Bartender, I apologize for the harshness of my response to you yesterday, and I appreciate your comments. But for the last couple years, I have watched the posts on this site continually denigrate USC, their streak, their championships, the league they play in, and on and on, and I decided this year that I had had enough, and was going to respond.
USC's program had been drifting into mediocrity for better than a decade when Pete Carroll took over five years ago. What he has done is incredible, and he has done it with class, positive energy and innovation. Texas' Mack Brown openly and repeatedly admits that he has gone to school on Carroll's approach and in the past two years has changed his own, to the Texas program's benefit.
In their last 49 games, USC has a triple overtime 3-point loss at Cal, and a last second 3-point loss to Texas this past week. Before the Cal game loss three seasons ago, their most recent previous loss was a one-point overtime loss at Washington State. So when you write that Virginia Tech would have EASILY defeated USC if only the brilliant Marcus Vick wasn't in his usual jailbird mode, that, like much of the criticism USC takes, is absurd. No one has 'easily' beaten these guys since Carroll showed up five years ago. And if anybody could/would have done so over that stretch, it certainly wasn't going to be Marcus Vick, with his track record. If you want to focus on 'overrated', you might start there.
Hope you had a Happy New Year and that 2006 is a good year for you.
I apologize as well, as I have let my intense dislike for the AP Poll somewhat cloud my judgement in making posts here. Just when I had hoped their influence had slipped a little, they made USC their champion in 2003, giving them a new legion of fans.
In basketball, we have the NCAA tourney at the end of the year. In baseball, we have qualifiers and the College World Series. In hockey, they have 16 teams qualify and have the Frozen Four compete each year. So in each, we have a clear National Champion. It is settled on the court, on the diamond, and on the ice. In football, it is sometimes tragically settled in the newsrooms by the reporters.
And I have been somewhat jaded against USC because of posts by some of their fans on these boards and others. I'd like to think Auburn and Utah deserve some credit for 2004 and LSU for 2003, but like Arizona State (12-0) in 1975 and Southern Cal (12-1) in 1978, they had equal or better records than the AP-proclaimed "National Champs" and rarely got the recognition they deserve.
USC definitely is a great team and they will go down as one of the greats. But we desperately need a playoff system. As for Vick, he's athletic, but overrated. I hope my Chiefs don't take him. And I am glad NCAA football is over; until August - only 7 months away! Peace.