Jersey State Takes New York

Out here on the east coast, all the hype about Jersey State ... I mean, Rutgers ... is becoming unbearable if you’re not a Knights fan. But, if you’re a Cal fan, it's absolutely embarassing. Apparently, a writer named Tom Luicci of the New Jersey Star-Ledger has it in for Lee Corso, and in letting us know this, he inadvertently insults the Bears.

Writes Luicci:

You can't expect everyone in the media to be on the Rutgers bandwagon, and that's fine. But for ESPN's Lee Corso to be as dismissive of the Knights as he has been just shows his ignorance. Of course, this is the same guy who picked California -- the Rutgers of the West -- to win the national championship. Even after the Bears lost at Tennessee, now a three-loss team, he said Cal still had a shot. Probably not now, after losing to 5-5 Arizona. Maybe Corso can do a little homework and bring up this point: The nine teams Notre Dame has beaten are a combined 44-48. The nine Rutgers has beaten are 46-43. But he can accept the Irish as national championship contenders. Just more proof why he's the clown prince of college football.

Cal is “the Rutgers of the West”? LOL. We’ve taken our shots at the Bears, but we could never go that far! In fact, I'm not sure I even get it. By what criteria could Rutgers possibly be compared to U.C. Berkeley? As for the Domer comparison, we'll let that go for now.

A more measured take on Jersey State comes from a blogger named “Hawaii” on what appears to be some sort of Keith Olbermann fan site. (Huh? That’s right, a blog for Olbermann fans.) Anyway, according this “Hawaii,” Olberman thinks that “New Yorkers are willing to take any winner in the ‘neighborhood.’”

Most east coasters think this is a reference to the New York Giants and the New York Jets playing home games in New Jersey. Of course, we know what Olbermann is talking about, since there hasn't been a college football game of any significance in New York for 60 years. The result being idiots throughout the Tri-State region taking a ride on the proverbial “subway” to South Bend.

Normally, this would be a perfect segue to engage in some good-natured “Irish” bashing. But we can wait a week for that. First things first …

Beat the Bears!
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Note: I put a slightly different "guest blogger" version of this post on Conquest Chronicles, in case any one thinks I'm plagiarizing myself ... which I guess I am. Also, James Gandolfini (above) is in fact a Rutgers alum. But, I digress ...