It seems like ages ago when Auburn faced Oregon in the BCS National Championship game but oh what a difference seven months can make. First, let's go back to that January. The 2010 season had already had its share of bizarre moments. Of course there was the Cam Newton soap opera. Was he paid for, was he not paid for? Though many people thought by now Auburn would be in the middle of a huge scandal of their own, so far with the exception of one lunatic Alabama fan from Dadeville, it's been all quiet on the Plains of Auburn. We were all on RichRod death watch alert. RichRod's failed experiment at Michigan was mercifully coming to an end and even before the final axe fell, the folks in Ann Arbor were clammoring for Jim Harbaugh. In a much more feel good ending, the great Southeastern conference, offensive architect Urban Meyer was stepping down from being the head ball coach in Gainesville to be with his family. If Meyer doesn't coach another day in his life, he has already secured his place in college football's prestigious Hall of Fame. Sure, it wasn't a picture perfect college football world back in the cold month of January but compared to today, it was as idyllic as the Knute Rockne "Win one for the Gipper" speech.
Part of this spring and summer's college football collapse had already begun last January. Controversy was already stirring when Ohio State's tatoo'd tainted football players were cleared to play against Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl in a deferred deal of punishment that was to be carried into the next season. Back then the controversy was only around whether those players would stick around to serve their punishment and how the NCAA could justify their seemingly quick, save the cash cow decision. As it turns out, those questions didn't even make it near the iceberg much less constitute the tip. Then with an email, a decade long dynasty came crumbling down. I think I was less surprised with the sudden break up of the old Soviet Union. For years we were told that Jim Tressel was one of the good guys. He was the midwestern antithesis of the stereotypical, corrupt Southern coach who would do anything to win. Tressel represented proof positive that nice guys could finish first, that if you did the right things, and ran things the right way that success could come. But with one email, all that good press came tumbling down. Of course, on the surface, Tressel committed the cardinal politician's sin. He took a minor scandal, a small NCAA bump and he covered it up. Tressel also committed another unforgivable sin, he fooled us. He fooled college football fans and in some ways, more importantly, he fooled the college football press. Tressel was like the old fashioned medicine man selling his made up potions to any rube on the road and the press bought what he was selling. How mad were the press? I have frequently read on more than one occassion, the phrase, "he will most likely never coach again." I wonder if this is attempted prescient prophecy or wishful thinking. There will always be some small school out there willing to take a great risk for the hope of success. Further, sometimes those kinds of risks payoff, see George O'Leary and UCF. It was the press that flayed O'Leary alive and its the press that is touting O Leary's success at UCF. Why? Because it's a known fact that we Americans love to build up heroes, tear them down and then see if they can rise back up from the ashes.
But I digress. It seemed that before we could even fully digest the Tressel scandal we were hit with another scandal that might or might not be as big as the one taking place in Ohio. In another O state, it appears that another dynasty may be coming to an end before it could even begin. In Oregon, Chip Kelly is under fire for what appears to be a major scandal in the making. Will Lyles was supposedly hired as a recruiting consultant. He received a $25,000.00 fee. Oregon, when forced to produce the report that Lyles gave to Kelly's Ducks, the report was full of outdated information that a devoted fan could have probably pulled off any recruiting website. Suspicion was out there but really there was no proof. . . until July 1st, when Yahoo! Sports broke a story on their website that was based on an interview with Lyles. According to Lyles, the $25,000.00 payment wasn't for the outdated scouting report, (no real surprise there) but was actually for "access and influence" over recruits. The report was generated after the fact when Kelly asked Lyles to send him a retroactive recruiting report presumably for no other reason than to cover up the real purpose of the money, (okay, no real surprise there either other than the surprise of having Lyles actually admit it). It seems that cover ups are becoming harder and harder to accomplish these days. Apparently, I am not the only one who thinks so. CNNSI Andy Staples was so moved by the latest dose of imcompetence to write a lengthy article entitled Cheating for Dummies.
Honestly with an offseason this hot, it's almost hard to believe that the actual season can compare but the truth is that no matter how good (or bad) the scandals are, nothing can compare to the greatest sport on earth. College football has a magic to it and no matter how badly it gets tainted, the game still manages to rise above. Let's hope that keeps happening lest it devolves into something so utterly devoid of fun like baseball.
No comments:
Post a Comment