I know more Bama fans who were afraid of TCU last year than Texas. The fact is simple - had we lost to Texas, we would have lost to a team that the country respected. A loss to TCU would be like that loss to Utah - an embarrassment to all those who tie their personal identity to a football team's success on the field.
Any team that takes the field is just as worthy as any other. They take the field with honor. Those fans who disparage others in an effort to lift up themselves are not worth my time.
We've had a few discussions on here and why we generally don't see eye to eye, I've noticed you don't take personal shots (the reference to calling myself KrAzY was about as close as I recall you coming) so I don't think it's a issue of you just being a jerk or trying to stir the pot. I think you're just legitimately espousing your ideology.
The problem I have with that though, is that your view of the world really seems to be one in which everyone is or should be equal and treated equally. I simply can not agree with that. Exceptional people who achieve exceptional things are not equal to people that just show up and try hard without achieving anything exceptional. Along those lines, I will never say that a team taking the field is automatically as worthy of anything other than a chance to win the game according to the rules. They are not automatically entitled to any additional respect, or the like simply because they showed up. Likewise, two WAC teams playing each other does not become like two SEC teams playing each other just because they're playing the same sport in the FBS and I refuse to ignore the obvious differences because of some ideology that states they all should be treated the same.
As far as the TCU or Utah stuff... I was fine with Alabama playing TCU. My dream matchup was Cincy simply because that was a cakewalk and I felt Alabama had earned the championship in the SEC championship game, but I'm not here to make Alabama look better at another team's expense. To be honest, I never even considered Boise State. I knew they'd only won a single game worth mentioning and they were about ready to start conference play, not play for a championship.
My issues with Boise State and to some extent the MWC grew out of their obvious hypocrisy. Boise State joined the MWC in bashing the BCS (mind you it was the BCS that just gave bigger paydays than they could have ever managed without the BCS). The issue I had with this was their was a easy way to significantly increase the SoS for the MWC and Boise State. A 12 team expansion was both easy and highly feasible, after all teams can leave the WAC on only one years notice. Yet, despite rumors and obvious incentives nothing has been done. I've seen fingers pointed both ways, but clearly one side was complaining loudly yet unwilling to put in any effort to better things. Why in the face of such a obvious solution did they refuse to take the necessary steps? Cowardice? I personally have come to believe that Boise State just likes things the way they are, which if fine with me. They just need to stop pretending they are trying to do more when their actions speak louder.
That's the other main issue I had once I looked further. Boise State was saying they were doing all they could to better their schedule, yet they weren't even bothering to schedule only FBS schools. Come on, the FBS is full of teams that go take pay days to play on the road, are we to believe that Boise State has to bring in teams like UC Davis instead of one of those? We're also to believe that no one wants to play Boise State, yet I see Boise State getting PAC-10 teams to come into their smurf turf stadium and play them, yet Boise State hasn't done a one and done on the road since they got blown out by Georgia in 2005. It just doesn't mesh with reality, when I see teams in Boise State's conference going on the road against quality teams and somehow Boise State forgot how to do this after they got their butt kicked a few times.
As you probably saw, here's my topic about Boise State:
http://www.tidefans.com/forums/football/100783-exposing-boise-state-myth.html
It addressed my problem with Boise State. I respect honesty, I respect integrity. I would like to respect Boise State's accomplishments, but they leave a bitter taste in my mouth when I see clear indications that they are openly lying to try and make themselves look better. I can't respect a team that dodges the biggest obstacles while telling me they it's everyone else that's afraid.
If they want respect, they have to go and earn it. They do not get it just for showing up! Nor do they get respect simply by cherry picking one or two matchups against teams that the top conferences play for their entire conference schedule. They want respect, they should stop whining, join the MWC and start scheduling legit OOC games, not UC Davis, Miami of Ohio and Bowling Green.
Here's the thing. I don't like USC, I don't like Notre Dame. I'm not a big fan of Texas or Michigan or the teams out there rivaling Alabama's accomplishments. I don't really care much about Utah, TCU or Boise State. I don't hate them, I don't see them as ways for Alabama to come up in the world or anything. What I do see them as though, is a potential form of affirmative action in football. We're supposed to feel sorry for them because they are at some supposed disadvantage (never mind they don't seem to be working as hard to overcome their obstacles as they could). We're supposed to ultimately give them a advantage to make up for their disadvantage. That's where I start to get upset. I really do want them to
earn a rightful place among the elite in college football. That's the trick though, I want it to be earned, not give to them in recognition of their effort. I want it to be given to them on the merit of their accomplishments. If Boise State contends for a championship next year, based on their schedule it can't possibly be because they earned it. It would be because they successfully took a short cut to a championship and it would be just like the other WAC team, BYU did years ago, except BYU actually played Pitt @ Pitt...
Even if thats not what he intended.
