A new year, after a strange season

Well, it’s the first real week back at work for 2024. You say you went back to work last week? Really? Come on now, not really. Christmas decorations were still lit up, and it was just three and a half days of actual work because you spent half a day discussing how your Christmas was with everybody in the break room, and truth be told, your heart just wasn’t in “work mode”. This week, kids are back at school, teachers are back at work, the normal routine is back in place, and we have a new national champion of college football to get used to. Yep, this is a real, kinda tough week, and 2024 is starting out a little “strange”. First of all, this is an unusual time in terms of the annual withdrawal process from college football we are forced to endure. Somehow things just don’t feel settled. It’s bad enough that the greatest sport since dinosaur wrestling is now over for the next 8 months, but on top of that many of us are still waiting for the ESPN panelists and commentators to explain to us just what in the world happened to the SEC this season. Sure, there were a few bright spots, but for the most part, the glory of Southeastern Conference domination of football in this country wilted and withered away in the last few weeks of fall. And, the mashup of bowl games that followed was pretty dismal too. It all sort of all spun out of control with the Georgia/Alabama SEC title game, and I still haven’t heard a decent explanation for how that happened either. Strange? Then, from that point on, it was all downhill. Alabama dropped the ball, literally and figuratively, with Harbaugh and the mighty, mighty Michigan lip readers. Now, just let me say, I have always liked Alabama. I believe, if you gotta lose to somebody, it doesn’t hurt quite as bad to lose to the Crimson Tide, as it would to somebody like Auburn, or “upstart” Missouri, but something about Saban has been Strange all season. Even in the loss to Michigan, he never did throw a good old-fashioned sideline, headset-slinging temper tantrum. Unbelievable, and very Strange! Matter of fact, in the pregame interviews, he went on and on about how he really enjoyed this season and how much “fun” it was. What?? Who in the Jimmy Dean Dickens is this man, and what is going on in Tuscaloosa?? Very Strange indeed! I guess Nick may be trying to soften up his retail image since he and a buddy just ponied up $700 million for two Mercedes dealerships down in Florida, to add to his collection of seven other car stores. Maybe he’s just getting ready to step down from the SEC throne and let the Earl of the Oconee, “Prince Kirby” take over. Well, when somebody figures all that out, please let me know. Meanwhile, I guess we just better get used to the new national champ and start working on next year’s version of the SEC. Now, I will conclude this discussion by just saying I am still 199% behind the Dawgs and as my sons tell me, “You know you have an elite team and a great program when they end up with a 13-1 overall season record not to mention two national championships and even then the faithful Dawg fans are still moaning and wailing and expecting more (like I have just done here). Ok, Ok, so no more talk about football strangeness. Let’s just discuss something that’s not so stressful, something we can all agree on like how to survive the upcoming 2024 Presidential elections which will probably feature two worn out teams with two over-the-hill quarterbacks. Good Luck with that!