While your busy digesting, I thought I'd drop in and offer up some light reading.
First and foremost, I just want to make sure you have seen these three pieces pertaining to Maryland's dirtbag move to the Big Ten.
A Step Too Far?, by SI's Stewart Mandel
Expansion by Big Ten May Bring Small Payoff, by The New York Times' Nate Silver
i hate college football, from the excellent blog From Old Virginia
My take on Maryland's move to the B1G?
1) I think it's total bullshit that they can grossly mis-manage their athletic department to the tune of seven cancelled sports, and then find this golden parachute. It's a dumpster couch fire up there in College Park, and now they'll be able to throw piles of cash on it to keep it burning.
2) Careful what you wish for, B1G. Yes, you may be expanding the footprint of the BTN into the DC, Baltimore, and NY/NJ markets, but how many people in those areas even care about college football? The Terps and Scarlet Knights water down your product immensely. I can't help but think this was fueled - at least in part - over [B1G Commissioner] Jim Delaney being butthurt over Notre Dame making a commitment to the ACC over the Big Ten. Sour grapes is not a good reason to invite these two dead-end athletic departments to your boats & hoes party.
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| Enjoy this shit, Big Ten. |
3) I am worried about the ACC, but much more importantly, I am worried about where UVA is going to land. I do not wish for Big Ten membership. Sure, the money would be nice, as would the AAU affiliations. But dammit I'm a fan, and I don't want to see UVA vs. Minnesota or UVA vs. Iowa as conference games. We're a southern school with southern rivalries, and we belong in the ACC. That said, if the ACC is crumbling (and there's no reason to panic about that... yet), then we gotta jump fast, and I don't see a place for us in the SEC or Big XII.
4) I am choosing my words very, very carefully here: FUCK MARYLAND. The ACC needs to make damn sure it doesn't budge on the $50M buyout, and UVA needs to make damn sure we never, ever, ever, ever, ever schedule the Terps for a regular season game, ever again. Let them rot in the Big Ten, with an athletic department just as horrendously run as it's always been, but with more money to throw on the bonfire.
5) I am boycotting Under Armor. I hope that you will join me.
5) What's next for the ACC? Stay firm at 13 members for football and 14 for all other sports, or make a quick, strong stab at UConn, Louisville, Cincinnati, or USF (in order of likelihood)? Or will we now see F$U make their move toward the Big XII, thus triggering the collapse of the conference -- Clemson following F$U to the B12, VT and NC State to the SEC, and GT begging for inclusion somewhere, anywhere.
For now, we're back in wait-and-see mode. I like to think Maryland doesn't have the power or sway to send those dominoes tumbling... but only time will tell. It's kind of like the house trailer at the edge of town just burned down. Will we let the smoke ruin our quality of life here in the suburbs?
Great links, Kendall. Nate Silver's article confirmed what I've been telling people all week: this (DC/Baltimore) is NOT college football territory. There are just a lot more diversions around here, including the Ravens and the pro football team in DC, which dominate the football conversation. Of people who identify as college football fans, Terps may be a majority, but I doubt they're even 50%. We have lots of transplants from Big 10, SEC, and other ACC schools. Notre Dame has a big following. Penn State. Virginia and Virginia Blech...I could go on and on. Then you have fans of the small schools like Towson and Morgan State, you've got true hoops fans, this just wasn't a wise move for the big 10. What's the point of penetrating a big media market if no one's going to watch.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, Terps fans have been giving each other self-congratulatory tugjobs all week long regarding this move. While there was some initial skepticism last week, they jumped on board faster than bandwagon Patriots fans during a Super Bowl run. I listen to a lot of sports radio, and hosts and callers alike are predicting BIG things for this football team in the next decade. Like, recruiting is going to get awesome, Byrd Stadium will be consistently filled (partially by travelers from Ohio, Michigan, wherever the fuck), and Randy Edsall is going to make this team a new Northwestern! Yes! They are being compared to Northwestern as if that is a good thing! Reality is they will be more like Indiana, IMHO. Whatever money they get from this move is not going to wash away the stench of mediocrity. It just won't.
The hoops fans are rationalizing this move by revealing their inner butthurt towards Duke and Carolina ("We'll miss playing them, but they don't really respect us as rivals and now we only play them once a year and blah blah blah..."). In the hoops world, little brother Maryland just took his toys and went home...
And not that anyone cares, but this is bad for MD lacrosse. The rationalization goes something like "Well there's 4 Big Ten teams with lax programs..." but we all know that these teams are jokes. Teams like UVA, Syracuse, and the Carolina squads will directly benefit from recruiting in this area. I hope the ACC stonewalls the Terps in lacrosse and doesn't schedule them at all.
Last point: The Bay Rednecks have been dancing on the grave of the ACC all week long. They seem to believe they have just triggered the inevitable collapse of the ACC and that this was an integral move in the transition to 4 superconferences. I hope they're wrong. All eyes on...FSU? I hope Virginia football doesn't get screwed when everything shakes out, but we do have a BUNCH of other programs (mens and womens) to be proud of. Problem is, football drives revenue. College sports is like "Money over everything" and that's pretty sad, I guess.
Great comments, Paulie. Thanks a ton for reading and for posting!
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