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Why Healthy Rivalries Matter: A Thanksgiving Week Message for College Football Fans
It’s rivalry week in college football, so I want to make sure it is on the record that I hate the South Carolina Gamecocks. Don’t like the school, don’t like the mascot, would never root for them in any sporting event they would be playing in. Why? Because it’s healthy! I know lots of people that attended that awful school in the armpit of South Carolina, downtown Columbia. They are wonderful people, and many are my good friends. I can’t think of a single person I know personally from that school that I detest. I think the world of my friends that are Gamecock fans. The school, however!
Why is this healthy? All human beings experience all the negative emotions in life. There is no way to live a life without feeling anger, jealousy, greed, and even hate. What do I do with these unavoidable feelings? I focus on the inanimate, and irrelevant. It’s a game. It’s a school. In the big picture, what does it really matter who wins between two rivals? Can I concentrate on being happy in my life? Can I concentrate on love, caring, and helping during this week of Thanksgiving and during the whole holiday season? You bet I can because all my hate is directed at something that doesn’t even matter. Insert your rival ____ here and give it a try. Happy Thanksgiving everyone and GO CLEMSON TIGERS.
TOP 25 FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING NOVEMBER 24TH
- OHIO STATE (11-0) another week, another rout. Michigan next
- INDIANA (11-0) Close with rival Purdue
- TEXAS A&M (11-0) Excited to see them play Texas
- GEORGIA (10-1) Close with rival Georgia Tech
- TEXAS TECH (10-1) Finish with not exactly rival West Virginia
- OLE MISS (10-1) Egg Bowl vs Mississippi State, then Lane Kiffin decides where he will coach next
- OREGON (10-1) USC win propels them ahead of BYU
- BYU (10-1) Impressive win at Cincinnati
- OKLAHOMA (9-2) Add Missouri to the list of impressive wins
- ALABAMA (9-2) Should be able to handle rival Auburn
- VANDERBILT (9-2) Close with visiting Tennessee
- UTAH (9-2) Already lost to their rival BYU
- MIAMI (9-2) At Pitt to close the season, should be a game of the week
- NOTRE DAME (9-2) In position to make the playoffs if they beat Stanford
- MICHIGAN (9-2) Handled Maryland, finish with Ohio State
- VIRGINIA (9-2) Host Va Tech in a surprisingly nasty rivalry
- TEXAS (8-3) A win over Texas A&M still should not get them in the playoffs
- GEORGIA TECH (9-2) In true ACC form, crashed and burned with a chance to prove they belonged. Now they get rival Georgia
- ARIZONA STATE (8-3) Wins are good. Only team to beat Texas Tech
- TENNESSEE (8-3) Another game I really want to see is them against Vandy this week
- SOUTHERN CAL (8-3) vs UCLA to end season as it should be
- JAMES MADISON (10-1) This is a dangerous team that hung with Louisville
- MISSOURI (7-4) Two of their losses without their starting QB, and all teams they lost to are in the top 11
- PITT (8-3) Georgia Tech win gets them a ranking
- NORTH TEXAS (10-1) Really good on offense, not good on defense
For more college football analysis, check out our breakdown of how bad football is tearing apart a once-proud ACC conference.
