Let’s be honest. Am I glad Florida’s playing for the BCS national title? Absolutely. Do I think that they deserve it? Sure. Does Michigan deserve it, too? Well…yes and no. You’ll see why I say that in a bit. But do I still think that the system is flawed?

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.

Let’s be honest, kids…unless Ohio State wins this thing, everyone will always say, “Yeah, but…” when it comes to the 2006 college football season. And even if OSU wins (and especially if it’s a blowout) people will say, “See? Michigan would have given them a better game, and maybe even won it — the best two teams didn’t play for the national title.”

Well, what to do, then? Never one to complain without offering a solution when it comes to things like this, I have what I believe to be a workable solution. I’ve proposed this to several of the readers, but I’ve never put it on paper or in cyberspace. So without further ado…I present Brandon German’s version of a I-A college football playoff.

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The other time a team I follow in college football was celebrating its 100th year of football, it went into a national championship game against an opponent every expert gave them no chance to beat. And then they beat them and won a national title.

I’m just sayin’, is all…

Wah.

At the end of the third quarter of a home Alabama football game, only one song need be played. That song is “Basketcase”, originally by Green Day, but turned into a beloved stand tune by our own Million Dollar Band.

The last two games that I’ve gone to have featured “Sweet Home Alabama” over the loudspeakers (and in effect, the band as well). I have nothing against “Sweet Home”…it’s a great song, a great tradition, and a great way to pick the crowd up. But “Basketcase” is now a MDB institution, and I think that the band should be given its right to play it unimpeded by other music. Save “Sweet Home” for the beginning of the game, and maybe some other “pick-me-up” time. But the end of the 3rd’s sacrosanct.

One man’s humble opinion.

So, is Art Shell the Sly Croom of pro football, or is Croom the Shell of college ball?

Okay, so it’s only the second-happiest feeling I could have as a result of the tournament. But hey…I’m still pretty happy, and of course Kelly’s happy too, and she’s not even the biggest basketball fan! It’s the first time that a school that I actively rooted for has won a national title in a “big” sport since Bama’s 1992 national title in football, so it’s a nice feeling to have again.

Go Gators!

Everyone still reading this site (if there is anyone, they’d no doubt be saying, “What’s there to read?”) knows that the Alabama-Florida game is an interesting situation for me. I’m in the unique spot of being a graduate of both institutions (though with one more degree from Bama), with a wife who has a Florida degree herself and no other connections to Bama than me.

It’s fairly obvious to everyone now that color schemes will be divided this day.

I’ve never witnessed personally a game of any kind in which Alabama has beaten Florida. At least, I don’t think so…I can’t remember if I was at the “Pettway drive” basketball game a few years back. So I feel like I’m a jinx. Kelly’s never been to a Bama game where Alabama lost. But she’s never been to a Bama game where the team that she wanted to win lost, either.

My prediction for the game? I think that this will be one of those “first to 20 wins” types. Both sides are extremely strong defensively. I still don’t know what to make of either offense. Sometimes Bama looks very sharp (South Carolina), sometimes they just don’t. Florida put up 49 in the first half against Kentucky, then got outscored 21-0 in the second half by a team that Indiana whipped. And, yes, I know that Indiana is currently unbeaten too. We shall see how that one plays out.

I tend to fall slightly on the pessimistic side when it comes to Alabama football. I’ve said before that I’m not happy until we have at least one more point than our opponent with 0:00 left, or until we have at least nine more than our opponent with 0:01 left. This will be one of those games, I think, where my emotion for the rest of the day (tempered either way with exhaustion) will be determined sometime deep in the fourth quarter. And, unfortunately for me (and fortunately for my sweet wife), I think that it’ll be disappointment. But it really could go either way.

My pick: Florida 20, Alabama 17

Feel free to leave a “ROLL TIDE” comment if we win, though… 🙂

After both of my teams took an early exit from the NCAA tournament, my following of it slowed pretty considerably. But I have to say that I was interested in it over the past couple of days.

Almost every year, I’ve picked a bracket. Never for money, mind you…just to see how well I could do. Well, after three of the best regional final games ever, I stood to achieve something I’d never done in all my years of trying: pick the final four.

I’d had UNC and Illinois (who hadn’t, really), and I’d played upon Louisville’s “us against the world” mentality after being chosen a 4-seed. Now, if only Kentucky could come through…

And they couldn’t. D’oh!

Oh, well. Maybe the perfect bracket exists next year…

I wasn’t all that surprised when I heard the news yesterday. I was extremely disappointed when I did, however.

Part of me can’t blame him for going. I mean, he’s going to a school that’s offering him 1 1/2 times the amount we’re offering him, has comparable athletic facilities with the promise of upgrades on the way, a fan base as rabid as ours, and doesn’t have the dark specter of probation and the possibility of more sanctions looming over its head. In those respects, it’s almost a no-brainer move.

But the Bama fan in me is miffed for a couple of reasons.

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After leading Alabama to its first win over Tennessee in eight years, Brodie Croyle should go over to the section in Neyland Stadium where the Million Dollar Band is located, climb up on the drum major’s podium, and raise his arms as if to start off a rendition of “Yea, Alabama.”

Then he should say, “No, we’re better than that,” and climb down and go to the locker room and enjoy a cigar.