Deconstruction Of an Empire. It Starts With The Media

Beware Alabama. The media storm has resumed and will not stop until Alabama has been knocked off the throne of the college football world.

The University of Florida and the University of Southern California have probably ridden the crest of the wave as long as anyone in recent or remote history, but the pressure on both programs was and still is incredibly intense. In fact, the loss of Pete Carroll and the concern regarding sanctions for sins committed during the Carroll tenure are still a major issue to the USC administration.

Mystique, as one writer wrote about earlier, is nothing more than a lure for the media. In this day and age, the media is on a roll, attacking traditional institutions. Whether it be financial, educational, medical or retail, the modus operandi is to knock down the power brokers and bust them into as many tiny pieces as possible.

The intention seems to be to blend the American melting pot into a puree of mediocrity. Only a champion loves a champion. Everyone else is resentful of the position of the champion. Doesn't everyone deserve to be a champion?

USC had Carroll, a media magnet and suck up. Not a suck up in a bad way, he knew how to use the media to his advantage. He played them like a fiddle and is still doing so up to this day. It is no mistake that Carroll was sitting at the table with the ESPN analysts during the National Championship game. It was not a spontaneous gesture on the part of either party.

In fact, given time, I suspect it will be revealed that ESPN in some way has facilitated the negotiations between Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks. ESPN is definitely in control of the NFL and a large part of college football.

Florida had Tim Tebow. A likable fellow with a penchant for giving glory to the Lord for his accomplishments. His popularity declined over the years, yet the media continued to shove his image and popularity down the throat of John Q Public.

I myself am a fan of the young man, but the media did him no favors by overselling his popularity. He is despised by many college football fans.

The Urban Meyer saga in part remains mysterious because of his relationship with ESPN colleagues. They have done their part to protect his privacy. That is not a bad thing, but they treat individuals how they want to treat them; there is inequality at many levels.

For instance, Charlie Weiss, Jim Kragthorpe, Mike Leach, Al Groh and others have been thrown out on their ear because the media infiltrated their ranks and called for their heads. Tommy Tuberville and Brian Kelly have been beneficiaries of the media love. It won't last forever; it never does. Kelly is naive, Tuberville will be watchful.

Infiltration of the SEC by media with lots of money, chiefly ESPN, has been a very successful coup and in all likelihood will be financially beneficial to all parties involved. In the long run, the SEC will be yielding a great deal of control over to the media giant.

Expect games to get longer, access to be more limited and schedules to be more irregular. Alabama playing on the Friday after Thanksgiving was not a decision made by the Alabama administration or the coaching staff. It was a decision made by the media brokers.

In addition to the above, the media will also want more access to the practice facilities. They will eventually turn the college football world into a circus like People Magazine has done to Hollywood.

Beware of the paparazzi. They will eventually stand on the sidelines without regard for the head coaches' wishes and desires. He (or she) will have to deal with it.

The love affair will be all about the media czar. It will have nothing to do with the school. Relationships will bounce around the country. Why? Because ratings will be better if there is more interest from each segment of the country. We'll have a rotating championship.

If you were surprised at the Wilt Chamberlain and Tiger Woods indiscretions, just wait until the media whore is exposed.

Dynasties will be taken down purposefully, intentionally and with malice, only to build up again for a short period of time. In fact, at this point, the use of the word dynasty is an exaggeration. This is one championship. Lets hope for more but the media will be the biggest opponent for coach Nick Saban and the Men in Crimson.

Times are changing, folks. Don't get used to the glory. Simply enjoy it while it lasts.