Haterade not sitting well
Posted October 07, 2008
I’m not a big fan of spending my time writing Blonde Ambition just
focused on Gator football. I already ram my Gator fandom down
everyone’s throats enough as is; I’m fully aware. That being said,
today I read some quotes pertaining to the Gators and I just couldn’t
resist the urge (Oh, how convenient! It also happens to be my day to
turn in a college football blog -- I love my job!)
LSU is coming to Gainesville this weekend to take on the Florida
Gators in my favorite place on earth, The Swamp. The big, bad Tigers
are a force to be reckoned with far more than I expected them to be
this season. Sure, they’re the defending champs, but their quarterback
position had major question marks coming into 2008. Now, Week 6, an
undefeated LSU sits at a pretty No. 4 in the polls; the Gators are
straight chillin’ (it sounds so much better when I put it that way)
just barely outside the Top 10 with one measly little loss (spin, spin,
spin!)
These two schools are not big supporters of one another. The lack of
admiration, in fact, is downright obvious. They’re SEC rivals, and both
are generally relevant in the battle to get to the conference
championship. In fact, many-a-time these teams get a chance to go
head-to-head there is plenty at stake on both the conference and
National level.
My point? Well, typically I don’t have one, but astonishingly this
one time I in fact do (no comments please). There’s no need to add fuel
to this fire or rev people up about this game, it’s already revved
<vroom!>. Why am I making this point? To avoid the “he’s just
trying to get everyone excited about this game” comments I’ll
undoubtedly hear after telling you what follows.
LSU defensive lineman Ricky Jean-Francois (Seriously, dude? I have a
hard time thinking of a big guy named Jean-Francois as a badass) has
compared a clean shot on a player to a car wreck without a seat belt.
That’s not pretty. Nor is what Francois said next, according to the
Orlando Sentinel, “If we get a good shot on [Tebow], we’re going to try
our best to take him out of the game.” Hmmm, ok, my blood is starting
to boil a little at this point but so far he hasn’t said anything I
haven’t heard before, until… “If he does get hurt,” Francois explained,
“there’s a trained medical staff at Florida, so you can go to the
training room Sunday.” Woah! EX-CUSE-ME! <insert: three snaps in a
‘Z formation> You did not just imply you’re going to hurt Tim Tebow
to the point where he will need medical assistance?! OH, NO, YOU
DIDN’T! <again with the snaps>
I’m fine with trash talking. I find the T.O.’s of the world
obnoxious, but they don’t bother me much. I’m not one to think you have
to always be a good sport by any means. But threatening to really hurt
someone on the college level? Inappropriate at best. It’s just plain
taking it too far.
This is a game. The reason we like this game is because it has
substance that’s entertaining enough in itself without the cheap shots
and unnecessary violence (unlike, perhaps, another sport played on ice
“one” could argue – not “me” if you’re reading this in Minnesota and a
fan of mine (otherwise, yes, me)). To suggest you’re going to take away
from that by seriously injuring some guy you don’t personally know
because he’s good while his family is watching from the stands; while
his hopes and dreams are just one injury away from being ruined
forever; while he’s playing just for fun (since technically these kids
aren’t getting paid for it), is beyond ridiculous. Even at the pro
level it would be downright unprofessional.
Man, oh man, Francois, if you do as much as lay a finger on Tebow
Saturday I’m scared for you (mostly because I may personally climb down
from the stands <hiss, scratch, claw>). Now, get out there, shut
up, play ball, leave it on the field and above all else kiddo…
Break a leg <insert evil grin here> mu-ha-ha-ha!