Brain Droppings

Football pretty much ended on Sunday. Sure we have the Super Bowl but there are going to be a lot more weekends like the upcoming one before there are any more with multiple games. That doesn't stop us here at GRH though. In fact, I took in two sporting events over the weekend. One was an exciting basketball game. It went into overtime and the home team was able to pull away in the extra period for a dramatic victory. The other was a gymnastics meet. The home team was dominate and the undermatched visitors didn't really have much of a chance. Guess which one was louder.



That's right. Gymnastics.







In Athens, GA, home of one of the most football obsessed fan bases in the country, I would venture that the second most popular sport is not men's or women's basketball. It's not volleyball or softball or  soccer or swimming (though there have been success in some of these sports). It's not even baseball. It's women's gymnastics.



The Gym Dogs routinely place in the top 3 for attendance in the NCAA with close to 10,000 fans per match (they usually trail Utah and Alabama). Meanwhile, it is not uncommon for the men's basketball program to finish near the bottom of SEC attendance.



Part of this has to do with success. The UGA basketball team doesn't exactly hold a record of being dominate and have struggled mightily ever since the Jim Harrick scandal of the early 2000's. Meanwhile the Gym Dogs boast 10 National Championships including a stretch of 5 in a row not that long ago.



But I think there's more to it than that. Basketball is a far more popular sport in the US than gymnastics but has the connotation of being an "urban" game. Take a look at the NBA. Guys with neck tattoos, rap music, bling, a me-first attitude. David Stern had to impose a dress code for players not participating in the games. Now look at a gym meet at UGA. Friendly pop music blares during routines. The girls cheer one another on even when they aren't participating. The crowd is asked to be involved through clapping and cheering. Smiles are a trained part of the routine just like some of the subliminally suggestive dance moves incorporated into the floor routine. Gymnastics is completely suburban and embraced by girls who want that and parents who want that for their girls.



At least a third of those in attendance were girls ages 5-15. They sang every Katy Perry song. They clapped to every routine. And ooohed and aaaahed at the light show.



While the athletes, themselves are amazing in their own right. It was watching the fans that was mesmerizing to me.



1) Super Interview - Erin Andrews looks terrified as she interviewed Richard Sherman after the Seahawks dramatic victory over the 49ers on Sunday night.

Fox immediately cut away from the interview. Brian and I are both in agreement that Sherman could show a little more sportsmanship than he did. But, how fair is it to put him in a position like that after an emotional win? QBs actually work on the finer points of interviewing and usually give you the most generic possible answers. It's when someone shows emotion that you get an actually good interview. Richard Sherman had just won the biggest game of his life. I'm sure there was plenty of trash talking from both sides during the contest. He made a great play to win the game. Build yourself up man. Don't bring others down. But don't put him in a position to either network television.

2) Super Bad - SEC Basketball is not fantastic. There's Florida and there's everyone else. And it's not even close. Kentucky will probably be there at the end and I'm not sure where Missouri and Tennessee are. As a UGA fan, it gives me hope. We have a team that hasn't been very good that has a chance to be 4-1 in conference play after Wednesday. As an SEC fan, it diminishes the accomplishments of other sports. Many people call the SEC a football conference and they are right to do so. But the SEC is arguably one of the best at baseball, softball, women's basketball, tennis, and gymnastics (forgive me if I miss other sports). Why can't it be as successful in men's basketball? It just doesn't make very much sense to me.

3) Super Early - Brian gave you his way too early Top 15 for next CFB season so here is mine:

     1) FSU

     2) Auburn

     3) Oklahoma

     4) Alabama

     5) Michigan State

     6) Oregon

     7) Stanford

     8) Ohio State

     9) UGA

   10) UCLA

   11) Baylor

   12) South Carolina

   13) LSU

   14) Wisconsin

   15) North Carolina