Friday, October 1, 2010

Getting Over It

A great majority of my friends are Texas Longhorn fans, and a good portion of that are also Houston Texans fans, and their collective reactions, i.e. their facebook posts, reacting to last week’s losses reminded me of an important lesson I’ve learned through my years as a fan: learn to live with your losses.  A loss is supposed to hurt, that is what makes winning feel so great, there is no virtue in the ‘we-lost-but-we-are-still-the-better-team’ attitude. 
That’s not to say I don’t understand, when your team loses you go through a (hopefully) light version of the grief process, and you’re probably the loudest during anger and denial.  Of course, it may be harder to move on because, again hopefully, this is one of the few grief situations where others will actually tease you about your loss and rub it in.
The thing is: head-to-head outcomes are the definitive way of establishing superiority (with the exception of pro teams throwing wins while resting their starters), and it’s easy to forget that because in football, particularly college, we have to rely on indirect measures.  This, by the way, is the most valid argument for a college football system, which I still oppose.  The point being that when UCLA beats Texas, well they’re better and they have tangible proof.  The bigger point is that the Cowboys beat the Texans, so suck it!
Speaking of sucking, last week’s predictions were pretty atrocious!  I got 9 out of 26 picking against the spread in College football, a measly 34% is what I deserve for being greedy and picking so many games.  Pro Football predictions were a little better, 6 of 11 putting me at 54% for the week.
College Football Predictions – Week 5
  • BYU -4.5 at Utah State – Utah St started the season promisingly but has lost their last two games pretty easily, the Cougars haven’t looked great this year, but they have faced much tougher opponents.
  • #17 Miami -3 at Clemson – Clemson is coming off a tough loss and a bye week, but Miami will be looking to avenge last year’s loss at home, I also like the Canes coming off a long week.
  • Baylor -9.5 over Kansas – KU has been unpredictable this season, but this game is more about Baylor trying to prove themselves at home in their Big 12 opener.
  • #2 Ohio State -17.5 at Illinois – I think the Buckeyes know they have to get lots of style points whenever they can because the teams below them are also blowing teams out.
  • #21 Michigan State +2 over #9 Wisconsin – The Badgers have not looked very good this year, don’t let last week’s blowout win over FCS Austin Peay fool you, the Spartans are at home and extra motivated with Dantonio’s first game back.
  • #19 Michigan -10.5 at Indiana – This is a statement game for the Wolverines, that statement being they can win in the Big Ten and they won’t fall off like last year.
  • Georgia -5.5 at Colorado – AJ Green is finally eligible to play, Georgia will be playing for their season.
  • Florida State -7 at Virginia – Virginia is 2-1, and their two wins have come against FCS schools, FSU by 2 TDs.
  • Notre Dame -3 at Boston College – I’d hate to reward losing, but the Irish will be looking to take out their frustrations on the hapless Eagles.
  • Tennessee +16.5 at #10 LSU – LSU’s defense is tough, but their offense doesn’t score enough to give that many points, even at home.
  • #18 Iowa -7 over #20 Penn State – The Hawkeyes will be looking to show that they are big time Big Ten contenders.
  • #7 Florida +8 at #1 Alabama – The Gators defense is fast enough to keep Ingram and Richardson in check, this is gonna be a close game.
  • #4 Oregon -7 over #13 Stanford – The Autzen Zoo is gonna rattle Stanford and force a few mistakes that will allow the Ducks to pull away in the 4th quarter.
Pro Football Predictions – Week 4
  • Titans -7 over Broncos – The Titans showed last week that they’re contenders winning big in New York.
  • Bengals -3 at Browns – Cincy will finally live up to their offensive potential.
  • Seahawks -1.5 at Rams – Seattle sees the NFC West is up for the taking, this is actually a huge game for them.
  • Jets -6 at Bills – Buffalo played New England tough at home last week, but the Jets will overwhelm them with their running attack.
  • Eagles -6 over Redskins – McNabb doesn’t have the weapons to make a statement against Vickadelphia.
  • Giants -4 over Bears – Somehow this is a must win for the Giants.

2 comments:

  1. Well done, Albert. Predictions aside, really good blog!

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  2. LOL, yea predictions not my friend lately =P

    ReplyDelete