It’s hard to imagine the U.S. as that country.. Especially with the news bubbles that create echo chambers. The promulgation of lies via social media. The name-calling that gets blood boiling. The downright demonization of certain members of society. The pure hatred for — and sometimes inciting violence toward — opponents and their supporters.
Be honest: at the top of the ticket, which candidate do you think better fits the bill of “calm” and “open towards each other”? Which has a better chance of uniting our United States? (It’s U.S. after all, not US vs. THEM). Which one might create calm instead of chaos, not just here, but across the world?
Our youngest child, Andrew, is a sophomore at Indiana University. The Hoosiers, smack-dab in the middle of the hoops hotbed of the Midwest, are not exactly a football powerhouse.
The Hoosiers have not won more than eight games in a season since 1967, which is the last year they won the Big Ten and/or played in the Rose Bowl. However, they have lost eight or more games 12 times in the 2000s.
But this year is different. They were 7-0 heading into this past Saturday’s matchup with their longtime Big 10 18 rival… Wisconsin Washington.
We bought tickets to the game for our whole fam-damily a month ago… not caring about the product on the field as much as looking for a chance to take our older kids to visit their baby brother at college.
But sports loves a good Cinderella story, and Indiana has a great story to tell: a new coach, new attitude — and several transfers — are leading to success. ESPN took notice and sent their ” College GameDay” crew — including former IU coach Lee Corso — to Bloomington.
I’ve probably watched a grand total of 10 minutes of “College GameDay” in the last 10 years. It’s style (or hype) over substance. Too much yammering (and too many commercials), not enough action. (Besides, our daughter worked at Lowe’s, dreaded archrival of The Home Depot.)
We drove over Saturday morning. Here’s what I didn’t see:
the College GameDay crew
Here’s what I did experience:
Gorgeous fall foliage on the 2.5 hour ride from Cincy to Bloomington on a sunny day
Our son’s apartment (cleaner than we expected)
Our kids hanging out together
The pageantry of college football (the marching band, the cheerleaders, the chants, the fight song…)
A fun Big 10 18 college football game
Chatting with some of Andrew’s friends at the post-game tailgate
Dinner together
More gorgeous scenery and sunshine on the ride back home Sunday
I’ll take the latter over the former any day of the week. Including “GameDay.”
Granted, oil imports are a bigger deal for the UK than for the U.S.A. But do you really want to have to worry about what Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Russia are up to, and how that will affect oil prices here, when there are clean alternatives?
What about affordability? Here’s Ed again:
Clean renewables are cheaper. No need to “drill, baby, drill” when you can just build more solar arrays and wind turbines, and higher capacity batteries… cheaper, with much less impact to the climate.
And they’re not just cheaper and cleaner, they’re also safer.
[Article that accompanies the two charts above from OurWorldinData.org is here. ]
The faster we go, the better off our world will be. Ed knows that:
Sure, we all sometimes wish for — dream about, even — a nicer house, a newer car, a fatter paycheck…
But that’s a race that can’t be won.
Get off the treadmill. And realize you’re already there. Living in a state called Happiness.
[Shout-out, as always, to Grateful.org for the pearls of wisdom. Their “Word for the Day” in my inbox always makes me think, and always makes me happy. You can sign up for it at the link above.]
Well, yes, that Tony has left, but I’m talking about the Tony Bennett who was the head coach for the men’s basketball team at the University of Virginia.
Why? Not because the game on the court has changed, but because the game off the court has changed.
“Nil” means nothing… but NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) means college athletes are cashing in, big time. Good for them… but bad for the sport. Tony knows that:
I think it’s right for players… student-athletes… to receive revenue. Please don’t mistake me, I do….
But the game, and college athletics, is not in a healthy spot. It’s not. And there needs to be change.
“I was equipped to do the job the old way. That’s who I am. But there needs to be change. It’s going to be closer to a professional model. There’s got to be collective bargaining. There’s got to be restrictions on a salary pool a team can spend. There has to be transfer regulation restrictions. There has to be some restrictions on the agent involvement on some of the young guys.”
— from his retirement press conference
He’s absolutely right. it’s no longer about Xs and Os… it’s about dollars and cents. And under the current system, there will be “haves” and “have nots” based on how deep the boosters’ pockets are… and unsavory agents… and teammates caring less about the team and more about WIIFM, and willing to leave one program at the drop of a hat (or at the promise of more cash).
Kudos to Tony for speaking up. Managing to turn a bunch of teenagers and early 20s kids into a high-performing team was tough enough in a pre-NIL world. Now you have to focus more on salary demands. You have to spend every waking hour thinking about the transfer portal (incoming and outgoing). You have to spend more time fundraising than you do coaching.
It’s sad. But it’s the current reality. And when you grew up the son of a coach, as Tony did, it’s gotta be tough when “coach” is about 12th on the list of your priorities at a major college b-ball program.
I hope his plea for changes doesn’t fall on deaf ears. The game needs it, ASAP.
blueandgolddreamer on Vive la Différence!: “Apathy is the worst. It says it all” Mar 25, 04:14
Thomas G Kuhl on (Basket)ball of Confusion: “So many thoughts. I agree that it should be about life lessons. Okay. I will go away quietly screaming” Mar 19, 02:57
You done said…