I had what I thought was a great idea the other day to challenge a buddy of mine who is (gag) a die hard Duck fan, to a manno a manno fantasy competition pitting Oregon State grads in the pros against Oregon grads in the pros to see who would score more points in Fantasy ball. But first I wanted to make sure that my gut feel that the Beavers would dominate was correct. The trick was to figure out an easy way to sort all the Pro's by the school they graduated from. Yahoo didn't work. MSN was also of no help. NFL.com was another bust. But then I stumbled upon ESPN. What a godsend ESPN has been throughout my life. Think about when we were kids and all we could watch was what was shown on the networks - like every friggin game had the Cowboys or the Dolphins playing. I did get to see my beloved Lions on Thanksgiving (against the friggin Cowboys), but other than that you had to wait for the local sports to see what happened. Hell, we didn't even have the internet. But then, in the late 70's, a cable network called ESPN (what the heck does ESPN stand for anyway?) came on. For live sports you got frisbee and ping-pong, but with Sportscenter you got news. All of it. Every game. Anyway - I badly digress. ESPN.com has this great site that allows you to sort the pros in many different ways - like which college they graduated from (or more likely PLAYED for). So I looked up the Beavs and the Ducks and my gut feeling was confirmed - I would kick his ass. He is going to look at his Ducks, but I doubt he will take me up on my offer. But it did get me thinking..................
Every year the whole world spends countless hours arguing over which team is the best team in college. Now for the lucky few that are die-hard fans of one of the colleges that are in the mix for the national championship the endless debates make some sense. But if you are say - a Wisconsin Badger fan, or a Missouri fan, or even a Duck fan you know your team has no chance at winning the elusive crown, so why do all of us wannabees join in? Because deep down what we are really doing is proclaiming our CONFERENCE as the best conference in the country. Really, in the final analysis, the only reason anyone from the Big Ten would EVER root for Michigan, other than Wolverine alums, is because they are playing another conference. This theory isn't bullet proof - because I just can't bring myself to root for the Ducks ever, but you get my point. Which again got me thinking.............
The traditional (or what still somewhat resemble traditional) conferences are now doomed. The damn Big 12 saw to that, and the Pac-10 started a trend that will inevitably lead to super conferences and destroy the world as we know it (sorry that is the BP oil spill). In all seriousness, the death of the traditional conferences will just make college football a little less special. A little less exclusive. It will make every game played in college (with a few exceptions) a little less important. But that is the curse of our times. We cannot let well enough alone, and MUST always tinker and turn and twist and tweak. Even the best looking babes in the world cannot resist trying to improve what god gave them, but again - I badly digress. My point is we must brace ourselves for the coming storm, the change that cannot be stopped. But nothing, not the Jihad, not the oil spill, not the election of that idiot Frankin, not even the upcoming Republican takeover of congress can stop us from looking back and asking - which conference is the best? Which conference has dominated the last decade (or the first decade of our brave new century)? Which conference truly deserves the title of best conference in America. Well I think I have the answer. And a challenge.
The true test of a college or university is the accomplishments of its alumni. The true test of a conference is the accomplishments of its member universities. How does one judge the accomplishments of the alumnists, allumes, errr graduates? If your a doctor, its how many lives you save. If your a scientist its how many theories you prove or disprove. If your a humanities grad, its how well you marry. In the end, its how you handle the challenges of the profession that your education has prepared you for. How much do you contribute to the betterment of mankind using all the skills and knowledge that your beloved school so artfully and proficiently groomed to there full fruition. In other words, its how well you play the game of football in the Pro's. Now we could debate who is the best at each position, which college the best player came from, but this debate, like the debate over which school should be the true national champion will go on forever. But there is a better way. A cleaner way. A way so clear and true that Mu hammed himself would bless the path. Fantasy football. Not college, not amateurs, but true professional athletes proving it on the field of battle. I give you the ultimate fantasy football league - conference versus conference.
The league would be a six team league - PAC 10, Big 10, Big 12, SEC, ACC and everyone else (sorry Big East). The format would be a double round robin with the top four conferences playing in a sudden death playoff format. That would be 10 regular season games, one playoff game and then the national championship game. Games would start in week three of the pro's and end week 15. Would give everyone time to see how their rookies do, adjust for injuries and take out the end of the pro season so you don't have one of your studs sitting out. For this game, USC IS bowl eligible! My conference would be the PAC 10. Teams would be QB, RB, RB, TE, WR, WR, W/R, K, BN, BN, BN, BN. Would love to have a defense, but can't figure out how to do that. Enough of the foreplay. Below is Squiggy's initial version of the All PAC 10 pro fantasy team. It was tough to pick, and I reserve the right to change it but here ya go.
QB - Aaron Rodgers GB packer, Cal Bear
RB #1 - MJD, Jacksonville Jags, Cal Bear
RB #2 - Steven Jackson, St Louis Rams, OSU Beav
TE - Tony Gonzales, Atlanta Falcons, Cal Bear
WR #1 - Chad Johnson, Cinn Bengals, OSU Beav
WR #2 - Desean Jackson, GB Packers, Cal Bear
W/R - Jonathan Stewart RB, Car Panthers, UO Duck
K - Nick Folk, NY Jets, Arizona Wildcats
BN #1 - Carson Palmer, QB Cinn Bengals, USC Trojan
BN #2 - Reggie Bush, RB NO Saints, USC Trojan
BN #3 - TJ Houshmanzata WR, Seattle Seahawks, OSU Beav
BN #4 - Jevhid Best RB, Detroit Lions, Cal Bear
Bring on a team that beats that boys, and let me tell you there are alot of players sitting on the waiver wire ready to be picked up. My only prayer is that Nick Folk keeps the starting job for the NY Jets, cause he is the only PAC 10 kicker I could find! Bring it on SEC, Bring it on Big 12, Bring it on Big 10 (that be you Badger), this is the last year the conferences are going to exist as they are today. Lets not blow the chance!!!!!!
PS - all you namby pamby private school boys from Lewis and Clark, you have at least one player that can represent you in the Pros - his name is Boston, but he graduated from Willamette!
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