College Football Predictions by four guest "experts"

Fearless Predictions for 2008
	Deano Sutter Coffee Drinker	Coach Bart Coach, Historian	Adam Still Snowboarder	Jared Still Water Drinker
BCS Title Game	Kansas over USC	West Virginia over USC	Florida over Oklahoma	USC over Oklahoma
ACC Atlantic	BC	Clemson	"Weak" Forrest	Clemson
ACC Coastal	Virginia Tech	Virginia Tech	Virginia Tech	Virginia Tech
ACC Champ	Virginia Tech	Clemson	"Weak" Forrest	Virginia Tech
Big East	Louisville	West Virginia	West Virginia	West Virginia
Big Ten	Ohio State	Ohio State	Ohio State	Ohio State
Big 12 North	Kansas	Missouri	Nebraska	Missouri
Big 12 South	Oklahoma	Oklahoma	Oklahoma	Oklahoma
Big 12 Champ	Kansas	Oklahoma	Oklahoma	Oklahoma
C-USA East	UCF	East Carolina	Central Florida	East Carolina
C-USA West	Tulsa	Tulsa	Don't care	Tulsa
C-USA Champ	UCF	Tulsa	Central Florida	Central Florida
MAC East	Bowling Green	Miami Ohio	Miami (Ohio)	Miami Ohio
MAC West	Central Michigan	Central Michigan	Central Michigan	Central Michigan
MAC Champ	Central Michigan	Central Michigan	Central Michigan	Central Michigan
Mountain West	BYU	BYU	Belt Buckles	BYU
Pac-10	USC	USC	USC	USC
SEC East	Florida	Georgia	Florida	Florida
SEC West	Auburn	Auburn	Auburn	LSU
SEC Champ	Florida	Georgia	Florida	Florida
Sun Belt WAC	Florida Atlantic Boise St.	Troy St. Boise St.	Florida Atlantic Boise St.	Florida Atlantic Boise St.

The Southern White Male Empire Building

(An aside to my post that I wrote last week; I started this blog post on Thurs of last week. It has taken me four days to get back to it and finish it)

I heard Collin Cowherd say something yesterday that made me stop what I was doing, laugh out loud, call my wife Jill and inspired me to blog about it. It's not often that someone's comment will get me to blog about it, let alone what I feel was kind of a 'throw-away' line of comments by 'Herd. He didn't open the segment with the take, it was in the middle of a long line of conversation on the topic de jour (well, topic of the week, no...month) Brett Farve.

Collin astutely observed when speaking about the way some guys view everything, (rough plagiarism from memory, and not direct quote, as I couldn't find the segment online) "guys in the south feel they have to empire build. Build walls, prop-up and defend everything in their lives". He went on to note, "I don't run into this guy in L.A.. You won't find this guy in New York, where there's just so much more to life than what white southern guy knows".

Oh. How. True. I've been calling this guy, "SEC* guy" for a number of years now (*SEC is the Southeast Conference in college football). Stereotypes are fun, because you can always find enough people to live into them for you (and you don't get in trouble for using them unless you apply them across racial lines). And boy, have I encountered these guys.

In general, you just have these guys that build up little things in their lives that they live so vicariously through, that they become giant sources of identity and ritual (create idols, much?)

Southern myopic white guy will bang relentlessly on SEC football, SEC tradition, SEC tailgating, SEC coaches, Southern ______. SEC football, the stadiums, the experiences are legendary in part because of this, but I want to focus on what Collin was getting at.

Having been to 31 countries and lived in four different states (with family across three others), I guess I just have a different perspective on it all. I share some of the same passions, and perhaps ideals as SEC guy, but I just view the world through a much larger lens. Sure it sounds arrogant to presuppose this...but it's true. College football worship or whatever other vice is seasonally inserted into the life of southern white guy, is truly a marginal or secondary passion in the rest of the country (to say nothing of the rest of the world). So, while your stadium might have registered on the Richter scale, (seriously, so cool to me! The main reason I wanted to see a game at LSU well before I married Jill) that stadium is only the center of your small little world.

There's more to do in the rest of the country (especially on the West Coast).

There are far more competing interests for the entertainment dollar and passion (people want to talk about making movies in L.A., companies in Silicon Valley, hedge funds in NYC, baseball in Boston and meth in Fresno).

This is not to say that the whole premise is even right; SEC football is the best in the country right now. And the PAC-10 is by far the most dominate athletic conference in the country. The best programs in the country all recruit heaviest in CA and TX outside of Florida. So what? So football is strong and loved in the South. Great. If my Aunt had a pair, she'd be my uncle. Is that all that goes on down there, SEC guy? I ask, because it doesn't look like a whole lot of studying is going on there. The PAC-10 has had 137 Nobel laureates to the SEC's 9. Don't even get me started on the salaries and accomplishments of alumni out of the two regions. Now, it doesn't take a degree from UCLA to understand that that's lopsided. Jeesh, crack a book once in awhile. Try to break attendance records for class instead of games for once. Put a tutor in your Fav-5 instead of just your 35 year-old tailgating buddies. Find a resume builder instead of a college football message board.

It's just plain weird to love something more than the teenage boys do, that you place in a position of idol every fall & spring. And if you don't think SEC guy loves his team/conference MORE than the actual players and coaches out there, well, you just haven't been around enough athletes. SEC guy loves it more & derives more identity from the sports than do the athletes.

I mean, that's not to say that Les Miles doesn't have himself painted on a trailer, but Les Miles doesn't have himself painted on a trailer.

It's just myopic empire building, like Collin pointed-out. You don't find this guy out West and you definitely don't find this guy in someone who's got their identity and priorities rooted in the right place.

Oh, and FIGHT ON USC! ;)

10 things I love right now

So I haven't written much lately? So what? Neither has Shakespeare!

Inspired by my friend Jay McKenney, I submit for your digestion, the top 10 things I love right now (and maybe a few that didn't make the cut)

1. The daily sanctification of my crazy life as I desperately walk (picture the kid that jogs through the mall to keep up with power-walking Mom) with Christ.

Wow! So my best friend and soul mate, Jill has been Jill Still since 7 Dec. In April, I finally migrated completely to our beautiful home in Plano, TX. Every. Single. Day. since Dec 7th has been transformational in my maturation as a Christian, a man, and what it means to be a hubby/daddy/step-daddy, Christian man.

2. My wife.

I can not even put into words the powerful, planet moving, soul-burning, life-changing, Jesus-reflecting, amazing agape, love that I enjoy from, and feel for, my wife Jill. Her heart. Our trust. Our communication. Our commitment to fight fairly through deep, real, recovery-needed-because-we've-both-been-really-hurt-issues. I know more about becoming a more Holy man, because the demand is in my face every single day. Marriage demands my absolute best. My absolute most. My absolute humility. My absolute most grace. And guess what? I'm never that good. Never. That's what is so amazing when you find that you-are-not-enough, and the distance between you and your wife is easily overcome by the 'combat bridge' of Jesus, Scripture, and my wife's own heart, love and grace. It's also amazing to see the power of certainty of our commitment being that of a lifetime. It is like building a house on top of Pikes Peak's 14,115 feet of granite, and hoping that it survives high-tide from the Atlantic Ocean. Yeah, it's that powerful.

3. Football.

In May, you ask? Yes. The draft a couple weeks ago was an annual renewal of my deep desire to be operationally involved in football. The NFL Network starting "Hard Knocks", a deep look inside the training camp of the KC Chiefs got me burning with that desire to be a part some day.

I love the business, I love the sport, I love the stories, I love the game & enterprise completely. Sorry defense world. Someday I will be in football.

4. Being a Daddy and step-daddy. I will go into much further detail in future posts, but to tease the subject, I am so in love and so grateful for the toughest job I've ever under-taken.

5. Raytheon contracting.

I am being used in the right capacity (more frequently) on exciting programs. I'm consistently 10-20 years junior to everyone else in the room; and if I may say so myself, through God's great blessing, I continue to flourish in those settings. I love being good at something, and while not always exciting, having a role, impact and your peer's respect, is really cool.

6. The Broncos draft.

With the addition of DT Kentwan Balmer right before the draft for a conditional pick in 2009 (basically for free because he'll never play 65% of downs in the Broncos scheme that rotates their lineman on so many downs), I feel the Broncos addressed their remaining needs with exceptional scouting and finding great potential value(including taking OT Ryan Clady at the highest pick the Broncos have had in about a decade at 12th overall, and getting a great KR & potential slot WR at 42 in Royal from VT). I am really excited that they drafted two married fathers and a guy that was at Bible study when he got his draft call (read: maturity)

7. USC Football

USC had perhaps the best draft of anyone. Wow, Pete Carroll can recruit and coach. And wow, am I excited to see another undefeated Trojan season and BCS National Championship!

8. Plano and Frisco, TX

I love this area so far. Really excited to explore more with Jill and the girls over the summer.

9. Finding a Church home.

As in, we really need to find one. I do really feel led to The Village Church in Highland Village. They're part of the Act 29 network (as is Mars Hill Church in SEA. And the Mars Hill pastor Mark Driscoll has been extremely influential this year in my theological growth. Thank you God for podcasting. See # 10). But we haven't decided and gotten connected yet. But I do know & trust that wherever that may be, that it is God that has taken us there and will use the community in the life of Jill, the girls and I.

10. Podcasting Sermons.

I've been so spiritually fed lately by sermons by a number of great, great pastors and Bible teachers. They all have different styles and are currently in different areas of instruction and emphasis in their teachings, but I am so blown away by God's word coming alive in my life through the teachings of:

Mark Driscoll, Mars Hill Church, SEA

Brady Boyd, New Life Church, Colorado Springs, CO (my Dad's Church)

Matt Chandler, The Village Church, Dallas, TX

Tommy Nelson, Denton Bible, Denton, TX

Open Letter of Congratulations!

Congrats to Georgia and Auburn!!

Your "powerhouse SEC programs" have now joined Michigan and Notre Dame in the pile of college football crap known as, "your season is now over. Thanks for being over-rated. See you next in 2010. Maybe."

(For the record, my beloved Arizona Wildcats have been there since John Mackovic got there in 2001. We are the ONLY team in the PAC-10 NOT to got the Rose Bowl. Only. Ever. Never.)

Congrats to "the ole ball coach" at Souffff Carolina on the big win in Athens. Love Spurrier...so glad he's beating people in the SEC. I can't wait for the "you can't spell Citrus without UT" blast. I love Urban Meyer--always have--and he's going to win a few championships at Florida, but Spurrier is a beauty. Nothing would be better than this guy just running through the SEC again--especially Alabama...I bet the OBC has some great one-liners locked & loaded for Nicky Saban. Can't wait....

If you all can't handle K-State, South Florida and South Carolina, it is going to be a nightmare against LSU and Florida. Might have to invoke the Little League mercy rule...wow. Good luck.

Speaking of good luck, yeah Arizona, you looked really freaking tough against my squad from NAU. Sure you dominated on the offensive and defensive lines, and executed your downfield passing-game to a T...but it was, let me remind you, against NAU!. All we've learned is that you might give Montana or Portland State, in NAU's BigSky conference, a good game...

Good luck winning a game against anyone outside of Palo Alto in the PAC-10 this year. Conference is the best & toughest it's ever been, 1 through 8. Arizona should win one. Stanford none.

That's all folks. Talk to you from Savannah, GA in 2010!