Don't Get Me Wrong, I Like To Be Entertained, But The Predictability Is Too Much

I'm going to get a ton of hate for this OP, but I don't care. Also, for the retards that can't read: TL;DR

I've expressed my love for LSU football here many times, and the fact that college football, like every other sport, is meant to entertain. For the past several years, LSU football, in particular, has delivered beautifully. From the resurgence of the program in 2000 to present, our team, especially under Miles, has been fun to watch.

With entertainment comes a cost. Nothing is free. I get that, and for several years, I did not mind paying for it. Now I mind.

Why?

Because now it is becoming all too predictable. All of it. From the offseason antics to the in-game shennanigans, I've come to the point now where I no longer want to give my hard-earned money to anyone for seats so I can watch something that is all too predictable.

I'm not a fan of the NBA for a reason. It is predictable. I also believe it to be fixed. Felt that way long before the ref came out. I quit watching it in the early 90s.

I'm not a fan of wrestling for a reason. It is predictable and fixed.

SEC Football, is now at this level, in my mind. No, I'm not just talking about just LSU either. I'm talking all over the league.

One example of the offseason mess I'm referring to is the annual "schedule fixing game". We all know what I'm referring to. Watching an alum from one school ensure his alma mater plays the easiest schedule possible, while the perceived road block teams (at that time) are handed harder roads. Heck, we will even change a game less than a few months prior to the season starting now to assure this happens (see UGA last year being put on LSU's schedule after the 2012 SECCG as one of several examples).

Then comes the "in game" shennaningans. You know, situations where a player can nearly have their helmet ripped off, fumble, then have the "chosen team" pick it up for a quick TD as if they did something special. (Ole Miss game, btw). The list of comedic errors by SEC officials annually is now to the point where I can no longer sit back and say "these are honest mistakes".

Hell, even the NFL former head of officiating is noticing a scary trend with the SEC officials. I saw this happen several times Saturday night, and I have seen it in other games. I was watching the two games that are referred to in this article:

Who Are They Talking To?!?

There are enough threads that cover the frickery that was on display Saturday night. I won't go over all of that again. All I can say is this, I attended the game. I did not pay for my ticket to the game. Had I had to pay one red cent for it, I would not have gone. Why? Because unlike some fans who are either in denial, or do not want to be called a "whiner", I am aware of what LSU goes up against any time they play a school from the state of Alabama. I knew going into the game it was LSU vs 18 on both sides of the ball. Ok. Fine.

My problem now is, that it is all too predictable.

Great example: We recover the fumble inside the 10 yl with a minute to go. Fans around us immediately are excited, shouting "score a TD and end it"!

I agree. That is what you WANT to do. I know we would not be allowed to. It was all too predictable.

I, along with about five other fans, who, at this point of the game recognized the obvious, informed the other fans that "we will be lucky to be in FG range".

Why?

Simple. We KNEW a phantom flag would come on first down, second down, or third down. We KNEW that LSU was not going to score the TD. That would end the game, and end a playoff run for the SEC's favorite football team.

Sure enough, after the first down play, a bogus flag was thrown, we were backed up 15 yards, and the rest is history. Miles and the players knew this.

I never played athletics at the college level. I just worked a good bit with those who did, as well as participating in several team activities for years. If you don't think this isn't devastating to those guys during the game in real time, you are kidding yourselves. They know when they are actively being screwed. Hell, if it weren't for instant replay, you realize our first TD would not have counted? A TD where TWO SEC refs were within five yards of the catch, and could not see TWO feet down AND a facemask on the play. That play alone told the team and the fans what was going to happen that night.

Thank you Slive and your buddies from Bama for saving me a lot of time and a lot of money in the future. You just reinforced what I already knew. I just wish it weren't so predictable so I too could live in an alternate reality like so many LSU fans do.

I'm smart enough not to believe in Santa or the Tooth Fairy. You can't tell me there isn't an agenda and it has not been in place for years. I'll be entertained at home now, or with friends at a party. That's what it is really about anyway.