UPSET!

First off let me inform you that I have precious little interest in football, which in my opinion lost all "cred" when the first team deserted it's mother city and moved to another, the ultimate betrayal of the sports fan. When the Baltimore Colts became the "Indianapolis" Colts, and then the Rams left Los Angeles for St Louis, of all places, I said the hell with it. TRAITORS! I compare that to the United States Marines moving their headquarters to Mexico City. When money trumps loyalty, it cheapens everything. The fact that some players are dragging down more moolah than the President, simply for getting an inflated pigskin from one end of the field to the other, has also contributed to my disdain for what I once considered a noble endeavor and source of community pride.

Which leaves college sports. OK, I admit it, the current bowl system is so totally screwed up that there's no way for the best of the best to rise to the top, especially if they don't belong to one of the major "money" conferences. A team with a 9-3 record could actually end up being declared the champion while an undefeated team gets shut out, based on an asinine poll system that every sports writer I know has declared to be downright stupid. However, there's no danger that the Fighting Irish will ever play for the University of Miami, and we won't be seeing the Crimson Tide representing Yale. These teams are actually tied to their schools, and you can't very well sell them off to someone else.

So this year the team most North Floridians call their own, the Gators, made us proud, pulling off the most unexpected and well-fought upset ever, beating the undefeated Ohio Buckeyes, and beating them BADLY! 41 to 14! If ever a team felt like simply dropping out of school in shame, I think the Buckeyes do right now.

I have quite a few coworkers who must be walking on air right now, and I feel good for them. Gator fans are about as fanatic as they come. Whenever the Gators take on the Georgia Bulldogs, every Florida fan expects a feast of roast dog, while Bulldogs always insist that Gator tastes like chicken. College rivalries sometimes make nations at war look like wimps.

So, OK, I'm smiling. I may not care much for football, but I am proud of these boys. These are their glory days, and I look forward to the movie that I'm sure some Hollywood type at this very moment is busy writing the screenplay for. It should be inspiring!