Question for the board

[Jake]

It's never made any sense when viewed objectively. I tell myself every summer that I will not become emotionally invested in State football, that I will not allow what a group of 18-22 year-olds do on a football field determine my mood for the week. That they're just a bunch of mercenaries who happen to wear my school's colors (at least until they transfer out next week). That it's really silly to spend time, money, and energy watching this nonsense, and even sillier to get angry when the ball bounces the wrong way.

But every year I break those promises to myself, and the following line of thinking takes over: If the group of teenagers wearing my school's uniform defeats the group of youngsters wearing your school's uniform, then I am superior to you in every way. You must acknowledge my superiority and congratulate me on my victory, even though I had precious little to do with it. But if my team loses, then I have failed personally. I have been measured and found wanting. Even worse, nameless, faceless "others" have conspired against me, from the NCAA office to SEC headquarters to the referees to the bookies in Vegas. They must be brought to justice. Coaches must be fired. Quarterbacks must be benched. This outrage will not stand.

It has always been thus.

Amen