A Week later and….. It’s been almost a week since Gio’s punt return, et al. My life is pretty much just like it was pre-punt return. I’ve checked with my adult State friends with “real lives” and they all report their status still quoing. Any UNC / State fans in New York / New Jersey were not included in this survey. Their lives HAVE changed but due to Sandy, not Gio.
TO’B is still State’s coach despite demands to the contrary from the “short bus” contingent of WuffWorld. Does that bunch recycle the leftover t-shirts and signs from FIRE Monteith / Turner / Robinson / O’Cain / Sendak / Fowler / Lowe or do they order all new stuff?
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Why Tricked-up Unis…..
The issue of non-traditional uniforms came up at lunch this week. The knee-jerk response is that Nike mandates it in order to sell the new stuff to “gotta have it” fans. I don’t think that is a significant factor.
I am an avowed traditionalist on such matters. I also prefer traditional hymns in church. I’ve asked several “men of the cloth” why churches are eschewing the old hymns for “spirit bands” and songs no one knows the words too. Their answer is “BobLee, we already have you and your generation. We are recruiting new congregates with different tastes.” …… OK, I get that marketing angle but don’t be so sure you STILL “have me and my generation”.
A version of that “new markets” philosophy may be behind the bizarre unis. Who are the bizarre unis aimed at – fans in the stands or gladiators in the arena? Recall earlier discussions that those two demographics are very very different. A 19 y/o AfAm kid from Pactoles NC and a 50 y/o white-bread corporate attorney in Myers Park have quite different “tastes” in clothes, music, role models, and life styles in general. Substitute “engineer” or “physician” or corporate VP for attorney and Pactoles could be West Charlotte and the acutely differing preferences are still in play. ……. blaring hip hop music in the stadium during warm-ups is the same “for who” issue.
Maryland’s Latest…. imagine Randy White or Boomer Easiason wearing the Lady Gaga’s Nightmare crap, Randy Edsall is reduced to using these days to draw flies to Byrd Stadium ???
I don’t have the answer to “who is/should be the primary target market”. Will helmets with giant cartoon feet on the sides result in recruiting “more Gios”? Will Blue Zoners rebel at being told “we don’t care what you prefer”. Do Blue Zoners care more about “Just Win” than what the uniforms look like? …… Interesting issues to ponder.
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Wendell has voted…..
No, not Wendell Murphy, silly. Wendell Williamson aka The Henderson Street Killer. In 1995 Wendell went nutz and killed two bystanders with an M-1 in downtown Chapel Hill. He was declared legally insane. He has been incarcerated in an institution for the criminally insane ever since. On October 19, Wendell cast an absentee ballot from his padded cell in Granville County. Who for? Don’t know; but Wendell has a “I (heart) Joe Biden” tattoo on his right buttcheek. If you think Wendell is the only truly insane voter you really aren’t paying much attention.
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Is Buster a Lost Manning Son…..
Is SF Giants’ catcher – Buster Posey – a Lost Manning? I think he could be. Arguably one of the top catchers in MLB with TWO rings and if he shaves, its once a week at most. This guy is cherubic…… Milk is doing commercials “Like Buster?” …… Most pro athletes with this guy’s resume are stalking Kardashians and brandishing 9mms as they try to keep count of all their baby mamma’s. Buster calls his mamma – Mamma and knows who his Daddy is. I mean WHO besides a Manning can do that?
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The Penn State Prez…..
News this week that PennState Pres Graham Spanier is being indicted for his compliance in the Sandusky Scandal. If you’ve read beyond the headlines and opening paragraphs of the Sandusky Scandal you may know that Spanier may be even more despicable than Sandusky. Spanier’s overt advocacy for the sordid world of the man/boy sex trade seems pretty well documented. He did not object to what Sandusky was doing for a reason. Watch the trial on this one but it will likely get pretty yucky.
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Why is Kansas State so good…..
Kansas State as a legitimate candidate to be the BCS National Champion defies all rules for developing a juggernaut football program. “The Little Apple” aka Manhatten KS is truly the “there’s no there there” stereotype of a “middle of nowhere” campus community. Eugene Oregon is Disney World & Las Vegas compared to Manhatten Kansas. Imagine the #2 team in America and the Heisman front-runner in Culowhee NC. Blacksburg VA is South Beach compared to K-State and their Manhatten.
For that reason and others, K-State doesn’t compete for “5-stars” or even “4-stars”. What K-State has is Bill Snyder who is quietly THE best football coach in America. Snyder is the ultimate personification of Bum Phillips’ “his’n versus your’n ….. your’n versus his’n” description.
Snyder looks like he should be running a drug store next to Floyd’s Barber Shop in Mayberry. He is the John Wooden of football coaches except he doesn’t recruit Lew Alcindor or Bill Walton. He carries pictures of his grand kids in his wallet, not catch phrases from Patton speeches. He cobbles up rosters of marginal kids mixed in with JuCos and they go into Norman, Austin and Morgantown and kick butt.
K-State’s jumbotron isn’t very “jumbo”. They don’t have a fancy Blue Zone. They don’t have luxurious locker rooms. I think they only have one ping pong table in the Players Lounge and no Hall of Heroes unless you consider Lynn Dickey and Gary Spani as “greats”.
K-State was “worse than Duke” during the 70-80s. Bill Snyder came along and they started blowing up scoreboards and whuppin’ juggernauts. Snyder retired 8-10 years ago and K-State immediately fell back into obscure mediocrity. Snyder came back out of retirement and now they are nipping at Nick’s heels and their QB is leading the Heisman Watch. …… and the QB may be even more of a straight arrow than Tim Tebow.
ESPN Gameday would go to Manhatten Kansas except….. they can’t find it. But Bill Snyder doesn’t seem to mind that at all.
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Gio For Heisman ????
Is Gio Bernard THE BEST Football player in college this year? I suppose he could be talent-wise; but to even suggest he is worthy of serious Heisman consideration is ludicrous. It’s not Gio’s fault that such prattle is ludicrous, it just is.
Carolina has played just ONE “better than just pretty good” team this year – Louisville; and Gio didn’t play that game. Arguably, with Gio playing UNC beats Wake and maybe even beats L-ville; but even with Gio, UNC lost to Duke. If Carolina was 8-1 with just the loss to Louisville, Gio still doesn’t have the competitive resume to “strike the pose” this year.
The Road To The Downtown Athletic Club does not go thru Elon, Idaho, and G-Vegas. Some goober at Old Dominion threw for 9 TDs and 700+ yards a few weeks ago. Whatshisname” at West Virginia dropped off the list quicker than State bottom-feeders hung TO’B in effigy last Saturday. Matt “Who” at USC ??? This year’s Heisman could go to a virgin QB or Notre Dame’s deep-snapper !!!
Gio’s electrifying heroics versus the Wuffs last Saturday only electrified the 427,000 Tru-Blues who claim they have ticket stubs verifying they were on-hand to see it. No one in Bristol looked twice….. “Gio Who?” I’m fine with this reality.
I love this kid. All my insider reports say he is an outstanding young man which I always consider first before caring about how much he can bench press or his Wonderlic score. I hope he stays another year. Heck I hope he stays two more years. I doubt he will. …… regardless, Gio is creating some humdinger moments “amid Kenan’s lofty pines”.
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Bandwagons & Bumpy Roads…..
My favorite “sideline reporter” – Lee Pace and I were e-chatting this AM and he asked how Hokie Jim is faring during this Season In Hell For Hokies. Beamer’s Boys dropped yet another one last night in Pro Player / Landshark / Armani – Tony Montana – Joe Robbie Stadium.
I don’t know if Jim & The Clubhousers made the long trek to North Miami Gables Shores Raton. But I did coin a killer new phrase ……. “Bandwagons aren’t built for bumpy roads”. Copyright Pending. ☺
