Pay no attention to this column, Rebel fans. Just move along. Detour around it and get on your way to discussing uniforms and fight so...
No! No dammit! I told you not to read that! Shit...
Well, now what do you want me to do? Console you? Really? Fine. Here goes.
My thoughts on Paul Finebaum have been laid out before you once before. He's a shock jock who does very little research and only legitimizes his positions by debating nearly exclusively with the lowest common denominator of SEC fans. Seriously, just listen to his show. When he has anybody who knows more than he as a guest, he's patient and reserved with his responses. When he's fielding calls from "Tommie down in Eutaw," he is the most opinionated man on the planet.
But why did this particular Finebaum piece strike a nerve with me? Well, aside from the column's glaring innacuracies--who in the hell is this "Johnny Reb" mascot, anyway--Finebaum utilizes a cheap, trite, and downright cowardly argument we Rebels have unfortunately grown accustomed to. Finebaum does not think we Rebels will live up to our preseason expectations because, get this, "we're Ole Miss." We're just not supposed to win.
When somebody makes that argument, they've essentially conceded that they cannot find major faults in our roster, coaches, or schedule. They've looked at us on paper and thought, "well damn, Ole Miss could really do this, but that just wouldn't make sense to me so I'll just expose my lazy prejudice." Tim Brando was right (on the Finebaum show last week, no less) when he said that LSU and Alabama fans simply cannot fathom a world where Ole Miss could legitimately be better than the both of them at something.
Sure, Finebaum has said that he thinks the Rebels will beat the Tide this season and he's not afraid to repeatedly entertain that notion, but that's probably part of his MO--covering his ass and pissing more people off in the listening area. He's no more a journalist than we bloggeurs.
And furthermore, when people spew off the "Ole Miss won't win because they're Ole Miss" argument at you, take it with a grain of salt.
No, fuck that, don't even take it at all. Turn right around and tell them to shove that unoriginal, cowardly garbage up their ass and give you a legitimate argument against the Rebels. Until they do, don't even waste your time entertaining their opinions on college football.