read THIS.

Now I don't know what to think.  So I guess I'm on the fence when it comes to pay-for-play.  (Sorry, I'll give you a refund for the bold opinion I owe you.)

I see pros and cons, very serious pros and very damning cons.

PROS:

• The players bring in the revenue.  Way more than the value of their education.
• Many of these athletes see the education as a "hurdle" that must be passed so they can play their sport, not as the academic opportunity it might be.
• The players face injury risks that could directly impact their ability to become professional athletes down the line.  Gotta make some sort of remittance for that risk they take.
• The players from poor backgrounds can't rely on their families for money, and they can't / aren't allowed / don't have time for jobs.
• Pay-for-play could stem the tide of players leaving early to turn pro, thus strengthening college sports in general.
• Pay-for-play could curb the general scumbaggery that goes on behind the scenes with boosters and agents paying players.

CONS:

• Paying only football and basketball players would lead to a court battle.  A big one.  Damn you, Title IX.
• Most athletic departments aren't turning a profit.  From where would the money for player stipends come?
• Non-revenue sports might end up being cut due to a lack of funding, as non-profitable football and basketball programs struggle to keep up with the stipends offered by football factories.
• The gulf between the college football "big boys" and the rest of the teams would continue to widen.
• The integrity of the college game is already weakened.  Would pay-for-play destroy it altogether?
• It's a slippery slope.  Who deserves the money?  Do you pay star players more than benchwarmers?  Do you give them a cut of their jersey sales?  Et cetera.
• The best thing about college sports is the passion.  Would pay-for-play taint that?

It's a scary thing to consider.  But at the end of the day, I see no problem with giving college athletes a very small, measured, regimented, and strictly-enforced (across all levels of college athletics) stipend.  Enough to buy some groceries.  Not enough to buy boats and hoes.


Question #4 -- When will UVA be able to go toe-to-toe with Tech on the field?

Mark your calendars.  We will BEAT the Hokies here in Scott Stadium on November 30, 2013.

I think Mike London needs some time to get his players in here, properly redshirted, and bloodied with a little game action.  He needs to find (and develop!) a starting QB -- and I'm not totally certain that player is currently on the roster.  He needs to recruit, develop, and retain quality depth across the roster.  He needs to find a way to stem the attrition that always seems to plague the football program.

I think we'll be able to keep the game close this year, then take a step back next year after we graduate 12+ starters.  2013 is the year.  Book it.

Get ready, Hokies.

Question #5 -- Favorite spot on the corner/favorite order there?

I have a lot of reasons to hate St. Maarten's, but for history's sake it's still my favorite.  Honey Habanero wings, baby.

But there are a few other things I love on the Corner.  Nuclear Sub / Chris Long sub at Littlejohn's, jerk pizza at Mellow Mushroom (though they changed the recipe and it's not nearly as good now), falafel at Café Europa, Tijuana Tacos at Baja Bean, Thumbs N Toes at the Biltmore... a lot of the joints I used to frequent are now gone, but those few classics still remain.

The Chris Long Sub -- a good luck charm.

Question #6 -- Why would anyone ever call a stretch run?

The outside zone can be a good running play, and it can give you some excellent options in play action.  The Colts used to do it all the time -- it was probably their single best running play during the rise to relevancy with Peyton Manning.  It's good for cutback runners like Thomas Jones.  It's good for big, mobile o-linemen like Elton Brown, Branden Albert, Eugene Monroe, and D'Brickashaw Ferguson.  But if all the pieces aren't in place to run it effectively, it can be U-G-L-Y.

Wait... were you being facetious?


Question #7 -- What UVA athlete should have their number retired next? Why?

Danny Hultzen's #23.  I think the baseball program has now earned the right to start trumpeting past accomplishments and honoring its former stars.

Greatness.

Question #8 -- Every year, our most important athlete gets hurt. Let us assume Chase Minnifield is lucky enough to avoid this curse. Who's next in line?

Who's next in line to be nailed by the UVa injured star curse?  What a sick, sadistic question.  To answer it, I have to think about which player we could least afford to lose this season.

Cam Johnson.  Without him, I don't really see us generating a pass rush in 2011.

Please stay healthy.  And violent.

Question #9 -- Where do you tailgate and can I (and all the Wahooze readers) join you?

Southeast corner of the Fontaine parking lot, and HELL YES.  We'd love to have you.

In fact, funny story that probably nobody else knows --- the name for this blog, "Wahooze," came from our football tailgate.  It's the Gmail label I used to organize the tailgate e-mails, cleverly mixing the term "Wahoos" with "booze."