- Cincy @ Pitt was an incredible INCREDIBLE game! Kind of makes up for the fact that I really don't feel like I've seen many good, memorable college football games this season.
- It's a bad sign when the most memorable college football games have been blown calls by SEC officials... and that's pretty much definitely what I'll be remembering in future years and I've watched an enormous amount of football.
- ESPN did a good job choosing to put Cincy on Thursday and Friday nights rather frequently. I don't think I would have been a fan of theirs or been excited to see how much they can do without those game times.
- ESPN (and ESPN on ABC) did a remarkably good job with human interest stories related to Cincy (throughout the season and today) and Pitt (I can only say today's was pretty good). I really began to like Cincy when they profiled Kelly and talked about what he was fighting for with contract negotiations - it's a ton of stuff for his coaches and his team. Cincy is one of two Division I schools that basically only practices outside on the main field and has no other alternative (no practice fields, and whatever inside facilities they need don't exist).
- They maybe went a bit far with some of the human interest stuff - talking about a player's mom who is recovering from drug addiction... it helped to explain why a certain player is a great story and why he was raised by his grandfather and why it's so sweet and incredible that he desperately wants to go to the NFL to buy things and improve his grandfather's quality of life.
- But they've gone a lot farther and with much less class, so at least they're improving (think Terry Bradshaw and the Sugar Bowl a few years ago when even his co-anchors/broadcasters were embarrassed).
- In the NFL, when it's really cold (or just a little cold and some overpaid whiners want a blankie), there are giant warm coats, little heaters, and people holding up shields from the wind... why couldn't they come up with coats for the Big East players? (Marcus Gilyard was shaking and teeth chattering and holding himself and jumping around trying to stay/keep warm.)
- Not okay to follow players into the tunnel in defeat... after they've lost and if they manage to get to the tunnel to show their emotions, leave them alone. Maybe it's different in the NFL when they're adults and being paid to play. But some of these guys are 18 years old and if they've done the right thing by going to a private area, you should not follow and broadcast it. Showing the coach - fine, he's a grown up and this is his job. But it's kind of like animals in a zoo that can go to a little area when they don't want to be looked at or have kids tapping glass or whatever. You don't then follow then into their little private areas and expect them to let you pet them and everything to be fine. You just don't...
