bayouballe

Malvetto worked in the kitchen at an award-winning restaurant. He cut onions and sausages for the gumbo, but he never learned what else was needed to make a good pot. A year later he was suddenly appointed head chef, but he had too much on his plate. The gumbo lacked something and left a bad taste in the mouths of those who were previously its biggest fans. Since the gumbo wasn't good, people got up and left. Now, whenever people leave Malvetto's, they always say "we got served."

I don't post much on here, but after watching last night's game to the bittersweet end with the other 20% of you, I want to say a few things. Being outplayed by an obviously inferior opponent, embarrassing as it may be, is part of college football (hell, it's part of life). At 31-3, I was angry, disappointed, embarrassed, and shouting expletives that echoed off the empty seats around me. But if this team has shown me anything in the Miles era (and throughout history), it's that they never give up - not last year against Florida or Auburn, not last week against Bama and certainly not last night.

So for all of you who are bitter about last night's performance, I understand. Remember, however, that college football is not (yet) a career for the boys on the field. They're young, and they do stupid things. But no one is more disappointed with a loss than they are when the lights turn off. And as fans shuffled out of the stadium by the tens of thousands, the players endured the cold, the booing and the sense of defeat that comes from a 28 point deficit to put on a show that will go down in the books as their greatest comeback.

After all, that's what college football is about - developing young men, defying odds, having the time of your life, standing tall in victory and defeat and never, ever giving up (to name a few). And with the clock winding down in the 3rd and the 20% waving arms a la Angels in the Outfield, the players remembered these things. There's something to be said for that.