And the Dingbat Award Goes To...

Mark Emmert, Chancellor of LSU. I can't find the link, unfortunately, but twice last night Channel 9 ran a line from an interview he gave with sportscaster Steve Schneider. Emmert said something like "USC is the Al Gore champion, while we won the BCS."

What bullshit.

I've tended to lay off all the football talk for a lot of reasons. Not the least is that, if you want sports, this really isn't the place to look. Plenty of other folks can and will provide a lot of info about sports in general, or LSU sports in particular.

Emmert has a right to be partisan. He is the Chancellor of the University. However, to pull a bullshit quote out of his ass to justify the university's claim to the college football championship is crass, stupid, and, if this does get play around the country, counterproductive to his primary mission--which is to raise both the funding and overall status of the flagship university in the State. Instead, he looks like a two-bit asshole.

After I heard Channel 9 use this for the second time--during Nick Simonette's idiotic editorial (I mean, do we REALLY need to know what HE thinks?), I considered Emmert's quote in light of his position. Sure, he's entitled to think the coach he hired (and remember, THAT'S pretty much Mark Emmert's contribution--I didn't see HIM on the field Sunday night) won the "true" National Championship. And he's entitled to express his point of view. But you'd think that someone who's spent his whole fucking life affiliated with one or another university system would at least pay lip service to the ideals expressed by the collegiate sports' authorities--in other words, celebrate the damn title, but emphasize that the point of college sports is for the fans to be inspired by the teamwork, dedication, and commitment of the athletes--and yeah, I know that's all crap--the REAL point of college athletics is to raise a pile of money for the school--but university officials ought to be able to sound out the nice talk, while at the same time NOT engaging in barely disguised political partisanship over what's in the end a fucking football game. Hey, Emmert--YOU DIDN'T WIN. THE COACHES AND ATHLETES WON THE GODDAMN GAME. Get it?

USC won a goddamn football game too. Emmert could have said, "USC certainly is a good team, even a great team--they beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl. But our team defeated Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl. And, I think our team really is better. But we should remember the higher ideals of competition and sport, etc. etc., ad nauseum." And that would be that.

But, instead, Emmert took the "I want to look like a chump," approach.

That's my rant--and that will likely be my only rant--about college football. To be honest, yeah, I watched the game, and yeah, I was happy to see LSU win. I don't bleed purple and gold, though. Been around too long for that, and I have other shrimp to add to a jambalaya.