A Middle Name More Shocking Than Mine...

Today is an important part of history and as many have put it, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream was realized as Barack Hussein Obama was sworn in as the 44th president. But as my uncle points out, MLK's dream was that "they would not be judged by the color of their skin but by the contact of their character" and today's emphasis was most definitely on color. And I would like to point out that after listening to a 7th grade African American boy say that NOW he can be president, I was happy for him, but sad to realize that I still cannot be president because I am a woman. Of course, if you know me, you will understand the sarcasm of that sentence given the fact that we have never had a woman president and that would never stop me from thinking I could do it. But apparently that restriction applies to others?

What I did not like from the commentary today was that one of the election commentators suggested that by having Obama as president, African American children might forget how much their ancestors struggled in recent history for equality. While history is important to remember so that we do not repeat our past mistakes, with the emphasis on the inequality and injustices of our past, in a way it gives our children reason to believe that all people are not created equal. If we go back throughout history we will find all different races and genders abhorrently oppressed at some point in time. A Hebrew law once stated that if a woman was married or engaged and was subsequently raped, she MUST be put to death. I have about 5000 years worth of material regarding the unfair treatment of women if inequality and lack of opportunity are really the topics. But, there's truly no point in living in the past without a current threat to our way of life, so I suggest let's live in the present.

And the present is that today is a monumental and historical day. It is sometimes shocking to believe that when my mother was in high school and went down to visit a friend in Tennessee, she personally experienced that African Americans (although not called that or even blacks at the time) could not walk on the same side of the street, sit in the same part of the bus or drink from the same fountain as her. That was certainly not a long time ago and that should be recognized and valued today for what it means to us. In the future, today's events will lose some of that significance, but that will be a special day because that will be when we have realized MLK's dream. And I hope that for the women out there watching the Inauguration today, that even though "we" have either been forgotten or simply disregarded, that somehow, even without a woman ever having been president, that it is not outside the realm of possibilities for a girl to think she one day can be president. Because the world has come a long way in the last few thousand years and we don't to see a woman as president to believe in ourselves.

And now back to football...

Ravens v. Steelers...I can't decide which I hate more?

This game is painful for me to watch given the fact I dislike both teams immensely and now for the third time this year I've now been forced to root for the Browns' mortal enemy, the Terrible Towels.

Luckily, I didn't find either team too impressive today, at least on offense (which is to be expected with these teams). The exception to that and also the only player I don't hate on the Ravens (due to reparations owed on behalf of the state of Ohio for the Buckeyes' taking him out on Jan 3, 2003), is Willis McGahee. On Baltimore's first touchdown drive, McGahee literally saved Flacco from being sacked with a HUGE block (although the broadcasters weren't initially watching the game, luckily their producer must have shown them a replay so they figured out that Flacco didn't just shake off the blitz), which allowed a pass to be thrown and pass-interference to be called and on the next play, a touchdown to be scored (I'm grossly over-using the passive voice and I don't care).

Next is my favorite quote of the first half. Phil Simms: "The Ravens got this game exactly where they want it." Really, Phill? They're down by six. EXACTLY where they want it? This is an irritation I have inherited from watching football with my father.

My next point of irritation was on Matt Stover's extra point following McGahee's second touchdown. Jim Nance felt compelled to point out that he scored the last point ever for the "old Cleveland Browns," which reminded me again of why I don't like the Ravens.

Back to McGahee...now that the Steelers have taken him out, they are the ones that need to make amends. But for now, I guess they'll be focusing on the Super Bowl. I can't believe they're going AGAIN.

And as much as I hate to give this honor to anyone associated with the Ravens, John Harbaugh is in contention for the hottest NFL coach award.

And then there were 10...(new head coaches)...

The same way men may enjoy ranking cheerleaders, fans, majorettes, etc., the ladies out there enjoy their own evaluation game. And after years of an easy deliberation on the subject, our "Hottest NFL Coach" position has just become a huge question mark once again. It is with sadness that I write today's post regarding the firing of Jon Gruden, not just because I'll miss his crazed, Chucky expressions, visor and workout pants, but because who is going to replace him? Ken Whisenhunt? Mike Tomlin? Josh McDaniels? Ugh. Back to the drawing board. I'll have a discussion with the women from A Girl's Fantasy and get back with an answer--- because I really don't want any male opinions when it comes to this one (those of you out there who constantly share their opinions with me on this sort of subject know who you are).

Some of My Favorite Moments from the BCS National Championship

To be completely honest, if my stereo hadn't broken, I would have happily been able to listen to Brent Musburger's call of the game on ESPN Radio via my Sirius Satellite Radio (now I just need my imaginary agent to get me some money for this blatant product placement) playing through a docking station hooked up to my speakers while watching the television broadcast on mute. But, my stereo did break and since I've implemented a new shopping rule called "at least 60% off," I'm not permitted to buy myself a new one unless it's (obviously) at least 60% off. No one should be paying full price for anything in this economy. But I digress. My point is that the broadcasters drank a little too much Tebow juice (ewww) before the game and we, the audience, suffered as a result.

Things got really bad after Tebow ran for a first down with 6 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter with the game tied at 7 all:
"Wow. Desire. Power."
"What did we say at the top of the show, Tom? He runs it, he throws it, he wills his team on. And that was desire and will on that run..."

Now of course, after Florida went up 14-7, Oklahoma came back and tied it on a touchdown from Jermaine Gresham, who lost his shoe in the process and still walked the ball into the end zone. So I'm just curious, did he will it in? Was it his desire and power and large, bulging biceps? Or did he just frigging score? Well, if it were Tebow, it would have been a lot more uncomfortable to hear the adjectives attributed to him following the score than it was given the fact it was only the Sooners' 6'6 tight end.

As I watched Florida's next scoring drive carried completely on the back of Percy Harvin lead to a field goal, followed by Ahmad Black's interception of Sam Bradford on Oklahoma's next possession give Florida the ball back with momentum on their side, I was thinking about how impressed I was by Harvin and Florida's defense. But instead I hear from the broadcast:

"And Superman strikes again...Tim Tebow--the young man unwavering in his faith and how it sustains him. His remarkable achievements off the field define him far more than those on the field. His travel to Croatia, Thailand, three times to the Phillipines with his family. On mission trips, he's fed needy children, lived in an orphanage as well as a leper colony. He is just an extraordinary young man."

"I just don't think you really can talk enough. (please note: yes, yes you can) And you and I, Charles, had a chance to be around this young man. Having never had the opportunity to meet him. You have, I haven't. All the things you hear about him from so many people and none of them do him justice until you meet him in person. He's an amazing kid. 21 years old. To think what most of us were doing at 21, the places he's been, the things he's done. Extraordinary."

I understand why someone wouldn't want to listen to a broadcast by a woman gushing over how hot the players are, how big their arms are and how great their... but my point is that who wants to listen to two men do it? I don't think I even have it in me to verbally stroke Tebow's ego to the extent the national championship broadcasters did the other night. It's creepy. And at some point I forgot that we were talking about football and was certain that it was something else. Like our national championship broadcasters, I too have been in a room with Tebow. And for quite an extended period of time as I was with ESPN Radio for the Heisman Trophy, stationed in the green room where Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy and yes, Tim Tebow hung out for two hours before the broadcast. As a woman who can appreciate a guy with great arms and a nice smile, I find it odd that I wasn't attracted to Tebow nearly as much as the male broadcasters out there. I like the guy. But even when I've met some of my greatest lifetime crushes like Dan Marino and Bo Duke (i.e., John Schneider), my momentary ecstasy could not compare to what those broadcasters described to me on January 8th. They love him. I mean, they really love him. They were in a room with him for 10 minutes and it changed their lives. I was in a room with him for two hours and found out that I think the guy is quite enjoyable. Perhaps it would be safer if we had teenage girls doing the broadcast because they could concentrate more on the game and less on the "hunky" players.

And the Playoffs Solve...Nothing?

As the broadcasters continue to irritate my father, the next point of contention concerns the playoffs. The grand debate of college football, which sealed my decision NOT to vote for Obama, is of course, whether or not there should be a playoff. Anyone who truly loves college football, who watches it every week, regardless of what teams are playing, does not want a playoff. But there are those out there, some of them Texas fans, some of them Auburn fans (2004), some of them USC fans (one question for you: who did you beat?) who want a playoff, who say we can't have a true championship without a playoff. To that my father has one question: how do we have a real championship in the NFL this year without the Patriots involved? And I agree with him (please note, to be certain we do NOT like the Patriots). They went 11-5, tied for the third best record in the AFC. An 8-8 San Diego team is in the playoffs, but not the Patriots? They finished tied with Miami at the top of the AFC East, but they're not in the playoffs? What kind of arbitrary system is this? If we are really going to get the best teams in the NFL, then should we let these random conferences and divisions determine who has the opportunity to play in the post-season? Should we have a random tie-breaker dictate whether or not New England makes it rather than their on-field play? The fact is that leaving the Patriots out of the playoffs is just as insufficient and unfair as leaving Texas out of the national championship game. What's that? Oh, you thought having a playoff solved ALL of the issues. I guess you were wrong.