I think it is obvious the Pac 10 is down this year - not sure the mighty Big 12 South is in much better shape - Tech wins and OSU gets absolutely pummeled. Actually, the Big 12 North is 2-0 and the South is 1-1 - does that mean the North is actually better than the South? Don't think so. Ore St and Tex Tech looked very good, thats about it.
But whenever I see crap like this it brings up something that has always fascinated me. My question is why people like Dr Freeze seem to have such a hard on over west coast football. It goes beyond just argument - read the hate in what should be a simple analysis and debate about what conferences are having good bowl seasons, and which ones are not. He'll throw out Scott from SC as his answer maybe, but I don't buy it. It is not just in this forum or Dr Freeze specificially, I'm from the south, went to USC and travel quite a bit down there. It also exisits in other parts of the country as well. It is a interesting phenomenon. There is an insane jealousy, envy and/or hatred down there about the West Coast amongst the male population. People have a very hard time excepting a west coast team being dominant in any sport. It is especially true in college football where you have a very physical game (unlike b-ball) between two teams made up of mostly players from the schools region (unlike pro sports). It seems to strike at their core of beliefs that even if things aren't so great down on the bayou or where ever, at least our sports teams are stronger and mightier - hence we are real men and those west coasters with their nice weather, soy lattes, movie stars and liberal values that seem to drive this culture are not real men like us and we prove it as best you can in this modern culture which is in direct physical competition. When this core value is challenged - like USC being #1, it drives people down there into a rage. It really would not matter if SC scheduled an even stronger non-conf schedule and beat everyone in the Pac by 50 points, some people that I know and on this site still could not let themselves beleive that a west coast, pac-10, pass loving team could be #1. It stikes at their core beliefs too deeply. There is no point in debating with these people. There is no denying it exisists.
It is something that has fasinated me my entire adult life. Growing up in Houston, it reminds me a little of Houstonians hatred of Dallas and desparate desire to beat them or be better than them at anything at all costs even though people from Dallas could care less about Houston's successes or failures.
One time I saw this attitude out west going the other way was when the Big 10 was b-slapping the Pac-10 in the Rose Bowl year in year out in the 90's. It was amazing how many west coasters would dismiss the fact that the Big10 was putting out better champions. I heard that the Big10 teams where a bunch of slow footed, uncreative - ie dumb teams who could do nothing but run up the middle for 3-4 yards and that despite the evidence on the field, the Pac-10's sophisticated - ie smarter, teams where playing at a different, more advanced level and the only reason the Pac would lose the Rose Bowl was that the Pac 10 had moved beyond that type of football and it was like facing the wish bone when you don't see it for years, the teams just not used to that, but still better. Just rationalization of why Big 10 teams where putting the hurt on the Pac. Complete BS and rationalization for why after a great run by Pac 10 teams in the 70's and 80's in the Rose, they were losing. It was difficult for those people to accept that things that they took to be constants had changed.
