Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Our messy unity will be our strength.

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

Republicans do not trust women.

When they say they are pro-life, they do not mean yours.

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

“The defense has a certain level of trust in defendant that the government does not.”

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

Washington Post Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

In my day, never was longer.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

I swear, each month of 2025 will have its own history degree.

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

The words do not have to be perfect.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Oppose, oppose, oppose. do not congratulate. this is not business as usual.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

You are here: Home / Open Threads / College Football Conference Championship Weekend Open Thread

College Football Conference Championship Weekend Open Thread

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ncaa_week 15

Okay, so here are my picks. As usual, there’s more homerism than analysis here: I picked Oklahoma in solidarity with Soonergrunt. Vegas has Duke losing by nearly 30 points to FSU, but I selected the Blue Devils because 1) I hate Florida State with the radiating heat of 30K supernovae, and 2) they haven’t played a tough opponent this year (Little Sisters of the Poor could have whupped my Gators, and Miami sucks too), so we don’t know what they’ve got.

Although I used to be neutral toward OSU, now I ferociously want them to lose for several reasons: 1) their finicky insistence on using the definite article before the school name; 2) all my OSU friends became more rabid Gator-haters than any Georgia fan just because we whipped their ass twice for the national title, so fuck them; and 3) I don’t want them to finish undefeated because they don’t deserve a shot at a national title. If they lose, a more deserving SEC team, which is any of the top three, might have a shot. So Go Spartans.

As for Auburn and Missouri, I’m torn on this one, but Missouri is a solid as hell team and a welcome new asset to the mighty SEC. So I’m sort of leaning toward them, but mostly I’m hoping for a good game. And for FSU or OSU to crash and burn so that the SEC champ gets a shot; I am 100% confident either Missouri or Auburn could defeat either FSU or OSU. Like I said, I’m a homer.

What are you watching, whom are you rooting for and what are you cooking this weekend? I’ve got a brisket smoking on the Brinkman; it should be ready around 7 PM.

Reader Interactions

182Comments

  1. 1.

    Aji

    Michigan State to win; Florida State to lose; homemade posole in the crock pot. If I get really ambitious (which is to say, if I have time), maybe frybread to go with it for tonight. It’s 15 degrees, single-digit wind chills, more snow on the way.

  3. 3.

    maximiliano furtive, formerly known as dr. bloor

    OSU loses, you’re not getting Michigan State, you’re putting Alabama right back into the mix. So, Grasshopper, who do you hate more: Meyer or Saban?

  4. 4.

    Betty Cracker

    @Aji:

    …homemade posole in the crock pot…

    I’ve never made posole before, but I have a recipe I’ve been meaning to try for ages.

  5. 5.

    MikeJake

    Actually, everyone should be pulling for Ohio State, because with the SEC’s partnership with ESPN for their upcoming network, coupled with their existing CBS relationship, and the corrupt southern good ol’ boy booster apparatus, I won’t be surprised if the SEC manages 3 or 4 teams in the Plus 1 next year, despite their teams having just one or two quality wins a year just like EVERY OTHER GODDAMN TEAM IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL!!!

  6. 6.

    Aji

    @Betty Cracker: It’s perfect when it’s cold like this. Just slow cook it for like a day, and the pork just falls apart. I soaked the hominy overnight a couple of nights ago, and this has been in the crock pot for 24 hours already.

  8. 8.

    jharp

    I am going to try and scalp a ticket for the OSU/Michigan State game. It’s only 15 minutes from my house and I am an Ohio alum.

    Though clear now we got 6 inches of snow the past 2 days and more nasty weather headed our way tomorrow.

    I am thinking demand will be weak. They are now asking $150 for nose bleed seats with a face of $90.

  9. 9.

    Dolly Llama

    I think Auburn beats Mizzou pretty handily. That Duke is in the championship game at all speaks volumes about just how much the ACC sucks. Right now, it’s FSU and the however-many dwarfs. On the rest, in the words of the late Lefty Rosenthal, “I have no opinion.”

  11. 11.

    Betty Cracker

    @MikeJake: SEC teams have the toughest schedules in college football. Pretending that OSU’s schedule is as tough as ANY SEC team’s is like, I dunno, climate change denial. If OSU was in the SEC, they’d have been Vandy’s beeotch for the last 50 years.

  13. 13.

    BethanyAnne

    The Little Sisters of the Poor haven’t had time to whup the Gators. They have been busy smacking the Texans around in practice.

  14. 14.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Betty Cracker:

    I picked Oklahoma in solidarity with Soonergrunt. […] I selected the Blue Devils because 1) I hate Florida State with the radiating heat of 30K supernovae, and 2) they haven’t played a tough opponent this year

    You didn’t pick Duke in solidarity with burnspbesq??

  16. 16.

    Davebo

    @Betty Cracker:

    SEC teams have the toughest schedules in college football.

    Did you really type that with a straight face? I’d say PAC 10 has much tougher schedules not just because it’s such a strong conference but also because they don’t schedule wimpy non conference games.

  18. 18.

    MikeJake

    @Betty Cracker: Bullshit hype. The only time they have an argument is when their legit contending teams are all in the same division, and end up playing one another. But that rarely happens.

    What usually happens is a complete pretender like Miss. St. will sneak through a cupcake schedule and get ranked way too high. Then, when the 2 or 3 teams that are actually legit contenders whup on them, those contenders get extra credit for beating a “ranked team” and having such a “tough schedule.” But when the pretenders lose 3 or 4 in a row and get exposed, it’s too late to reflect that new information in the rankings. That’s how SEC teams rocket up the rankings, then barely fall when they lose. The SEC hype machine lifts them all up, and by the time the voters figure out “Hey, I guess that win over a pretender that happened to sneak its way into the top 25 wasn’t so impressive after all,” it’s late in the season and the SEC is playing the FCS portion of their schedule.

  19. 19.

    Johnnybuck

    I’d say if Auburn wins, and OSU loses, Auburn gets in. If Missouri wins, Alabama gets in, which sucks for Missouri because they are more deserving.

    Go Spartans!

  22. 22.

    Johnnybuck

    @MikeJake: 7 National Championships in a row by three different schools pretty much invalidates whatever nonsense you’re spewing. The PAC 12 is a great conference however.

  23. 23.

    Betty Cracker

    @MikeJake: Uh-huh…seven out of the top 25 and three out of the top 5 right now, plus seven consecutive national championships — all hype.

    @Zifnab25: Haha, I do like the ‘Horns; just calling ’em like I see ’em. If Texas has any sense, they’ll make a play for Briles as soon as the final whistle blows, win or lose.

  24. 24.

    prufrock

    Well Betty, with that Duke pick, you obviously demonstrated that you have at least a little in common with the teabaggers; you’d rather be pure than right.

  25. 25.

    Julia

    My grandparents were both cared for by the Little Sisters of the Poor in their old ages. The sisters were all from destitute South American families. Those ladies were kind and delightful, but with steel backbones. Anyone who could deal with my tough Irish grandfather would have to be! I suspect Betty Cracker is correct in her assumption they could give the Gators a run for their money.

  26. 26.

    dp

    Betty, the glaring problem with your picks is that they would let the Great Satan, Alabama, into the national championship game. That must be avoided at all costs, even if it means (holding my nose) that Ohio State must win.

  27. 27.

    Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)

    Not to sidetrack the thread, but I’m going to my second home for Christmas with my wife and our two children. As some of you may know already, I work with a small school down there. I was wondering whether anybody would be interested in (if John Cole would be willing) in reading front page posts about my trip down there, with pictures and such? Is this something anybody would care about? I was thinking that maybe I should write to Cole and ask. I know that it’s kind of a highly specialized interest on my part, but still, it’s a cool place, and I’m proud that many of my friends think of me as part of their town, too.

  28. 28.

    Davebo

    Considering A&M’s record during it’s last year in the Big 12 versus their record in their first season in the SEC one can only come to 1 of 2 conclusions.

    Either A&M made an earth shattering turn around from one season to the next.

    Or the SEC is a bit overrated.

  29. 29.

    JordanRules

    Chance of rain in Phoenix/Tempe today, which folks are saying, favors Stanford. I think we’ve got a great shot at home today regardless. I always want OSU to lose but if it plays out that we get to meet them in Pasadena and vanquish the ghosts of 97 that would be even more magnificent.

  31. 31.

    Gator90

    @Davebo: There’s nothing surprising about a team making a dramatic turnaround from one season to the next, especially when a Heisman-winning freshman QB shows up. Look at FSU from last year to this.

  33. 33.

    Gator90

    I am rooting for OSU, foremost because I think they have the best chance to beat Florida State (whom I hate at least as much as Betty does), and secondly because I really appreciate the 2 national titles Meyer brought to UF. His departure from Gainesville was a little weird, but still I wish him all the best.

  34. 34.

    Betty Cracker

    @Davebo: Or maybe the Aggies added a new coach plus a marquee player to the squad that turned things around for them. I dunno, maybe Johnny Football? Heisman Trophy winner?

  35. 35.

    Geoduck

    In the Pac-12, I guess I vote for Arizona State, just because if the Huskies can’t win it, as usual anymore, let’s have a non California school take it.

  37. 37.

    MikeJ

    @Geoduck: I haven’t heard what Yutsy thinks of UW getting Boise State’s coach. A small reason to root for them or an extra reason to hate?

    I thought the rumours that they’d get Pinkel from Mizzou were wishful thinking.

  38. 38.

    scav

    @James E. Powell: I don’t know. Given my first encounter with the OSU breed was a routund man publically expounding why his dept would be awarded a multi-million dollar federal research grant because of the superiority of his schools football team, I can empathize with the impulse, even when not 100% trusting the probity of all NSF committee-members.

  41. 41.

    Ella in New Mexico

    Seriously, folks, if you’re fixated on college football this weekend, you are missing the #1 High School Football Rivalry State Championship Game in the USA taking place here in Nowhere’sville today:

    We’re gonna fill our state U’s football stadium with at least 25-30K fans. All of us here either have a kid or a relative’s kid or a kid’s friend or younger brother on the field today. Or played in the past for one of these teams, or have kids who want to play for them someday. And even though we might be rooting for one side today, we all have ties to the other side so it’s gonna be incredibly, awesomely fun to watch, no matter who wins.

    And THAT’s why anyone ever wants to take the risks and play football.

  44. 44.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)

    @Johnnybuck:

    7 National Championships in a row by three different schools pretty much invalidates whatever nonsense you’re spewing. The PAC 12 is a great conference however.

    That’s cute. The WCHA has won every single national title since women’s hockey became a NCAA recognized sport. They’ve only lost three NCAA title games because two conference teams were playing.

  46. 46.

    Joel

    I’m rooting for a massive academic scandal that rocks several campuses and causes the complete dissolution of college football.

  47. 47.

    burnspbesq

    It’s surprising how many people whose normal second-favorite team is “whoever’s playing Duke” are hopping on board the bandwagon for today. Everybody likes a worst-to-first story, I guess.

    FSU has already had a good weekend, springing a huge upset on Florida in the second round of the NCAA volleyball tournament and getting to the national championship game in women’s soccer. I guess it’s time for them to lose. Duke will do its best to oblige. And we aren’t going away. We have redshirts who are better than our starters.

  48. 48.

    Omnes Omnibus

    My undergrad managed a stunning single victory in football this year. Also too, it is a D-III school. Easy and cheap to get tickets though.

  49. 49.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)

    @burnspbesq:

    Everybody likes a worst-to-first story, I guess.

    No, we just really, really hate Florida State.

    Along those lines we’ve found out what it takes to get me to root for Michigan State: Urban Meyer with a chance to go to the national championship game. Go Spa . . .

    No, I still can’t say it.

  50. 50.

    burnspbesq

    @Joel:

    I’m rooting for a massive academic scandal that rocks several campuses and causes the complete dissolution of college football.

    Why, pray tell?

  51. 51.

    Citizen_X

    their finicky insistence on using the definite article before the school name

    Isn’t that obnoxious? They tried pulling that shit at UT, but it didn’t take.

    I hate Florida State with the radiating heat of 30K supernovae

    Yeah, but Duke? Can we root for a meteorite strike?

    Here’s hoping the ‘Horns crush them Baptists.

  52. 52.

    burnspbesq

    I’m well aware that a Duke win probably puts Bama in the championship game. The idea of Bama in the championship game makes me want to vomit. If it comes to that, I will vomit with a smile.

  53. 53.

    Nancy

    Mizzou is my Alma Mater and I live in KC, so the Chiefs are my pro team. At one point this season, both were 9-0. The world was spinning on a completely different axis. Things have righted themselves somewhat, but today is a HUGE day for any Missouri fan. Mizzou-rah Tigers!

  54. 54.

    burnspbesq

    @Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN):

    The WCHA has won every single national title since women’s hockey became a NCAA recognized sport.

    That’s great for you and the 17 other people who care.

    With the addition of Syracuse and Notre Dame, ACC men’s lacrosse is the toughest conference competition that ever existed.

  55. 55.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @burnspbesq:

    That’s great for you and the 17 other people who care.

    That’s a pretty damn snide comment. Especially when you follow it up with the ACC lacrosse remark.

  57. 57.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Kristine: I was class of ’73, Music.

    (I still remember the tune and most of the words to our Alma Mater — written in 1960 by a man with the wonderful name of Wayne Hugoboom — but if we have such a thing as a fight song, it would be news to me.)

  60. 60.

    Yatsuno

    @MikeJ: I’m kinda meh on that. Petersen did some really great things with the Broncs, but that star faded a bit this season & he might have felt some hot seat pressure. Whoever takes over for Boise has still a shit ton of good tools to work with & will be successful if he can gel everything.

    As for UW, Petersen is gonna have a steep learning curve really fast. Failure isn’t well-tolerated in Muttlake.

  62. 62.

    Keith P

    @burnspbesq: Duke and Michigan State would have to win for Bama to get to the championship. While Bama fans can be hard to stomach (holy shit, they can not handle losing to Auburn…or anyone for that matter!), an Iron Bowl rematch for the championship would be HUGE.

  63. 63.

    dmbeaster

    Well, I am glad that at least I am not hearing any of the bs SEC “leapfrogging” nonsense about OSU even if they beat MSU. Nothing demonstrates the arrogance of SEC fans more than that meme, which is strong right now. It is typical of the overhyping of the SEC over the years. And I believe they have been the number one conference in recent years. I am just sick and tired of their offensive behavior about everyone else.

    If OSU and FSU win today (by any margin), then the SEC deservedly is not in the title game. I would also say that the PAC-12 typically has better overall strength across its teams (except for the recent addition of Colorado) than the SEC, but the SEC has had the top teams. The Pac-12 for years has been very difficult to win without a loss to someone — not so true in the SEC.

  66. 66.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)

    @Omnes Omnibus: It’s burnsie. What do you expect? The women’s hockey team at his alma mater has won fewer games in its entire existence as a D1 program than the Gophers won in a row.

  67. 67.

    Pogonip

    I love it when Ohio State plays. Stores empty out and you can zip right through. Until the only nearby mall with decent parking became dangerous, we used to hit the mall during the Michigan game. It was like being Cher and having the mall privately opened just for you.

  70. 70.

    Mike E

    I’ll certainly ‘heh-indeedy’ should Dook beat the ‘Noles, but, seriously, they’re gonna get hammered by a team with their eyes fixed on the BCS championship game. FuuhHammered.

  71. 71.

    raven

    In from putting stairs up in the mud. I’m a born and bred Illini and B1G fan and let me say fuck Ohio State and GO SEC!!!!!

  72. 72.

    Looking for a Canadian (fka wini)

    Lots of exciting games today! Including the hockey one in which my nephew scored the game-winning OT goal.

    Re: college football, go whoever-can-help-my-team-get-a-better-bowl-trip!

  74. 74.

    James E. Powell

    @scav:

    Really? All it takes to make a hater is one blowhard?

    I don’t have any data, but my sense is that every college has people like that.

  78. 78.

    James E. Powell

    Here’s hoping that all the Big Games today and tonight will be as good as Oklahoma v Oklahoma State.

  79. 79.

    chmatl

    Oh, Betty, I do love you. You and Kay are my faves, but this FSU hatred is unbecoming of you. And just to show that “both sides” DON”T do it, I’m fond of the Gators even though I’m a Florida State alum. My husband went to both UF and FSU so I’ve watched a lot of Gator football through the years. I’m going to suggest that we Gator and Seminole fans unite over our mutual hatred of the Hurricanes. Could you get behind that?

    Btw, after FSU my heart belongs to the Bulldogs, especially now that we know our eldest will be sporting a beautiful Redcoat Marching Band uniform as a 2014 freshman at UGA. That probably isn’t going to make you like me any better though.

  81. 81.

    Yatsuno

    @chmatl:

    Btw, after FSU my heart belongs to the Bulldogs, especially now that we know our eldest will be sporting a beautiful Redcoat Marching Band uniform as a 2014 freshman at UGA. That probably isn’t going to make you like me any better though.

    Certainly warms the cockles of my heart. Plus raven will be quite happy with that development.

  82. 82.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)

    @burnspbesq: I’ll put the top 2,100 students at Minnesota up against Union any time, any place. And we educate 43,000 other undergraduates, too.

  83. 83.

    max

    @Betty Cracker: SOONERS take the lead w/ 19 seconds left!

    AH! BOOMER FUCKIN’ SOONER!

    And that thing at the end, that’s the closest thing thing I’ve ever seen to an empty netter in football. Man, OSU just fell apart on that last series.

    So Go Longhorns because screw the Baptists.

    max
    [‘Maybe after today everything will wind up higgledy-piggledy, which seems like the deserved end for the BCS.’]

  84. 84.

    scav

    @James E. Powell: Well, it’s enough to catch one’s attention and information accumulates afterward from various sources. As I’ve no real interest in football and haven’t generally found it a net benefit to core university goals (beyond the merchandising and capture of allumni dollars mostly used to perpetuate more football and allumni-capture PR efforts), I don’t put a lot of effort into hating OSU specifically, but it has been assigned to a class that tends to attract blowhards of a certain type.

  85. 85.

    Betty Cracker

    @chmatl: Congrats on that Jawja band kid! I really don’t dislike the Dawgs, even though it’s been a fierce rivalry thru the years.

    The Noles, though. Can’t do it. I’ve got a black sheep uncle who is the world’s most obnoxious Noles fan, so I learned to despise them before I was out of diapers, and working side by side with a series of taunting FSU alums thru the best part of the Bowden years didn’t do anything to change my mind.

    But you seem perfectly nice, so if they beat Duke, I’ll try to be happy for you. :-)

  86. 86.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN): I think it is impossible to make a viable comparison between and Tier 1 research university and liberal art college. Both can provide a good education, but, beyond that, they are too different for any comparison to be meaningful.

  88. 88.

    Belafon

    I’m picking OSU over Oklahoma because Oklahoma’s called the Sooners. Otherwise, I really don’t care.

  89. 89.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)

    @Omnes Omnibus: I don’t disagree with you, really, but the arrogance of the ECAC folks, which you get a lot of in college hockey (and burnsie adequately represents) over their mission can be hard to take. If you want to play Division 1 hockey, go ahead but stop whining that it’s unfair.

    That said, I agree that Union shouldn’t be playing D1 women’s hockey, but that’s because they’ve made it clear that they don’t want to put the resources into it to make it work. Clarkson and St. Lawrence are roughly the same size and compete well.

  93. 93.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN): Well, the only sport in which my undergrad competes at the D-1 level is fencing. And that is only because fencing only has D-1. Personally, I think the little schools, like Lawrence and Union, should stick to D-III. It is a better fit with their mission.

  94. 94.

    chmatl

    @Betty Cracker: Yeah, well obnoxious fans’ll do that to you. I try to be humble at all times because the ‘Noles have certainly had their ups and downs. I truly do despise the ‘Canes because of the way they owned us during the “Wide Right” years.

    We’re awfully excited to have a new Bulldog in the family, so thanks for the congrats. Would honestly have been just as happy if she’d chosen to go to, say, Gainesville.

  98. 98.

    chmatl

    @Yatsuno: We’re band geeks in my family, so I’ve always enjoyed your comments about your MB experiences. I play oboe but marched alto sax, she plays trumpet (brass captain in her MB), and our son is a percussionist who aspires to play snare or tenors in the MB in a couple of years.

    I don’t remember what you played. Could you remind me?

  100. 100.

    chmatl

    @raven: She’ll be in the School of Music as a music ed major. At least that’s the plan right now.

    My brother also went to UGA. Got a journalism degree in the early ’80s, went to J school with Deborah Norville, I think. Also used to see Michael Stipe on the bus from time to time.

  103. 103.

    Keith G

    @Omnes Omnibus: Sorry for your rough time there. In the 70’s, Ohio State was a very cool place to go to school. They treated their students very well and there was an amazing amount of opportunity for this farm boy to interact with some of the brightest instructors in their respective fields.

    From what I understand, as a new generation of my family is following their elders, it still is a very good place to go to be involved in a very top-notch educational experience.

  104. 104.

    Dee Loralei

    How ’bout my beloved Sooners? Was that a damned crazy game or what? I’m still all whooped up about it. I made Micheladas, not a bad drink, thanks to whoever recommended them the other day! I’m still a wee bit tipsy.

    Funny, with 2 seconds left in the game and OSU with the ball, I turned to my son and said Baylor will either throw an interception or fumble and OU will score another TD. And they did with their backwards laterals! HA! What a fun game!

  106. 106.

    Dee Loralei

    @efgoldman: I thought Yatsuno played the sousaphone? Don’t remember that about Raven. I played flag and rifle. My son played French Horn, but marched with a melophone. Son also plays keyboards, guitar, bass, yukelele and mandolin. He wants to go to Berkley in Boston and be a composer.@chmatl: Very cool about your daughter wanting to teach music. I wish her the best.

  108. 108.

    James E. Powell

    @Keith G:

    In the 70′s, Ohio State was a very cool place to go to school. They treated their students very well and there was an amazing amount of opportunity for this farm boy to interact with some of the brightest instructors in their respective fields.

    I am a northern Ohio suburban dumbass and that describes my experience as one of the Class of June 80. I would add that I also had many opportunities to interact with a wide range of bright students from all over.

  109. 109.

    Dolly Llama

    @raven: DAWG! Doesn’t seem like I’ve seen you on here in a while, but I haven’t been on here near as much lately, either, so that probably explains it. You doing OK?

    And, chmatl,

    My brother also went to UGA. Got a journalism degree in the early ’80s, went to J school with Deborah Norville, I think. Also used to see Michael Stipe on the bus from time to time.

    I’m a Grady grad as well, a “Double Dawg” with an ABJ in ’92 and an MMC in ’94. This was just after REM broke big, and EVERYBODY played Athens. I was glad to get there in ’88, which in retrospect seemed to be the tail-end of one era of the “Athens scene” and the beginning of another decidedly different one. I like to think I was there to get a good taste of both.

  110. 110.

    chmatl

    @efgoldman: Sousaphone, huh? They’re an odd bunch. ;-)

    I lurk here every day, so I knew you are a musician but I don’t remember your original instrument either. I typically don’t comment, but I always really enjoy reading your comments about the music-related things you’ve done through the years.

    Everyone in our immediate family plays something. I have an oboe performance degree, my husband wants to be a guitar god when he grows up, and we all play a little bit of piano.

  111. 111.

    raven

    @efgoldman: I was at a conference right around the corner from there one summer. It was fun just walking around by the dorm or whatever it was and seeing all those kids having fun.

  112. 112.

    raven

    @Dolly Llama: Yea, we went to the beach for 9 days at Thanksgiving and I had bigger fish to fry! I’m fine but the bride’s mri came back with spinal stenosis so, after all she’s been through, she may be looking at surgery again. I’ve been checkin you out over on Get The Picture too.

  113. 113.

    gogiggs

    All you SEC people can take your arrogance about your shitty conference, your lousy country music, your boring ass NASCAR and wrap them in tinfoil, squeeze it down tight into the smallest ball you can and then cram it up your ass with no lube. Fuck you and your conference!

    Go Buckeyes!

    (and Yay Sooners, for my Dad)

  116. 116.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Keith G: I didn’t go to OSU and had no connection otherwise to the university, so the rabidness of the fans was rather wearing. I didn’t have a rough time in Columbus I lived in German Village and then behind the main library just a block or so from the art museum; I just didn’t care for OSU fans and hated the summers.

    @efgoldman: Violin and viola. Violin was my primary interest, though.

  118. 118.

    chmatl

    @Dee Loralei: So cool your kid wants to go to Berklee! I had a friend from undergrad who went there for a couple of years. He was studying jazz percussion, but I don’t think he ever got a degree there.

    I love the idea that she wants to teach music, but I’m honestly not sure it’s the right thing for her. I think she believes 1.) that she’s going to graduate and immediately get a high school band directing gig; and 2) it’s gonna be just like being in marching band! One big happy family! It may work just like that, but probably not, so I’m apprehensive.

    Like that you “played rifle and flag.” :-) My daughter is doing winter guard for the first time this year, and she loves it.

  120. 120.

    chmatl

    @Dolly Llama: My brother graduated in about 1983, so you two missed each other by a few years. REM I think was a purely local phenomenon at that point. I spent a few quality weekends in Athens during that time and the music scene was amazing. I understand that it’s still like that, so I’m looking forward to vicariously living through it again!

  121. 121.

    Keith G

    @James E. Powell: ’80 should have been my graduation had I not taken a bartending job at a private night club in Upper Arlington that morphed into a full time money-making adventure ride.

    Mother freaked, but I did go back after a two year hiatus and got my degree in ’82.

  122. 122.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Dee Loralei: For anyone considering a music degree, let me put in a good word for Lawrence University – my alma mater. It has a very well regarded conservatory of music, plus it is a very good liberal arts college. If your kid is the type who would proper in a LAC environment, Lawrence would be a good place to study music.

  123. 123.

    chmatl

    @raven: Indeed she will. We mostly all do eventually. I wish she wasn’t having to make decisions like this at 17. She’s a child still. But nothing is cast in stone, which we remind her of all the time.

  127. 127.

    Dee Loralei

    @chmatl: LOL well, he’s 23, so he’ll either have to get a scholarship to Berklee or I’ll have to win the lottery. But, he’s already written a few very good songs and he’s practicing his french horn, guitar and key boards, hoping for an audition in the nest few years.

    And tell your daughter, even if she doesn’t get a high school gig first thing, middle school band directors can do a lot of shaping new talent. His middle school band director was a PhD and was the best teacher in his 13 years of school he had. So she can make a huge difference in the life of a child, even without a marching band.

  131. 131.

    chmatl

    @raven: Oh, well they weren’t on my radar until a little later than that. I was in Atlanta at GA State at the time. Thanks for all the info about where to go and what to do in Athens. You all are a great resource.

  132. 132.

    Dee Loralei

    @Omnes Omnibus: Oh, thanks for the heads up. I’ll send him the link. Though I’m not sure he could handle the cold. And it certainly is less costly than Berklee. I just want him to finish his education.

    He even asked today if he could go to Oklahoma State so he could do research into zero gravity. I told him if he did, I would love him 364 days a year. LOL

  133. 133.

    Keith G

    @Omnes Omnibus: Large groups of people in almost any enterprise are wearisome, especially if there is an abundance of testosterone and intoxicants.

    For my money, the most challenging group of fans for an outsider was at West Lafayette. Brutal, both verbally and physically.

    There were many nice places to duck into in German Village to grab a beer and kill some time. The Bahama Mamas and Cream Puffs at Schmidt’s were always a treat.

    GV in the 70’s was awesome as it was lower middle class and bohemian residential and mom & pop retail. I bet it’s been gentrified all to fuck by now.

  134. 134.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Keith G: I moved there in ’93. It was very gentrified by then. I still managed to get mugged on the edge of Schiller Park in late ’96. Columbus has an odd patchwork of neighborhoods with GV right next to the Parsons Ave area and so on.

    I put this link into a DougJ music thread the other day.

  135. 135.

    chmatl

    @Dee Loralei: You know, 23 seems like a lot better age to be making decisions about what you want to do with your life than 17, so good for him! With all my music background, composition was never my thing. I had to write and score stuff but I was never more than merely competent at it, so I think people who naturally have that talent are amazing. Again, good for him, and I wish him good luck at getting into Berklee. It sounds like it would be a really good fit for him.

    I would be perfectly happy for her to go the middle school band director route, but I know at this point in her life that’s not what SHE wants. I really think her gift is writing and that combining that with her love of music would be very rewarding for her. But she’s gonna do what she wants to do, which of course is totally fair.

  136. 136.

    Keith P

    Damn, Tre Mason is absolutely shredding the Mizzou defense in the first half. He’s on pace for *400* yards right now. If it wasn’t for Marshall’s fumbles, Auburn would be destroying Mizzou by now.

  137. 137.

    raven

    @Omnes Omnibus: What’s funny to me is that, for a number of years in the 70’s, we’d play UW in Madison on or near Halloween. The street crowds were great and the dweeby Illini fans in their Orange and Blue were a real contrast to the hip Madison folks.

  139. 139.

    Dee Loralei

    @chmatl: Yea, I get what you mean. When he was 17 he wanted to play professional poker. He’s a really good poker player, but I didn’t see it. And he doeas make enough playing poker to survive, but not nearly enough to pay for Berklee.

    It does astound me we tell kids at 17,18,19 to go out and figure out their entire lives. I’m with the Hobbits, adulthood shouldn’t commence until 33 or so. (shrug)

  140. 140.

    Yatsuno

    @chmatl: I’m like you. My concert horn is oboe (actually I’m best at English horn, but that only happens rarely) but I did march tuba. I may have missed it but what is your child playing?

    Also: Betty’s been farming out the hens for side jobs I see.

  144. 144.

    chmatl

    @Yatsuno: I thought I remembered from way back that you play oboe, but that didn’t square with the tuba, so I figured I confused you with some other commenter. I’m better on English horn, too. Not nearly as fussy as oboe. My all time favorite in the oboe family though is oboe d’amore. Only played it once on a Bach cantata (I think), but it was loads of fun. You just don’t run across the instrument or the opportunity to play it more than once in a blue moon.

    Do you still play?

    And yes, my daughter will be playing trumpet in the Redcoat Band. Son is a percussionist.

  147. 147.

    Keith P

    @raven: Every time Mizzou puts 3 people on the front defensive line (why do they do it at all at this point?) Auburn breaks for anywhere from 7-50 yards right up the middle. They don’t even need to use Tre Mason for it; they’ve subbed in Artis-Payne, and it’s the same story.

  149. 149.

    James E. Powell

    Clearly, the SEC defenses are superior to anything any other conference can put on the field.

  151. 151.

    Steeplejack

    This Missouri-Auburn game is turning into Musical Chairs—it’s going to end up being whomever happens to score last before time expires. Not pretty.

  154. 154.

    Steeplejack

    @Keith P:

    Yeah, I do not get the three-man line at all. Especially now that Auburn has been shredding it for three quarters. If they’re going to persist with it, the linebackers need to play up tighter.

  158. 158.

    Keith P

    C’mon, Auburn needs to get a TD to finally get this thing to somewhere resembling being out of reach. Every time they’ve had a chance to build up some momentum, they either stall (and start passing), fumble, or give up a big Mizzou play.

  159. 159.

    Keith P

    Game…OVER! I was surprised to see Mizzou go for it on 4th down inside their 15, but I guess you gotta do what you gotta do. Then Mason (of course) runs it in for yet another TD. Auburn’s got almost 120 points in their last 2 SEC championships.

  164. 164.

    Yatsuno

    @Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant): And of course The Emissary is a concussionist. Whatever pleases The Prophets…

    @chmatl: It was quite the revelation in high school that marching horn didn’t have to equal concert horn. Never have gotten to play an oboe d’amore, but maybe if I could have done some study in Europe that could have happened. Plus the future is not yet written and if things line up over the next few months I might get back into playing again.

  167. 167.

    chmatl

    @Yatsuno: Good luck with finding your way back to playing! I don’t play all that regularly but I do still have my Loree. I had it overhauled about a year ago, and it plays beautifully again. Just need to find a good, consistent source of reeds. I have no desire to make them anymore. Too traumatic. We have friends who play clarinet, recorder, sax, trumpet, etc., so we have the occasional musical evening, which is a lot of fun. With enough alcohol, I believe I sound as good as I did when I was playing every day!

  168. 168.

    chmatl

    @Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant): I think if I could do it all over again, I would play percussion. Drumline is the coolest thing ever. All the percussionists I’ve run across have been so serious about what they do. Not serious people necessarily, but very dedicated to the art.

  169. 169.

    Yatsuno

    @chmatl: Forrester’s still exists, so that’s a good sign. They’re a great resource if you’re too lazy and unskilled to make them yourself, like me. Also: I don’t have a sunny window that reeds can cure on.

    (And FYWP.)

  172. 172.

    Steeplejack

    Duke-FSU not as rout-y as I expected. FSU up only 14-0 just before halftime.

    And, even though it pains me to root for my dick brother’s Spartans, I am glad that the Ohio State University is getting handled (so far).

    (Note: dick brother is other brother, not bro’ man.)

  177. 177.

    Ruckus

    @Omnes Omnibus:
    Lived in the northeast burbs but used to go downtown/GV a bit but the rabid fans, that I just never got. Was talked into going to a home game bar crawl once. That was about 5 times too many but that shows how easy I was then.

  178. 178.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Ruckus: For most of the time I was there, I lived about a block south of the Columbus Maennerchor. The corner of Deshler and High. It was a nice location for a single guy.

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