2011 Week 13
December 1, 2011
Thanksgiving is always a fine holiday around my house. We stuffed a couple turkeys, then cooked some food and watched football.
With all the changes in the college football landscape, there were some "final meetings" between arch-rivals. The most notable of these occurred in State College Station, where Texas A&M hosted Texas for the final time before their departure to the SEC. A last-minute field goal gave the visiting Aggies the win.
Another rivalry steeped in hatred saw its final game, as Missouri knocked off Kansas en route to abandoning the Big Eight to join A&M in the SEC. And Florida State celebrated its departure to the ACC by beating cross-state SEC South rival Florida.
The conference realignments have led to some new rivalries being created. The newest Big Ten member, Nebraska, knocked off Iowa to take possession of the Mitchell Corn Palace.
The weekend also saw some more traditional rivalries renewed. Western Virginia scored late to beat my Pitt Panthers in the Backdoor Brawl. Kentucky upset Tennessee for the first time since I had my Beeno Fro and won The Golden Tooth. Coach Dooley's return to coaching has been difficult, it's nothing like his days with the Bulldogs.
Top-ranked LSU blew out #3 R Kansas and is just one win away from the BS title game. And Alabama pounded Auburn to reclaim possession of that fine medical invention, the Iron Bowel.
I watched Michigan's first win over Ohio State since the Truman Administration. As is often the case these days, there are celebrities hanging out at the games. Along the OSU sideline I noticed overexposed actor Adam Stiller wearing his "Waterboy" headset. I half-expected to see UF legend Burt Reynolds run out there and slam him to the turf for ruining that "Longest Yard" remake.
When you watch the games on TV you can see a few famous people, especially actors. Matt McConaghy is often seen in Austin attending Texas Aggie games. Coach McCartney's actress daughter Jenny McCartney used to be a presence along Colorado's sideline and in the locker room.
As is often the case, this trend started in Los Angeles. Thanks to USC's famous film school and former USC players like Wayne Duke, many Hollywood stars would show up at the Coliseum for games.
Of course it wasn't just the USC football team that these stars would follow. They were also big fans, as we all are, of the USC Song Girls. And, eventually, some of these stars began to have relationships with the Song Girls.
This led to a scandalous situation that had to be hushed up, when one of the most famous TV stars of the 1960s had a fling with one of the Song Girls. The star's TV show was quickly canceled and he was out of work. In order to keep the affair quiet, USC gave the TV star a job at the school.
And that's how the USC mascot Traveler came to be portrayed by the famous yet scandal-plagued Mr. Ed.
And now you know the rest of the story.