Hey, Pete, Where'd You Go? We Missed You So.

Alrighty, one month later, Pete returns to blogging.  I know that you all greatly missed me in your absence and I apologize for taking a one month hiatus from posting.  Believe it or not, the last week and a half of Greece consumed a great deal of my time, then it was the Christmas season and then I packed up and moved to Boston.  What I am trying to say is that I was super busy at all seconds of the day and couldn't ever find a free moment to share my thoughts with the internet world.

What's that?  Nobody believes that bull shit?  Probably a good call.  Of course I had free time where I could've passed along little nuggets of information to all my loyal fans out there (I still believe, in vain, that they are out there), but come on, sometimes you just don't feel like doing it.  So therefore, I take one month off, recharge my batteries and now you get to enjoy me for another extended period of time.  And those of you who didn't enjoy reading about my study abroad experiences, now you get your wish and get all the sports articles and random rage-filled rants you could ever want!  Those who don't like those types of posts, you can show yourself the door (but seriously, don't do that.  Just keep reading, it makes me feel like my work actually means something when it clearly doesn't).

I'll tell you what really took the wind out of my sails though.  I had just arrived at home after my 31 hour travel day from Athens, which is as horrendous as it sounds, and in the morning I began crafting final reflections on study abroad.  I worked on the post for about an hour, hoping to make it sound insightful, profound and eloquently weaved to provide a comprehensive look of what study abroad truly offers (yeah, I realize that that is not my style at all and I would've been better off writing about how I wanted to tape the mouth of the baby behind me that screamed for the entire flight from Philly to Phoenix).  Then, autosave on blogger screwed up somehow, it then signed me out and I had to sign back in, only to find my post with only the very first line of my post still there.  Fortunately, there were no breakable objects nearby, so my exasperated expletive sufficed.  That pretty much killed my desire to post for a while.

BUT GREAT NEWS, I'M BACCCCCCCCCCK.

Okay Pete, shut up, you're rambling.  Let's get to the topic of sports.  Alright, wait, one more quick note: do you know how many awesome stories there were during this month long period that I missed writing about?  I had a gold mine of stories and I just blew it.  Damnit Pete, swing and a miss.

Standford was definitely one of the biggest surprises of the college football season.  They finished the season 12-1 and capped it off with a complete dismantling of VaTech, 40-12 in the Orange Bowl.  And I am willing to bet that if they had another crack at the Ducks to try and avenge their one loss this season, they would put up a better fight than they did the first time around.  Andrew Luck solidified his status as the best quarterback in the nation and as Rich Rod was shown the door at Michigan, Jim Harbaugh was touted as the coach to take his place with the Maize and Blue.

Then, surprisingly, Andrew Luck decided that he wanted to stay for his junior year next year.  He's committed to completing his degree in architectural design (wait, he goes to Standford, would be a lock for the number one pick in the NFL draft, AND is going to graduate with a degree in architectural design?  Well I write a blog, so suck it Andrew Luck).  Nice to see a student-athlete put some stock in the student part of his title (no surprise that it would happen at Standford though).  He's taking a huge risk by doing this of course: jeopardizing millions of guaranteed dollars to return to school instead of entering the draft.  One bad hit and his career alters indefinitely.  But Luck decided to risk it and return.

Which brings us to Harbaugh.  Harbugh recently announced that if he were going to change jobs, he would not make a jump to the NFL.  He already stated that he didn't want the Michigan job either.  So assuming that Harbaugh is telling the truth about not wanting to go to the NFL (see Bobby Petrino at Louisville after signing a ten year extension before jumping ship to the Falcons), where would he go?  Florida already hired a new head coach.  Would anywhere else even interest him?  Should anywhere else interest him is the better question.

In college football, there is always this desire by coaches to jump to some big program or the NFL, leaving the comfort of their smaller schools for the big dollars and possible even-greater fame.  Why though?  Am I the only one who thinks they would rather stay at the plush situation than take the gamble of going down in flames at a bigger program?  Mike Price attempted to jump from Washinton State the year after their trip to the Rose Bowl for Alabama.  Now he's coaching at UTEP after never coaching a game at Bama after an incident at a strip club.  Bobby Petrino ditched Louisville after a BCS trip, coached 10 games for the Falcons and then quit in the middle of the year.  Dan Hawkins had enormous success coaching Boise State as the underdog and he's now out of a job after being fired at Colorado.  Rich Rodriguez dips out of West Virginia for Michigan and after three embarrassing seasons, he too joins the ranks of the unemployed.  There are a dozen more stories out there just like these of coaches trying to make it at a bigger stage and flopping.

I hope that Harbaugh knows what he is doing.  The NFL teams that are reaching out to him, 49ers, Broncos and Dolphins are no more desirable that coaching the fine program he has developed at Standford.  At what point does the extra money he would make become so significant that he would leave Standford?  He already makes 1.25 million per year and he has the number one pick in the draft returning for another year.  I can't be the only one who thinks it makes sense to stay in Palo Alto, right?

When I played NCAA football growing up, I loved taking small time programs and turning them into perennial powerhouses.  There was something immensely gratifying about watching Navy or Wyoming playing in the National Championship game.  That always seemed so much more enjoyable than playing as one of the big name programs, scoring all the blue chip recruits and coasting through season after season.  Why not establish a smaller program as a fixture among the elites?

I hope that Harbaugh stays.  I have enjoyed watching him coach at Standford and witnessing the success that program has experienced under his tenure.  Plus, with their rigorous academic standards, it takes away from Notre Dame's excuse of tougher academic standards for why they can't win games (there, I filled my quota for obligatory ND dig).  I would like to see him create a lasting legacy at that school.  Maybe a Standford man will be the one smart enough to stay.

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs