If any of you are satellite radio customers (Sirius or XM), then you may have noticed the appearance of a Birmingham-based radio show led by Paul Finebaum. Mr. Finebaum has been in the business for years as a writer and a radio host. Most recently he wrote an article that called for kicking Vanderbilt out of the SEC.

As a consumer of sports radio, I love having the chance to hear about college football on my drive home for work. Unfortunately what I stumbled upon was a radio show with a ton of unintentional comedy. Previously, it was a local show that allowed SEC fans an avenue to express over and over and over and over the same point. "Why don't we just make the SEC conference championship game determine the national champion?"

Calls from the backwoods, like Tammy (a crazed, mumbling Auburn fan) and Shane (a would-be blogger 'Bama fan) basically confirm all that is wrong with college athletics. A singular focus on national championships to determine which conference is best bascially suggests these folks would be better served just watching the NFL. And when they aren't belittling other leagues as insignificant, they are putting down their own (i.e., Vanderbilt or Mississippi State).

The stable of regular callers (the locals who scream "Roll Tide" or "War Eagle" as they hang up) are entering a new dynamic as the Paul Finebaum show goes national. Now you have callers from all over the U.S. trying to engage Mr. Finebaum as well as the locals in an intelligent discussion only to be met with comments like "Does this Ohio State fan think they can really stand up to the Almighty Power that is Nick Saban?" In addition, the new callers are now bringing the "North vs. South" element to the show, which invariably spawns discussions of race and the Civil War (which Mr. Finebaum's locals tell me over and over and over again had nothing to do with slavery).

Finebaum plays the "good ole boy" from Tennessee, but who found a home in Alabama. He claims his fickleness on teams is because he is a "fan of coaches", not a "fan of teams." Once again, that fickleness is something that I think should be left to the NFL. College football is about programs that make men of character. It's about history and tradition. Not about what coach can outrecruit the other and get to a national championship. Finebaum doesn't get that. You can't just abandon a program because it suits you. Frankly, I know why he is an Alabama fan... his show is in Birmingham... it's where he gets all his advertising (if you listen to the show). I get it... it's business... but his credibility suffers as a result.

But I have to admit that listening to this show has given me an epiphany. I have finally determined that dOSU is not the enemy... the SEC is. And since the enemy of my enemy is my friend, that means I will be embracing the Buckeyes in any tilt against a SEC foe. A strong Big Ten is good for NU... and a strong NU is good for the Big Ten.

p.s. this just makes me wish we would have beat Auburn that much more.

You should listen to the Rivals Radio show with Bill King on that station in the mornings. That is some pretty good college sports discussion.

They usually have the podcast of the show up by Noon or so and you can stream the show on their website too.

_________________
You know me like that.

Last year, they'd replay the Bill King show in the afternoon. I liked that show. But this crap is embarassingly bad.

I guess my mistake is to assume fans in that area actually differentiate between college and pro sports. I make a BIG distinction. For folks in Alabama, the closest thing they have to pro sports is double-A baseball. And only lackluster Titans and Falcons franchises are even remotely close. Alabama IS their pro team. They view it that way.

On more than one occasion Finebaum has said "Anyone who thinks this isn't a business is fooling themselves." Call me naive (I know I am), but if all I wanted was W's and National Championships, I wouldn't be a fan of my team. I think a college football program has a culture and tradition that set it apart from pro sports. I get great satisfaction on seeing a kid get recruited, fight for playing time, and develop into a starter. If he goes to the pros, then great... it's gravy. But the real treat is to see these kids grow into men of character.