Lane Kiffin. Might be the biggest weasel in collegiate athletics. I’m sorry, there it is, I said it. Yes, he’s got a certain fun associated with him, always has. I mean, who can forget getting canned on the tarmac in Los Angeles and his brief interlude with those hillbillies in Knoxville? But I knew The fucking Bear, and this guy ain’t it.
It’s hard not to have some reaction to the tornado of events sweeping through my backyard. Listening to the blowhard Paul Finebaum on his show this past week, he mentioned how in control and smart Lane Kiffin is. I think he repeated several times, to the point I wanted to puke. Listen, I like Lane in the Dr. Pepper commercials as much as the next guy, but he seems to be living in some sort of warped reality where not only did he control his own movement from Ole Miss to LSU, but that he has a grip on the University president and the governor of Louisiana. I got news for you - without the support of a whole group of backroom roosters, Lane would still be on the Lane Train at FAU.
Would I want Lane as the coach at my school? You bet your ass I would. He’s getting paid millions to put the best product on the field he can - week in and week out. And you gotta respect a coach who is willing to risk the nuclear option for LSU membership in the Southeastern Conference to prove his point over two kids who couldn’t make an NFL roster this summer. Let’s be honest - you know what makes a kid eligible? He’s breathing, can run a 4.2 forty, and has the ability to torch Clemson this weekend.
Is the SEC really going to nuke LSU over this? That full house of 100,000 bourbon-infused screaming lunatics on Saturday nights in Tiger Stadium? What are they going to trade that for - 30,000 on a given Saturday in south Florida? The SEC has already diluted itself with schools outside of the South over the almighty dollar - it’s hard to imagine there is a better interest for the sport than what is occurring in Baton Rouge right now, clown-show and all. Is anybody talking about the Big 10? No, they are not.
And Tiger fans, put down the Jim Beam and step off the pedestal - you’re not exactly Notre Dame. If you lose that schedule and have to schedule McNeese State, Western Kentucky, and UAB, ain’t nobody gonna give a crap.
This was so much easier when we casually slipped 100s to kids leaving the locker room. For the love of God, can some adults get in a room and save this sport before it completely tumbles into the abyss? Presumably that would be the presidents of the member institutions and Sankey. The big dollar bidding wars for talent and unlimited transfers have nearly destroyed the sport - allowing training camp dropouts back into college will be the final nail in the coffin.