Of course
academic dishonesty in the service of
jock worship goes on at the
University of Florida, dannye. That's one of the reasons I feel my
diploma is nearly worthless. My
B.A. in
linguistics got me into
graduate school to get my
M.A. in
library "science" (sic), which qualified me to take a
sysadmin job at a nonprofit
library services agency. But the
bachelor's degree I got from
UF doesn't mean much because you can get the same thing by taking courses like
rocks for jocks and
underwater basketweaving.
Having said that, it amuses me in a superior way to watch the football coach get mad and fling the visor from his forehead to the ground in one smooth motion. It keeps me connected to my simian side.
Most days I don't care about the Gators one way or another. I do work with Seminoles, so hearing about my nemesis brings out the school spirit in me. If I worked with Gator fans, I'd probably start wearing the Seminole garnet and gold just to annoy the orange and blue people.
And yet I do get a charge out of yelling at the TV, hooting and whooping and shrieking and displaying my big red baboon ass to the world. It's fun to root for the team, any team, and see them win.
Kathleen Norris' books gave me a sense of confronting the evils of history within her faith as a Roman Catholic. She talks about reciting the Apostles' Creed even though sometimes she doesn't believe the things she's saying, simply because her faith can exist simultaneously with her doubt.
Thus it is with me.
Go Gators!