4 Hard Downs: Bad Dreams, Conference Expansion Nightmares & Drop Off Parties Plus Pursuit

Our first drop off party and...Oh and schools changing leagues is money, power and respect, sort of

The conference alignment thing really took me some time to mentally process, but here we are. Maybe this was all my own bad dream…

My kid had her first bad dream ever this weekend.

She had a dream that she was at our pool and there was a barracuda in the pool.

Yup. That is my kid. She swims like a fish in the water who loves being at the pool but also loves learning about predators, hence the barracuda addition to the pool as a threat trigger. She knows about barracudas, sharks, orcas and dolphins when it comes to sea predators and how devastating they can be.

Enter the bad dream.

So, working to nip this in the bud, because what I don’t want is knocking on the parents’ door and trying to sleep with them. We’ve had a solid 5 year run of our kid, who is 5, not getting into our bed and I’m not trying to go backwards.

We spent a good amount of time talking about how barracudas can’t live in a pool with chlorine, how they need salt water and how they have no way to get into the pool to attack. No barracudas in our pool. No barracudas near us. The dream was bad but it is ok because we know it isn’t real.

You know what is real? Conference Realignment, so…..SPOT THE BALL!!

1st Down: Coast to Coast & Who Is Next?

Oregon State. Washington State. Cal. Stanford.

So, what is next. The Big Ten is going NJ and MD to CA and PNW. The meat and heart still lives from Columbus to Ann Arbor, but they got a vacation spot in LA that everyone wants, or at least respects.

Stanford and Cal align with the ACC academics while FSU wants to get that bread from the SEC. Lawyers are working to figure everything out. We’ve seen different levels of expansion and realignment, this new model is a new evolution.

When the ACC added VT, Miami, BC, it was about the payday of a conference title game. When the Big Ten added Maryland and Rutgers it was about forcing carriage of the Big Ten Network to new TV markets and getting subscription fees.

So predicting what is next is about understanding that TV markets mean nothing when you’re dealing with streaming and cord cutting. This is an inventory battle to force people into buying different platforms to watch the games that their team plays, or in some instances, games that really do matter.

Truly no clue what happens next, but looking forward to how they finesse it.

2nd Down: Control Is The Point, Not Money

We can talk logistics about who is next or what happens next but I think the biggest point to be made about conference expansion and realignment is this:

Control is more important than money.

We know expansion to the playoff is coming. We know everyone who is not in the “in crowd” is fighting to get in. However, so much is made about how much money the Big 10 and SEC are going to make and the revenue gap between them and the ACC, Big 12 and the now Pac-4.

Money is a symptom of the disease. That’s the part that needs to be said out loud.

They get this big money because of the disease of control. Not just self-preservation, which is what Oregon or Washington or Houston or UCF or even before them Louisville and Syracuse were doing. No, this is power brokers deciding who gets in the club, who doesn’t and how can they keep them out.

By keeping them broke.

Broke, is a relative term, because they will still make money. But with a 12 team playoff field, if the Big Ten and SEC see things play out how they want it to, we’re looking at 4 and 4, maybe 4 and 5 or vice versa. That’s 8 or 9 teams from 2 leagues. 3 or 4 more spots available to the MAC, Sun Belt, C-USA, AAC, Pac-4, MWC, Big 12 and ACC.

8 leagues, and yes I assume something happens to make it 6, but the point remains. 8 current leagues fighting over 3 or 4 spots.

The money is nice, but the money comes from the consolidation of power. That’s why Florida State feels itchy to get out. This is a switcheroo on “Money, Power, Respect” from The Lox which is also a “Money, Power, Women” move from Scarface:

This is now moving in Respect, Power, Money. Instead of respect, let’s call it “prestige” or in modern parlance, “Brand Recognition.” For decades you’ve been building brand recognition. Then you have power, the ability to call your own shots, like the Longhorn Network, or be desirable enough for someone to want you, like Nebraska. Then you get the money.

It isn’t the same flow chart as Tony or Jadakiss, but the same point remains.

3rd Down: Pursuit Of Happiness, Or In This Case A Ball Carrier

Here are two videos of pursuit drills:

At Auburn:

And at Miami:

Talking with my co-host, Joshua Perry, in breaks about pursuit drills and how brutal they are was a whole vibe. It is a part of practice no one cares to film, usually, but it is a part of practice that the team cares to film, it does matter and will get you in trouble as a player.

Very cool that Auburn Undercover did film this, but usually not the part of practice that gets big love from media folks. While also being the part of practice that will get you to restart things because coaches’ aren’t impressed by your effort.

I was a rabbit. The guy who takes the pitch or pass from the coach and then has to run full speed and get tagged off on. What I hated about this drill was that it should be me running free with light taps on my rear but no impeding my progress. However, freshman and bad players are idiots. They step in front of you. They grab you.

Then somehow, you get in trouble.

So you have to do it again. And as a “3” I ran for 1st team and sometimes 2nd team. Then I had to line up as a 3rd team and do the same drill they just did. It is a great way to get tired.

But, as we’ll see on Thursday, it does matter because getting to the ball carrier in pursuit is the difference between a TD and living to play another play.

4th Down: No Need For Pursuit At A Drop Off Party

We had our first ever drop off kid party. Shout out to Nora and her family for doing, what I am assuming, was an all girls spa day party (I assume because of what I was told from the dad of one of the twins, a boy, who wasn’t invited). They got pizza and their nails painted and for 2 hours my wife had a lunch with a friend whose kid also went and I was just alone.

What a freaking game changer.

Drop off parties are remarkable. I did put a post-it note on the card that had my number, my wife’s number so that in case our kid freaked out or anything happened we could be reached. My wife was 5 minutes away, walking, having lunch. So it wasn’t a full on sleepover scenario, but it was a very good first time. Not school, which she is used to, just a party at a nail spa with pizza and her friends.

Our dance card is filling up with birthdays and that doesn’t even include the new classmates she is going to meet when she starts kindergarten in a few weeks. Two weekends of doubled up, a Thursday night Chuck-E-Cheese party and more to come.

But, hey y’all, drop off parties are the shit.

Cheers!!