re: If football had to get a last-second FG to beat the worst team in the SEC....

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Say for example, Drew Alleman hits a 22 yard FG to beat Kentucky, 40-38 this past year. This board would have melted down, the internet would have blown up, Leslie's kids would have been kidnapped, Javi Sanchez would have been blamed, and people would have rioted in the streets. The apocalypse of the program would have been predicted, with visions of 4-8 seasons for the rest of eternity. NO body would have been excited to pull out such a win.

Yet basketball does it today, and there is much love for a team that plays with so much heart and determination. They aren't perfect, but damn if they don't will themselves to victory! Hickey is celebrated for the last 3 minutes that he played today and not over-analyzed for the poor first 37 minutes. The first-year coach is lauded for getting the most out of his talent. (I agree with all of this, by the way)

Funny how football trumps basketball....funny how being spoiled in football causes different reactions than being starved in basketball.

I wish the Rant would behave more like the jubilant basketball fans than the spoiled football fans when we WIN football games.

Just some random thoughts. Great ugly win today! Can't wait to see the guys at home Wednesday vs. Vandy in another winnable game!

And here's to the Rant melting down when baseball loses their first mid-week game to an instate school this year

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Similar to the stock market, feelings after an athletic event are all based on expectations. If we are suppose to win by 20 then you already calculate that into your praise for the team. You say things such as wow, this team should win by 20! That shows how good they are!

When they win by 1 point when you expected a 20 point win, you are relieved they won because that's important, but you have to lower your expectations going farther because they did not hit the mark you had set for them.

In football we are expected to win every game by a sizable margin. The team has sustained success at a very high level, so a close game shows that the team did not perform at the level expected. In basketball, we were 0-4 and last in the SEC just 2 weeks ago. We have now won 3 of 4, including our first SEC top 25 win in 6 years. The team is starting to exceed their expectations, thus getting praise for a tough fought road win.

The feeling you have at the end of a game is always based off what expectations you started with. It is not about the end result. So for now, any win will be a good win for LSU basketball, while there are more strict guidelines for a positive win for LSU football.

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...so whats your point ??

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I would trade LSU's six baseball NC's for six basketball NC's any day of the week.

Obviously, the differing reactions reflect the differing status of the two programs. LSU football has been a juggernaut for the last decade. It shouldn't require a last second field goal to beat a lowly team. LSU basketball has been perennially horrendous recently and is a fledging, rebuilding squad under a first year coach. Any SEC victory is a cause for jubilation. The disparate fan reactions are justified and rational.