Sour Grapes for FSU!

Now, I'm no great fan of football, even of my home team, the Bucs, and my school's team, the Bulls... I really don't care all that much about it... I have better things to be doing. Like studying! Football is just not important to me.

But I must say this article (sent to me by my friend, Maria) is rather shocking... I can't believe it was even printed...

Just how sour *are* those grapes, Frank? 'Cause you sure are suckin' 'em hard!

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USF still no FSU
By: Frank Longobardo
Posted: 10/4/07
© Copyright 2007 FSView & Florida Flambeau

If a college football fan from the state of Florida was in a coma for ten years and suddenly woke up today to see that the University of South Florida was ranked in the top ten, they would be quite perplexed.

That person would have only known South Florida as a Division 1-AA independent team in 1997 and then look at the current top 25 rankings and be confused that Florida was the only one of the big three schools that was ranked.

Though I haven't been trapped in a coma for ten years, I still look at what is going on today in college football in the state of Florida and I am also quite perplexed.

While what South Florida has done in their short existence of ten years in playing football is nothing short of amazing, I am already tired of seeing the entire state and now the entire country jump on to the USF bandwagon.

Congratulations USF, you've made it. But don't start comparing yourself just yet to FSU, UF or Miami, three schools with incredible football tradition.

Yes, they have had a great season so far and have upset two big-name programs in Auburn and West Virginia, but look at those wins a little bit closer and they are not that impressive.

Winning at Jordan-Hare Stadium is huge for any team outside of the SEC, but this is not a typical Auburn team. Yes, they did beat Florida at the Swamp, but Auburn lost to Mississippi State at home and struggled with New Mexico State at home for the first half.

As for their victory over West Virginia, while South Florida's defense has been solid all season; but my guess is that if Pat White was healthy and played the entire game, the outcome would have been different.

USF may have forced six turnovers against the Mountaineers, but their offense committed four of their own.

That leads me to Matt Grothe, who everybody said was the next big thing at quarterback. I, on the other hand, have not been so impressed. He had two interceptions against West Virginia and is only ahead of one other starter in the Big East in passer ratings.

All of this leads me to my biggest gripe, which is the University of South Florida overall.

First off, their fans, a.k.a. students, aren't the brightest crayons in the box considering all it takes to get into USF is an online application and $30 - no essays needed.

They don't even have their own stadium. I know that they are only a program that is a decade old and Raymond James Stadium is right there, but how can you consider yourself a big-time program when you don't even have your own stadium?

Speaking of UCF, the only way South Florida could get a non-conference rival was to get a contract with the Knights, which is not even being renewed after this season. In fact, up until a few years ago, USF refused to even play UCF.

Not to mention the fact that the only time USF can sell out a game is when they are playing West Virginia in prime-time on a Friday night. I would like to see them sell-out on a consistent basis.

Does USF even have a fight song? If they do, I would like to hear one of their students recite it; they probably couldn't.

Their little Bulls hand gesture happens to look a lot like Texas' Hook 'em Horns hand gesture. That's probably because its the same thing and they ripped the Longhorns off.

Their coach Jim Leavitt, who helped start that program from scratch, will definitely jump at a big offer that he gets from a national powerhouse program.

I would like to see South Florida's fans travel like Florida State's or Florida's fans do.

I mean the 'Noles played a neutral site game against Alabama, who was only ranked 22nd and FSU was unranked, and Jacksonville Municipal Stadium had 85,000 people in it; more than were at the Super Bowl about three years ago. Could USF do that?

UF does that on a yearly basis, better than Florida State does, with their annual game against Georgia in the River City.

Finally, I know that Florida State still has two open slots for non-conference games for the 2008 season. My suggestion to Dave Hart and the rest of the administration in the athletics department, schedule South Florida for next season.

Make the game either neutral site for a one-time deal or a home and home series and let's see if USF can hang with the big boys of college football in the state of Florida.

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We at USF, unlike at some other Florida schools, aren't on a high horse. We know that we're a new program. We know that this winning streak might not last. We know that there are other teams out there that have longer, most fabulous traditions than we do. We aren't being pretentious. We're just enjoying things while they last and for what they are... Chill the fuck out, Frank. And keep your opinions about USF limited to the football program. FSU ain't exactly the Harvard of Florida either, ya know? Not having to write an essay to get into a school, doesn't mean that we don't have standards. We all have to pass the same high school standards in Florida. We all have to earn the same minimum GPA and exceed the same minimum SAT and ACT scores. We all have to pass the same CLAST exams, writing requirements, and general education standards to earn a BA. Come on! A single stupid 500 word essay admissions requirement is not what makes or breaks a university's academic standard!