Hey! So the straw poll is today, and you may think that because of this I would dive this morning right into politics and maybe, if I was feeling lucky, make a prediction as to who would win.
No, for two reasons:
1. The election is already over for me. When asked on Thursday during the debate if they would not approve a deficit reduction plan that had $1 of tax increase for every $10 in cuts, they all raised their hands, which I took to be a unanimous salute to their inflexibility. Whether you agree with tax increases or not, I would argue that such stubbornness in our elected officials is not what this country needs in its leadership. My vote is already reluctantly cast for Obama in 2012, and any Republican would need to show a large shift to the center -- and dramatic increase in common sense -- to change my mind. John Huntsman may have the best chance of doing so, but based on the fact that he seemed to be the most pragmatic of all the candidates on display I don't give him much of a chance of getting to far. People just aren't "excited" and "fired up" about him, as if that is really the main criteria in selecting the person who leads what is still the most powerful nation the world has ever seen.
2. Football, and football, and football season is about to start, and while it may be more important to talk about politics it is much, much less fun.
I have my predictions for the football seasons lined up. So let's go.
Most importantly, the English Premier League starts up today! Sadly, I've got the nearly perennial favorites, Manchester United, to win the league this year. They have the strongest team, and more importantly their management is consistent, with one Sir Alex Ferguson at the helm. Wellington often said that Napoleon's presence on a battlefield was worth 30,000 men; Ferguson is the same way. Down the stretch in the spring, when points are tight and results are needed, he is the extra factor that will carry the day. Plus, I mean, he's a fucking Knight. No other team in the league, if in the world, has a Knight leading them onto the pitch. How can he lose?
As for my own favorite team, Chelsea....well, its too hard to tell. They have a new manager who did well at Porto, but he's no Knight. It will be interesting to see if they can get Torres scoring goals again...I don't think he plays well with Drogba and needs someone more creative working with him up front, probably some kind of attacking midfielder. The midfield and some of the defenders are getting a little old for professional footballers, but I have confidence in the defence and in keeper Petr Chech. I think they will be second or third, battling it out again with Manchester City.
Arsenal I've got finishing fourth, but I'll go out on a limb and say that finally, FINALLY, Arsene Wenger is going to win a trophy after a very long drought. It may be fourth place in the greater London area Football Managers of French Nationality beauty contest (what a nose that man has, what a nose!), but he'll pick up something.
Shortly after that, the Virginia Tech Hokies will take the field against...someone. I haven't got the schedule in front of me. Even so, it is my understanding that the schedule this year favors the Hokies. They finally got it through their heads that playing a difficult game at the beginning of the season doesn't really suit them, and they will get all the national exposure they can handle if they run the table, get to the BCS championship, and win. Win! The Hokies could be favorites in every game they play this year, which I believe is a first.
Unfortunately for the Hokies, I just don't see it happeneing. At some point in the season they are going to go unstable and drop a game, just because they always do and winning every game in a 12 game season, even when you are favored in every one of them, is just very hard. The question is, will the let down of disappointing themselves and all those fans again cause them to slip and lose more than one game? I say not this year. They go 11-1, win the ACC championship (again), get to a BCS bowl game (again), and get their asses handed to them by a superior team that has faced down sterner challenges (again). Sorry, Frank. I'd love for you to prove me wrong. You are a great coach, but you are not a Knight. Yet.
Finally, after that, is the start of the NFL. What do I predict this year? I predict that the teams with most touchdowns will usually win games. I predict there will be bone crunching trench warfare the likes of which has not been seen since the Somme. I predict the opening weeks will be very sloppy because of the lack of practice due to the lockout. I predict that shots of big breasted cheerleaders will challenge our sense of propriety and good conduct amongst our friends, making the more enlightened of us go silent in our own turgid reflections and the less noble exclaim what their intentions would be in a parallel, non-existent universe.
And who will win it all? That, dear reader, is between me and God.
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