My position-by-position overview of the 2011 football team is complete. Thanks for sticking with me through the last few weeks, and thanks for enduring the admittedly stupid and self-indulgent Monopoly theme. I just have one more "mixed nuts" / "potpourri" / "miscellaneous" post, and we can finally put this board game to rest.
(By the way, I did my 11th grade science fair project on the statistics that drive Monopoly. It was a fun project, and it made Monopoly my favorite board game ever. The key to playing a FUN game of Monopoly is simple: FOLLOW THE RULES, and DON'T PUT ANY MONEY ON FREE PARKING. The idiotic house rules you and your moronic douchebag friends devised tend to destroy the beautiful, fragile, balanced, carefully-conceived economy of the game, and ends up making it last forever. If you hate Monopoly -- and there are a lot of you out there -- I dare you to give it one more shot, but read the rules, follow them, and don't put money on free parking. It's an insanely fun game if you give it a chance and play it the way it was intended to be played. I love Monopoly, and I'll stab anyone who says they hate it. Stab 'em right in the throat. Rant over.)
Okay on to the miscellaneous stuff we need to complete our 2011 Virginia Football overview. These are just a bunch of random thoughts I wanted to get out before the season opener. Gotta get my ramble on...
Indoor Practice Facility!
Did you watch the criminally under-advertised Building of a Program: The Next Step last night on Comcast Sports Net? If not, and if you don't read the news in the morning, you might have missed the announcement. UVA is launching plans to build an indoor practice facility. It's a $13 mil project, $5 mil of which was donated by an anonymous donor to get the ball rolling. This will be an obvious boon to football recruiting, and to all of the University's athletic programs that could use a place to practice, protected from the elements. Mike London is PUMPED about the plan, for obvious reasons. For me, it's more than just the pragmatic response to a need, it's symbolic of the administrations commitment to helping our football achieve higher levels of relevancy and to stay ahead of the curve in the football arms race. I like it. I like it, because I honestly see the potential for big-time college football at UVA, and this is yet another step in the right direction. We're not anywhere close to being there yet, but it's another step toward the goal. A goal that I really think is realistic and attainable.
Texas A&M Will [Attempt To] Join the SEC
It's official. I think the rest of this commotion (the SEC accepting TAMU's bid, etc.) is simple technicalities. Texas A&M will become the 13th member of the Southeastern Conference, and will serve as the pin that has been pulled out of the grenade. Brace for REALIGNMAGEDDON REDUX. But this time, the shockwaves might hit ACC country, and might lead to an altered landscape that sees the University of Virginia allied with a handful of new schools in the ACC, or even shifting conferences to the Big Ten. My [quickly-worded, succint] guess on how it will all play out:
- A&M to the SEC, contigent on a 14th school also joining the conference.
- The SEC chases Texas. The Longhorns decline, content to try to hold the Big 12 together, or just go Independent while they launch the Longhorn Network.
- Scorned by Texas, the SEC chases Oklahoma. The Sooners can't budge without taking little brother Oklahoma State along with them. The OK/OK St. juice is not worth the squeeze for the SEC, so they turn their attentions East, toward the ACC.
- Virginia Tech is offered a spot. They attempt to accept, but are blocked by the state of Virginia government that cried rivers less than a decade ago to get the Hokies into the ACC.
- NC State is offered a spot as the SEC's 14th school, and they accept.
- The ACC poaches one school from the Big East to get back to 12 member institutions, and that school is... drumroll... Pittsburgh. The Panthers gladly accept.
- The Big 12 cobbles itself back together again by adding Houston.
We'll see how it goes. I'm nervous and excited, all at the same time. Virginia Tech moving to the SEC while Virginia stays stuck in the ACC would be a major blow to our recruiting efforts, at least in the short term. More on this later, MUCH more on this later. I'm a realignmageddon nerd.
Uniform Changes Across the Country
HERE is a humorous overview of all of the college football uniform changes for this season. Some highlights:
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| Maryland's new turtle shell helmet. Hideous and terrible. Seriously over-the-top cheesy and barf-worthy. |
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| Good look for Indiana. Get away from all those stupid stripes. |
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| Badass, Oklahoma State. Me likey. |
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| Flat black matte finish for the Southern Miss helmets. Very nice. |
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| Arizona State got all Niked up. But this looks pretty cool. |
That's all for now.
Everyone, enjoy the games this weekend.
GO HOOS!
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