What do Spurrier and the Rules of Civil Procedure Have in Common?

Nothing.

But you better believe that if our Gamecocks ever make it to the National Championship while we are practicing law, we'll do the same thing.

We love the SEC.

Tim Tebow and Education in South Carolina: Musings on why WE should have won the Heisman Trophy

Turns out home school kids are good at something besides spelling bees. Word on the street? They’re good at football, too.

Tonight, for the first time in it’s 72-year history, a sophomore won the most coveted award in all of college football – the Heisman Tropy. Tim Tebow, the heralded quarterback for the University of Florida, beat out two other quarterbacks and a running back to earn the trophy, and with it, the admiration of Gator Nation.

The only people happier than the Orange and Blue? Home school Nation. Why?

Tim Tebow was home schooled.

You read that right. Those shy, awkward, sheltered, denim-wearing (explains why Tebow chose to go to school in the jean-short wearing mecca of Gainesville) social oddballs produced a Heisman winner. And those shy, awkward, sheltered, denim-wearing social oddballs produced us, a second year law student at a second tier law school.

Come to think of it, that should have been our trophy.

We were home schooled. Just like Tim Tebow.
Our parents are missionaries. Just like Tim Tebow’s.
We played high school football. Just like Tim Tebow.
We should have won the Heisman. Instead of Tim Tebow.

Ok, that's where the analogy breaks down. We did play football in high school (see also, flag and two-hand touch), and we were good, REAL good. We just didn't play FOR a high school.

But don't blame us -- blame the state of South Carolina.

When we were in high school, the political hot topic (at least in the home school circles) was whether home school kids should be allowed to play for their local high school's sports teams. We had friends who helped spearhead the efforts for equal access in South Carolina. Some of them were motivated by their desire to play college soccer some day. For all intents and purposes, playing high school soccer experience is a necessary prerequisite.

The political push for equal access peaked in 1996, when the South Carolina General Assembly decided they knew best – and equal access was not it.

Despite their hard work, South Carolina home schoolers had lost the game. Or was it South Carolina that dropped the ball?

In that very same year, 1996, Florida passed a law that allowed homeschoolers in the state to play for the high school in which district the homeschooler resided. Tim Tebow took advantage of that law, and played football for his local high school. His high school won the state championship, and he went on to play college football for UF. Coincidentally, 1996 was also the first year the University of Florida ever won a national championship in football.

The rest is history. As in, Tebow made history. All season, he’s been setting records. Tonight, he became the first sophomore quarterback to EVER win the Heisman Trophy.
And it doesn't stop there. Tebow's impressive skills, and his likeable charm and charisma, have made him many a fan around the SEC (and the country).

In fact, one state has even named a bill after him, Alabama’s Tim Tebow Bill. What's the law about? Letting home school kids play on their local high school's teams. Go figure.

Do you think, if the Tim Tebow Bill becomes law, it will be because the legislators thought those home school folks actually had a good idea, for once? We suppose its possible. More likely, the people of Alabama will pass that bill for the same reason their university shelled out $32 million for Nick Saban.

Football.

In the world of Southern football, anything they [insert rival SEC school] can do, we can do better. If a simple education initiative can get Florida a Heisman winner and the caliber quarterback you need for a National Championship team, you can be darn well sure that Alabama will do anything to compete. In fact, we wouldn't be surprised if every state with an SEC school in it shortly follows suit.

Except South Carolina.

They had their chance. The same year as Florida. Was "future Heisman winner" on their minds when the Florida legislature voted that bill into law? The odds makers say no. More likely, they were just looking at the tangible benefits of allowing equal access. South Carolina could have made the same decision - for those same right reasons.

Had they had some sense about them, in addition to the many benefits that equal access could have had on ailing South Carolina schools, it might have been the Gamecocks with a Heisman Trophy winner tonight. And rather than the mess we know as the 2007 “quarterback quagmire,” it could have been the Gamecocks who were looking at 2 more years with a record-setting player under center.

But better late than never, right? Maybe South Carolina can make the right decision now, even if for the wrong reasons. A wrong reason like, say, football. The loyal fans of the University of South Carolina want nothing more than to win a national championship. Even just a SEC championship. We're pretty sure they'd settle for a Heisman winner.

All our General Assembly has to do is draft it’s own Tim Tebow Bill. If they need some help, we've got a whole group of home educators who probably have some dust covered drafts of similar legislation lying around their house. Yeah, its over their in the corner next to the quilting materials and behind the 16 musical instruments.

You want a Heisman trophy winner, Gamecock Nation? Get on the phone first thing Monday morning and tell you legislator to pass the Tim Tebow Bill on the first day back in session this January.

You want a national championship, Steve Spurrier? Our suggestion: drop one political hot topic (the Confederate flag) and pick up another one – the Tim Tebow Bill. It’s a win-win situation, one of the easiest, cheapest, low-risk high-payoff recruiting strategies you could make, and it's a lot more pertinent to your job as a football coach.

What have we got to lose? If the state is scared about some adverse affect on education, just check the rankings. It’s hard to go much lower than 50 out of 50. Last I checked, the only thing South Carolina is ranked lower in that education is, well, football.

But we doubt The Head Ball Coach will take our advice. And we doubt the Legislature will either. Of course, that's probably because neither read our blog.

Instead, South Carolina's schools will continue to compete for the bottom of the barrel...not unlike our football team.

And we’ll go down in history right alongside Darren McFadden, Colt Brennan, and Chase Daniel.

Almost a Heisman Winner.

Giving him the business

It's no secret, we Manville folks tend to watch a lot of football. A lot. And as anyone who follows football knows, or any sport for that matter, history is important.

Coaches know it - a good history of coaching can make up for a bad year, while an unsuccessful past creates a short fuse for fans and the higher-ups.

Players know it - any record they achieve warrants at least a passing nod at the previous record holder, and players often talk about the track record of this team or that game in anticipation of an upcoming match.

Announcers know it too - when they're not giving an oral description of what's taking place on the field of play (which we can all see anyway - that's why we turned the tv on in the first place), they're usually talking about this historical stat or that historical fact or trying to impress/entertain/bore us with their knowledge of past sports trivia.

But guess who you don't see making much mention of history? The referees and umpires. Of course, we don't really expect it - their job is to control the present game. The closest they come to discussing sports history is the replay booth.

Which is why this video clip is so brilliant. Listen to the referee's description of the penalty called on the field.



Now, that in and of itself is funny.

But we were curious, so a little Google search revealed that this was no spontaneous stand-up by the ACC official - it was in fact an allusion to the annals of football refereeing history, an inside joke that only a handful of sports scholars will get.

Here's what I found: In 1986, the New York Jets played the Buffalo Bills. During a play, the Jets' player (Marty Lyons) who tackled the Bills quarterback got a little violent, and began punching the quarterback (Jim Kelly) in the head. A fight ensued.

Now, evidently this created some sort of problem for the referee. What penalty to call? We assume that the classic "Personal Foul" or "Unsportsmanlike Conduct" penalty was not yet in existence, otherwise that would most surely been the call. But instead, the referee faced the press box and announced:

"Number 99 of the defense, after tackling the quarterback, was giving him the business down there!"

See for yourself:


We don't expect that this will inspire many referees to start spicing up their announcing - after all, making light of the game will likely cause any disgruntled fan/coach/player to lob accusations of partiality.

But every now and then, a recognition of the great Zebras who have come before you is a fitting touch.

We salute you, Mr. Historically Savvy and Ballsy Football Referee Guy.

And you Yankees thought we were strange

According to this report, boiled peanuts (those wonderful little snacks that come in small brown paper bags, are necessary eats at any football game, and are best when purchased from a road side stand) actually have health benefits that can help fight diseases.

Evidently the boiling process preserves phytochemicals within the peanuts; these phytochemicals "have antioxidant qualities that protect cells against the risk of degenerative diseases, including cancers, diabetes and heart disease."

This is probably a good thing, since our Gamecocks are often the source of our high blood pressure and severe cardiac stress.

USC v. USC

Since it probably won't happen very often, we felt it necessary to point out that the REAL USC is now ranked ahead of that Southern Cal school in the AP Top 25 this week.

And just as a reminder, the last time South Carolina and So Cal played head to head in football, the Gamecocks were the victors of a a 38-14 victory in October of 1983.

SEC Football - it's a Southern thing

Most of you that know me know that I love me some college football. Especially SEC football. Especially South Carolina Gamecocks football.

I'm not unique. There are a lot of people who share my opinions - 5.5 million, to be exact. That's how many people attended SEC football games in the fall of 2005 (2006's numbers haven't been released). In case you're wondering, that's about 74,583 fans per game, and 97.4% of the SEC stadiums' capacity. That's .5 million more than attended Big 10 games, and 1.3 million more than attended Big 12 games, while the ACC is almost 2 million behind us.

The SEC is Big Boy Football, People. We don't mess around. As you probably heard repeatedly during the National Championship, the SEC is known for its speed - especially on defense. By and large, college football analysts and experts acknowledge that the SEC is "the best, toughest, wildest conference in the land."

If you ever want to hear someone whine, read the above paragraphs to a Big 10 fan. If there is such a thing as conference rivalries (and I think there is) then it doesn't get any more bitter than SEC v. Big 10. Every year I end up in a debate with some Big 10 friend about which conference is better. The issue has never been settled. Take this year for example. There were three Big 10 v. SEC bowl games (the best chance to see how the conferences match up) and the Big 10 won 2 of the 3. Of course, they lost the one that counted, the National Championship, and overall the Big 10 was 2-5 in bowl games this year, compared to the SEC's 6-3 record. And of the three SEC v. Big 10 games, that was the one that every thought had already marked as a Big 10 win.

Since 1990, the SEC is 30-23 against the Big 10 in head-to-head games (including bowls). And since the BCS began in 1998, the SEC has produced 3 national champions to the Big 10's 1 (and Auburn was denied a shot after their perfect 12-0 season in 2004).

Of course, if you think there are rivalries between SEC and Big 10, you should check out the intraconference matchups. Some of them are some of the oldest rivalries in all of college football. Some are newer. All are heated. Auburn v. Alabama. Georgia v. Florida. Tennessee v. Alabama. Georgia v. Auburn. Ole Miss v. Mississippi State. South Carolina v. Florida.
In some ways, the SEC is very much a microcosm of southern culture. There is a strong allegiance to the entire conference, and yet each state/university maintains a strong and loyal following.


I tell you all of that just so that this story about the Georgia congressman who opposed the pro-Gators resolution makes a little more sense. And maybe now I'll make a little more sense. Because I'd probably do the same thing.