RattlerGator Blog

"Winds of Change" on Why Scott Beauchamp Matters

The explosion of blogs continues unabated and that means there are ever more sites that I'll never get a chance to check out. I revisited one old favorite today and found a good post at Winds of Change from "Armed Liberal" on why the lies told by a soldier named Scott Beauchamp (a guy who joined the Army for the sole purpose of being able to crap on it [with the authority that comes from having worn the uniform] in the future -- what does that say about this fool?). I suggest you read the full post, it's directly on point. A responding comment, off the specific topic but quite relevant, really grabbed my attention and I thought I would highlight it here. Comment #27 is from Glen Wishard:

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[RattlerGator: an earlier commenter in the thread made the following statement]

• The main reason this story is important is that a bunch of right-wingers want it to be. They are using a handful of stories about media failure that tends to oppose the war, to help them ignore the massive media failure that ignores the reality that this war is lost.

A few years ago, when Saddam's regime collapsed (Thank Allah) rather more quickly than the left had hoped, leaving them caught awkwardly in mid-quagmire pose, I well recall how the "warbloggers" were sternly lectured against engaging in something called triumphalism, which leads to hubris and the pride that goeth before the fall, etc., and is furthermore insensitive to the feelings of people who are embarrassed when their country accomplishes something.

Then Strumpet Fortune rolled over on her belly, and we sank into an unpopular struggle with insurgent forces, the status and progress of which was difficult to gauge from any perspective, in or out of the country. But the left read the goat's guts loud and clear: THE WAR WAS LOST, which meant that they - beyond all hope - had won a glorious victory. At this point, they quite forgot the advice they had given about triumphalism.

We are now into the third or fourth year of leftist triumphalism, and the crowing has been going on around the clock. Every corpse of the sixties has been resurrected to crow, too. All kinds of masks have come off.

And now it's all coming apart. There was supposed to be a huge political payoff, but instead they got Pelosi and more Bush. The left and liberal media has utterly humiliated themselves over this war, and their blog rivals have thrived. There was supposed to be an international tidal wave against the United States, but apart from the Spanish and some repellent dictators, our traditional allies have held up. The French are closer to our views than theirs.

And they have utterly failed to make a dent in the war. Their "leaders", if one may call them such, have tried everything they can think of, and they have failed every time.

They are now in the denial phase that they have accused everyone else of being in. It will be the loudest denial phase in history. It's not fair that we're winning something that they had in the bag as lost. It's not fair that they can't cash in their big stack of chips.

Granted, the bulk of the public is still on their side, even if the facts no longer are. But when they turn their hostility against the soldiers, who have refused to be the dehumanized losers they want them to be, the public is not with them. The polls may turn many times before this is over, but that fact will not change.

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I doubt if the public will turn their hostility on the soldiers and I don't think the bulk of the public is on their side. People are simply war-weary and with the outrageous media onslaught of negativity and lack of perspective, how could the public not be war-weary? Under the best of circumstances, they would still have been war-weary by now.

Still, the shelf life for the absurd notion that you can "support our soldiers" by giving comfort to enemies of the United States Armed Forces fighting in the field -- and advocating for victory by people sworn to destroy America -- is fast running out. That's the way it looks to me.

One particular mantra I love remains true and is also applicable -- "Hold on; hold fast; hold out. Patience is genius."

This is also why Beauchamp matters.

Disrespecting The Game; Et tu, Mark Richt?

With each passing hour, I get more disturbed by the stunt pulled by Mark Richt in the Florida game. The mistake many are making with respect to this outrage against the game, in my opinion, is that hindsight allows them to know how it all played out.

But what if a Gator player cold-cocked one of the Bulldogs and then a whole mass of players get involved in a scrap? Mark Richt deliberately made that a very possible outcome and rolled the dice that it wouldn't happen. It was an outrageous stunt and a deliberately outrageous stunt. If the SEC doesn't make a statement about this, it sets a precedent and this is America. Successful precedents get copied and ultimately get exceeded. A coach somewhere is going to take this one step further, and who can know what that one step will be.

As I said, the more I think about what he did, the more disturbed I get. Like many Gator fans, I've been debating this online and elsewhere. Some fans, including some Gator fans, don't get it and it's clear to me that they never will.

My response and that of many, many Gator fans isn't about whining. Rather, it is all about understanding human nature. That, in fact, is why we have rules in the first place. This coach [Mark Richt] crossed a line you can't cross.

How hard is that to understand? You never cross the line that this coach crossed. Depending on how the conference reacts to this and future events that we can't know right now, he may have poisoned this rivalry for the foreseeable future far beyond the bitterness that already existed.

And that's a severe problem. If you think this is about whining, you seriously have no clue. Finally, one Gator fan at the game put it in proper perspective. Here's what that fan wrote:

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Here is my biggest issue with it.. Richt didn't just lose control of his players after that TD. He didn't just encourage them to go and act in an unsportsmanlike manner and draw a personal foul after that TD. No, he did much worse. He actually threatened them earlier in the week with physical punishment if they didn't do it. I was at the game and when it happened I thought it showed Richt had no control and his players were acting like a bunch of losers. A fight broke our next to me between a UGA fan and a Gator who had yelled that Richt was a POS for allowing it to happen. I'm sure it wasn't the only one in the stadium. We all talked afterward about how the coaches on the sideline actually seemed to encourage it but none of us thought they could have been behind it. Now I read that Richt threatened, let me say it again, he threatened, his players with punishment usually reserved for breaking the rules, if they didn't go out and break the rules. And some of you have no problem with this? What would you be saying if our bench had cleared and helmets started swinging as a full-on brawl ensued? How about if the drunken fans started acting like soccer hooligans and people were seriously injured? Yes it is a worse case scenario but it was a possible outcome. That is the reason we have rules against things like Richt ordered his team to do. If Richt isn't sanctioned, it will happen again and it will be unlikely the other team will stand by this time. He freaking ordered his players to break the rules or risk physical punishment!! How does anyone defend that as just a good strategy and excellent coaching? I guess as long as it helps you win, some think their are no boundaries. I'm glad Coach Meyer isn't one of them..

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That sums it up nicely. On Atlanta radio this morning they are blowing this off although many of them are admitting that it wasn't right. In fact, they are saying this game is going to go down in history as the "Celebration" game. I disagree. At best, this is going to be known as the "Desperation" game. It should, however, be known as the "Bush League" game.

Georgia Earns A Great Victory

I posted somewhere on the net that I had a very weird feeling about this Florida-Georgia game and unfortunately the game played out precisely as I feared it might. Result? A well-earned 42-30 victory by a team desperate for a victory in this great rivalry. Georgia showed just how desperate they were after their first touchdown -- they had to signal to themselves, their fans, and to the Gators that they were sick and tired of being sick and tired of losing to the Mighty Gators.

Kudos to them.

I saw a great video yesterday from a Georgia Bulldog fan that gives an indication of the passion of SEC football fans, Georgia style. The heartbreak when you lose, etc. So, in honor of this rare victory I thought I'd post it here -- from Corey Smith:

Congratulations, Bulldogs. Fifteen out of eighteen? We'll take it. A lead in the series during my lifetime? I'll take that, too.

Florida-Georgia 2007

In honor of the big game tomorrow, I'm going to re-post my tribute from 2005 honoring the 25th Anniversary of my very first Florida-Georgia game. Arguably, it is the most famous game in this incredible series -- I think it certainly has that status for Georgia. That win propelled them to the number one ranking in the nation the following week and they eventually won the national championship. Quite a first game to witness. So, Go You Mighty Gators! Beat the everlovin' hell out of Georgia!

• Begin October 2005 post:

To begin to understand my special passion for this game you have to first understand that I love Georgians and have many, many family members in that great State. Both of my parents are, in fact, Georgians. My mother was born and raised on the Sumter County – Macon  County line in Andersonville. My father was born in Ellaville and his cluster of family was then and is now centered around the town of Roberta. These areas are quite rural, quite agricultural. On my maternal side the family owned, and still owns, a few hundred acres of land on that county line adjacent to the Andersonville National Cemetery. In fact, for years my maternal Grandfather (who is still living) for years worked his farm and worked at the cemetery to support his family.

On my father’s side, they were sharecropping but eventually began a logging company that generated work all over South Georgia. But in 1950s Georgia an African American with a sharp mind and a sharp tongue could fairly easily find some trouble. Give that same man some disposable income and there was likely going to be a problem. My father, the oldest son in his family, no doubt qualified for that sharp mind / sharp tongue category. I’m sure he was young and dumb in many, many ways. Neither of my parents went beyond the 8th grade in school but both were quite bright. And confident. Once my father married my mother and was successfully running the logging business . . . and had two (of his eventual six) children, things got to be too hot and he was basically chased out of Georgia.

Chased away . . . to the great State of Florida. Many other family members on both sides went away to Gary, Indiana or Detroit or New York City. Most others stayed in Georgia. Some others settled in spots further down the Florida peninsula. Despite the upheavals of the ‘50s and ‘60s, my father never gave up being a proud Georgia boy. That’s just the way Georgians are. So, when I was coming of age in the 1970s as a proud Florida boy making his way through secondary school and really disappointed by the fact that Georgia seemed to be ruining my Florida Gators football seasons on a regular basis (and questioning why this was the case), everything was really simple to my father: we Floridians just didn’t eat enough cornbread and collard greens.

Well, damn, I thought. I loved cornbread and collard greens. To this day I wonder about people who don’t share that love. And I knew my father was really perceptive and smart, but could it really be that simple?

Anyway, when I completed a tour of duty in the Army and finally began my freshman year at U.F., the most anticipated game for me on our football schedule was the Florida-Georgia game. So when November 8, 1980 rolled around I was hyped. I mean really, really hyped. I attended the game with my younger brother who was actually ahead of me in school as a junior at U.F. – this was because he would do his tour of duty in the Army AFTER graduating from college, as an officer. Smart man.

Unfortunately, by that November date my father was already in failing health and unbeknownst to me, would only live for a few more months. The game, as all Gators and Dawgs know, turned out to be a classic:

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Herschel was unbelievable, and thus didn't disappoint. On one play, I saw him get tackled, his legs cut from underneath him, but he before he hit the ground, he tucked forward, somersaulted just inches from the ground, rolled on his back, and sprang up on his legs. He was amazing.

But so were the Gators that day.

Through eight games that season, Herschel had rushed for 1,096 yards, and the Bulldogs were undefeated and ranked second in the nation.

Was he really that good? On the third play of the game, Herschel answered, motoring 72 yards for a touchdown, and it looked as if it was going to be another long day for the Gators. He finished with 238 yards on 37 carries, and you'd have thought that would be enough, but it wasn't.

On the other side of the field, a little-known Gator wide receiver named Tyrone Young was having the game of his career. Young hauled in 10 catches for 183 yards from UF quarterback Wayne Peace. Every time you looked up, Young was making a big play.

The Gators, who came in ranked No. 20 following their forgettable 0-10-1 season a year earlier, trailed just 14-10 at the half. The Dawgs used two field goals to stretch the lead to 20-10 after three quarters.

Then magic happened.

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The link above and the subsequent excerpt are from a recent column by Peter Kerasotis in Brevard County’s Florida Today newspaper. It turns out that he began matriculating at U.F. the same quarter that I did (the last year for quarters at Florida). As he wrote, the Gators made a valiant comeback and in the fourth quarter took the lead, 26-21. Up in the endzone of my hometown Gator Bowl sat me and my brother and a bunch of Florida students. We were going crazy. My memory says we were in the endzone stands looking directly at the Gator defense as they were harassing the hell out of Georgia’s offense. This meant Georgia had their backs to us and all the action unfolded directly in front of us. The screaming was incredible. Georgia was on their goal line and we were doing our best to drown them out. First down and second down occurred. The stadium was literally rocking. Victory was at hand and the partying was going to be super good.

And then them damn cornbread and collard greens-eating Bulldawgs broke our hearts.

Larry Munson’s call of that play up in the Georgia radio booth has become quite famous. This is my interpretation of his exact, heartbreaking call. I’m not so much of a Gator that I can’t acknowledge that this is a classic call:

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Florida in a stand-up five, they may or may not blitz.

Belue third down on the 8 . . . in trouble . . . he got a block behind him . . . going to throw on the run . . . complete on the 25 to the 30!

Lindsay Scott 35, 40, Lindsay Scott 45, 50, 45, 40.

Run Lindsay, 25, 20, 15, 10, Lindsay Scott! Lindsay Scott! Lindsay Scott!

* * *

Well, I can’t believe it. Ninety-two yards and Lindsay really got in a foot race.

I broke my chair. I came right through a chair. A metal steel chair with about a 5 inch cushion, I broke it. The booth came apart. The stadium . . . well, the stadium fell down . . . now they do have to renovate this place . . . they’ll have to rebuild it now.

This is incredible. You know this game has always been called the World’s Greatest [Outdoor] Cocktail Party. Do you know what’s gonna happen here tonight? And up at St. Simons and Jekyll Island, and all those places where all those Dawg people have got those condominiums for 4 days?

Man is there going to be some property destroyed tonight!

26-21, Dawgs on top. We were gone. I’d gave up, you did too. We were out of it and gone.

Miracle!

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It was at this game, at this moment, where every other University of Florida football game became simply a game and this became THE game on our schedule for me. Truth be told, it already was that for me but this really, really nailed it down. It was also where I learned to have a certain contempt for the defeatist element among Gator fans. All around me, the students gave up. All around me, it seemed as if the life went out of everyone and we turned the stadium over to Georgia. But there was still time left and we had a potent offense capable of coming down the field. In fact, we did make a bit of a drive (IIRC) but couldn’t quite bring it home.

Georgia won.

They had their miracle.

And I had to live with my father’s good-natured ribbing about his Georgia boys. That’s part of what makes this game so special. In some ways, I feel a little sorry for Floridians who don’t have any Georgia relatives and vice-versa. It makes a remarkable social event even more special. For instance, in honor of my father and for psychological satisfaction alone, I try to make sure that I have at least one plate of cornbread and collard greens leading up to this here game. Yes, sir, buddy!

And every ass-whuppin we’re able to deliver to them these days, they damn well deserve. So yes, I’m enjoying the hell out of that win yesterday and all of our previous victories in 14 out of the last 16 games.

Beat Georgia. Beat the hell out of Georgia. And then slap ‘em silly some more!

Y’all excuse me while I go get me another plate of them good ole, down home, collard greens.

Go Gators!

• End October 2005 post

There you have it. Florida-Georgia is an incredibly unique event. Tomorrow is going to be a war and Georgia can't keep losing them all. One more year, please, one more year.

Taser Time! The Can't Touch This Remix Version

With the news that the University Police Department cops who famously tasered a publicity-seeking narcissist (you remember, the guy who was upset that John Effin Kerry isn't left-wing enough and wanted to make sure that John Effin Kerry and the whole world knew it) have been cleared by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, who can resist a little bit of fun via YouTube? Not me, baby bubba, not me! Check it out:

Oh, hell yeah. I don't know who put that together but that's funny.

Eyeballin' Rupert Murdoch

There's a report up at Pajamas Media titled "Inside the Mind of Murdoch" which is of immense interest to me -- because its all about Rupert Murdoch. The guy intrigues the heck out of me. In a time when communist and socialist ideology has perpetually captured the imagination of so many, he has methodically stood his ground and said, "Oh, hell no." For this intransigence he has been systematically ridiculed. To which, I'm sure, he has privately said, "Thank you. Thank you, very much."

I suspect the secret to his business success rests with the fact that he has recognized what (from my extremely biased perspective) provides the foundation for what truly is the genius of America -- namely, the fact that the phenomenon known as dumbing down "isn't." That is to say, what is so often dismissed these days as dumbing down neither is dumb nor is it a downward pressure on standards.

One can only have that mentality if one is fixated on a top-down perspective. Murdoch is a walking, talking representation of the Reganesque representation that a rising tide lifts all boats. So, too, is America. Take a look at this paragraph from the article:

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Network TV news’ parent companies are mostly in the entertainment business. They did not originally launch news programs to make a profit, but to prove to the federal government that their licenses to broadcast profitable entertainment programming should be renewed based on responsible corporate citizenship. Newspapers think they are in the newspaper business, if they think they are in business at all. Decades without serious competition have allowed journalists to engage in the fantasy of being part of a powerful branch of government, and allowed their bosses, many of whom are heirs of founding families, to fancy themselves benevolent, enlightened royalty. They have been at liberty to disregard, if not disdain their readers’ interests, and increase profits by outsourcing to wire services news content that for competitive reasons might have been better kept in-house and proprietary.

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That summation captures the essence of the situation.

• Journalists routinely engage in the fantasy of being part of a powerful branch of government. Check.

• Networks are in the entertainment business. Check.

• Newspaper owners mistakenly act as if they belong to a royal class. Check.

• They have outsourced news content that should have been seen as an in-house responsibility and utilized as proprietary. Check.

I find it extremely hard to argue with any of that but many in the journalism field certainly have done so and will certainly continue to do so. Great report from Steve Boriss who operates The Future of News. The Pajamas Media bio at the end of the piece indicates he is employed by Washington University in St. Louis, where he is Associate Director of the Center for the Application of Information Technology (CAIT) and teaches a class titled the same as his blog, “The Future of News.”

The Incomparable Zora Neale Hurston: 1939 Letter Suggesting Study of "The Floridas"

As a native Floridian, certain curiosities about my state grab my interest for varied reasons. The recent college football rise of the USF Bulls reminded me (and many others, I'm sure) of the absurdity of a school named "South Florida" that isn't in South Florida. There was a great explanation for this curiosity in the Tampa Tribune last week. The culprit? The Tampa Tribune itself! If you read their story, you should clearly see the politics of the situation -- big newspaper and local legislator get in bed together to push a certain agenda. At that time in state history (1957), most Floridians broadly thought in terms of a regional duality -- North Florida and South Florida.

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'South Florida belonged to everybody south of Gainesville,' Gibbons said.

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Actually, the best stretch that could possibly be made at that time, and even that was one hell of a stretch, is that South Florida belonged to everyone south of Orlando (historically, this was a time when the "Pork Choppers" ran the legislature and these were mostly rural legislators from around Lake Okeechobee and South Central Florida northward, and none of them thought of themselves as representing South Florida -- but that's beside the point). Gibbons was purposely overreaching, probably because he wanted to blunt the rise of Miami -- which is probably where that public school should have gone -- and needed Tampa to be more centrally located in a broad geographic region. Thus, the outrageous Gainesville to Miami example used to justify the name "University of South Florida." Another newspaper from the area called them out on it, of course:

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Others found the name confusing. The Ledger in Lakeland wrote, 'The University of South Florida would be just dandy - if Tampa was in south Florida instead of Central Florida.'

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So, what the hell is my point you may be asking? Here it is: Florida has always been in a constant state of flux because there are so many miles of subtropical terrain between Pensacola and the Keys (anywhere from 800-900 miles by road), which has resulted in our geographic regions (and our understanding or acceptance of them) being constantly modified. Meaning, there is no one Florida -- there are Floridas, and there always has been.

Enter Zora Neale Hurston and her 1939 letter to the WPA that was subsequently sponsored forward by the local WPA in Florida to the Federal Writers Project in D.C.

It's long, true, but very interesting to me. Check it out:

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Accession no.,W 3555; Date received, 10/10/40

Consignment no. 1; Shipped from Wash Off.

WPA L. C. PROJECT Writers' UNIT

Title: Proposed recording expedition into the Floridas

Place of origin: Jacksonville, Fla

Date: 1939

Project editor: Zora Neale Kurson [note the attention to detail here]

Remarks: Letter attached

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WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION
49 West Duval Street
Jacksonville

Roy Schroder
State Administrator

May 23, 1939

Mr. Henry G. Alsberg
Director
Federal Writers' Project
1734 New York Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D. C.

Attention: Dr. B. A. Botkin

Dear Mr. Alsberg:

The enclosed "Proposed Recording Expedition Into the Floridas" was written by Zora Neale Hurston, Negro editor of the Florida Project.

I believe that Zora can assist the expedition in getting excellent and original recordings in the State. If possible, she should accompany the expedition on its trip through Florida, as she has an intimate knowledge of folk song and folklore sources in the State.

Sincerely,
Carita Doggett Corse
State Director
Federal Writers' Project

CDC:dw
Encl. 1

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PROPOSED RECORDING EXPEDITION INTO THE FLORIDAS

So far as material worthy of preservation by recordings, Florida stands out from the other forty-eight states culturally as it does geographically.

Area I. [Zora thought of this as West Florida]

Got my knap-sack on my back
My rifle on my shoulder
Kill me a nigger 'fore Saturday Night
If I have to hunt Flordy over.

(Sung by Waldo Wishart, Ocala, Florida)

West Florida extends from the Perdido River on the west to Lake City on the east, from the Alabama-Georgia State lines on the north to as far south as Gilchrist County on the south. This is the Florida so well known to Spanish-French-English-Indian fighting tradition. The material is plentiful. There are men and women still alive who know and can tell of the struggles of four different groups of people to control this area. There are the Creole songs and customs of Pensacola and surrounding area. There are the African-American Negro folk tales in abundance and the religious and secular songs in plenty. This is a sort of culture pocket that is not being drained off so rapidly as other sections of the State.

The reason for this is that this section of Florida is the cotton-corn-tobacco region. Here people live under the patriarchal agrarian system. The old rules of life hold here. Down on the Gulf Coast of this section are large fishing and oyster settlements with their songs and traditions. West Florida is a very rich and little touched area. It is worth an expedition in itself. In addition to the purely cultural material to be found it is possible to make recordings that bear on the economic and sociological set-up of the area. The new is hurling itself, not so effectually, against the old and the feudal life. The interviews should be particularly interesting. The shipyards and the like are the culture beds of other maritime folk creations. A serious study of blank verse in the form of traditional sermons and prayers.

Area II. [Zora thought of this as Northeast Florida]

De Cap'n cant read, de Cap'n cant write
How does he know that the time is right?
I asked my Cap'n what de time of day
He got mad and throwed his watch away.

(Sung by Willie Joe Roberts, Jacksonville, Fla.)

From the St. Mary's River, which is the [Florida-Georgia] boundary line, to Gainesville on the south, and from Lake City to the Atlantic Ocean is Northeast Florida.

In this area we have a conglomerate of many cultures. There is the Georgia-Alabama "Cracker" with his farms and cows, his old-English traditions and ways. But here also are the descendants of the great old English, French and Spanish families and their monuments and culture [and] occupation[.] [T]he matrix of culture creation among peoples is in this area in a lavish way. In addition to the vast number of songs and the like handed down from England, there is a lavish of the stuff created by both black and white around their works. From Fernandina, Mayport and St. Augustine there is the lusty material of the sea folk, Jacksonville is a great port with its hustling, chanting stevedores and roustabouts. The Jacksonville-Callahan area is full of railroad songs, chants and stories.

Ah Mobile!
Hauh!
Ah in Alabama!
Hauh!
Ah Fort Myers!
Hauh!
Ah in Florida!
Hauh!
Ah lets shake it!
Hauh!
Ah lets break it!
Hauh!
Ah lets shake it!
Hauh!
Ah just a hair!
Hauh!

(Sung by Fred James Watson, 1225 W. Duval St.
(Jacksonville, Florida)

In this same area there are men like old "Pap" Drummond of Fernandina who tell tales of the Pirates who roamed the Spanish Main and tell of buried treasures. Pap Drummond lives in his shack on the outskirts of Fernandina with his "family" of rattlesnakes rustling now and then in their dugout near at hand, and draws a long bow on the lawless men of the skull and crossbones of yesteryear. He claims to have aided in the last recovery of pirate treasure.

Interviews with the Turpentine-Timber workers of this area would be extremely interesting. There has seeped in some impulse to change the old for the new and the comments of the laborers are very interesting from a sociological viewpoint.

There are rivermen in this area who have plied the St. John's River for more than one generation with their songs, stories and observations. Some have seen the last of the Indian fighters go. Look for the roots of traditional sermons and prayers.

Area III. [Zora thought of this as Peninsular Florida]

I got a woman, she shake like jelly all over
I got a woman she shake like jelly all over
Her hips so broad Lawd, Lawd her hips so broad.

(Sung by Richard Jenkins, Mulberry, Fla.)

And they found him, found him in between two mountains
And they found him, found him in between two mountains
With head hung down, Lawd, Lawd with head hung down.

(Sung by Richard Jenkins, Mulberry, Fla.)

From the Palatka -- Gainesville line south to Tarpon Springs on the West Coast and Fort Pierce on the East Coast is a section of Peninsular Florida devoted to citrus fruits, turpentine, lumber, phosphate, celery and tourists. This area includes the justly famous Polk County, so full of varied industries that it is full of song and story. The most robust and lusty songs of road and camp sprout in this area like corn in April. "Uncle Bud" Planchita" "Ella Wall" and other real characters poured into song and shaped into legend. It would be profitable in this region to make a series of recordings on John, Jack, Big John de Conqueror (that great hero of Negro folklore who is Brer Rabbit and Brer Rabbit is him).

Look for fine examples of those folk poems in blank verse known as sermons and prayers.

Area IV. [Zora thought of this as South Florida]

Evalina, Evalina you know the baby dont favor me, Eh,
Eh, you know the baby dont favor me.

(Sung by Lias Strawn, Miami, Fla. Drummed by "Stew Beef")

South Florida: This is the foriegn culture area of Florida. Thst is foriegn culture has not yet absorbed into the general pattern of the locality, or just beginning to make its influence felt in American culture. This foriegn area really should be designated as a collection of areas. The Sanctified Church is strong in this area with its rebirth of spiritual and anthem making.

A. Tarpon Springs -- A Greek sponge-fishing area with its Greek Orthodox ceremonies and other folk songs and customs.
B. Tampa -- With the largest Latin colony in the United States. Here the Cuban songs, dances and folk ways color the soil and flavor the air.
C. Miami -- A polyglot of Caribbean and South American cultures.

1. More than 30,000 Bahamans with their songs, dances and stories, and instrumentation.
2. Haitian songs, dances, instrumentation and celebrations.
3. American Negro songs, games and dances.
4. American white songs and stories.
5. African songs, dances and instrumentation. There is a pure African colony there.
D. Everglades -- Raw, teeming life of the frontiers and mining or construction camp type. A hot mixture of all the types of material of the area. Worth the whole trip alone. The life histories, Social, Ethnic studies would be rare and vital.
E. Key West to Palm Beach - Bahaman and Cuban elements in abundance. Also the conch settlement at Riviera. All new to study and worth a great deal of investigation.

SUMMARY: There is no State in the Union with as much to record in a musical, folk lore, Social-Ethnic way as Florida has. To be sure California has the Chinese, Japanese, Philipino population which Florida lacks, but these Asiatic cultures seem so far from our own that they do not enter the stream of American culture at all. No other State in the Union has had the history of races blended and contending. Nowhere else is there such a variety of materials. Florida is still a frontier with its varying elements still unassimilated. There is still an opportunity to observe the wombs of folk culture still heavy with life. Recordings in Florida will be like backtracking a large part of the United States, Europe and Africa for these elements have been attracted here and brought a gift to Florida culture each in its own way. The drums throb: Africa by way of Cuba; Africa by way of the British West Indies; Africa by way of Haiti and Martinique; Africa by way of Central and South America. Old Spain speaks through many interpreters. Old England speaks through black, white and intermediate lips. Florida, the inner melting pot of the great melting pot -- America.

(Sanctified Anthem)

O Lord, O Lord
Let the words of my mouth, O Lord
Let the words of my mouth, meditations of my heart
Be accepted in Thy sight, O Lord.

(Sung by Mrs. Orrie Jones, Palm Beach, Florida)

Respectfully submitted,

Zora Neale Hurston

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That is a beautiful look back into history that, I hope, helps to explain why it is simultaneously absurd and understandable that the University of South Florida is located in Central Florida. Zora specifically detailed regions she defined as West Florida, Northeast Florida, Peninsular Florida, and South Florida. No mention of Central Florida whatsoever and her boundaries where West Florida met Northeast Florida which met Peninsular Florida was inconsistent. But why be anal about this, right?

I think the letter also explains something (or, it should explain) to folks who may not quite understand this one simple fact: Texas has nothing on us. We have always been braggadocious as hell. It's a southern thing. We know that we're unique and we don't need anyone else to verify that.

Now more than ever, we are the bellwether state in the United States of America. Ya heard!?!

Finally, I love Zora and her Niggerati attitude. One day I'll hopefully write about how the left wing has conveniently buried the real Zora and how the left wing probably cast her out many years ago -- all for defining "blackness" for herself (in other words, genuinely), instead of defining it in a manner designed to advance their agenda.

Gators Up, Canes Idling, Noles Sinking

Years from now, last week may turn out to be the one week everyone will be able to turn to when discussing when it became evident that the Florida Gators were dominant, the Miami Hurricanes were bidding to stay in the discussion, and the boys from the Panhandle were firmly in the marginalized camp.

Reflecting on last week, I think there's bad news on the Tebow front -- reading between the lines. The good news, however, is that Tim Tebow is the number one ranked passer in college football more than halfway through the entire season!

That is incredible, man.

Sadly, he has an injury that is the kind of thing that may linger for a few weeks even though it doesn't cramp his throwing motion. We shall see. I hope the legion of Gator fans pooh-poohing his injury are right. Watching him sitting on the sideline and observing him wincing like he did -- I think those fans can keep right on wishing, but it isn't "just a bruise."

Unfortunately, Tim is like a super-talented basketball point guard who can do everything on the court and knows that the best option is when the ball is in his hands.

Tim needs to learn that less is more; trust the talent that you have around you. Urban needs to insist on it.

And yes, I am saying that Tim Tebow is a ball hog. He happens to be one of the best ball hogs I've ever seen on a football field but he's still a ball hog.

The Tebow-effect, however, has created this reality: Gator fans are extremely overconfident about the Florida-Georgia game. That, or they dismiss Matthew Stafford far too easily.

His stats against Vanderbilt, away from home, the same Vanderbilt that just shut down Steve's offense at Carolina: 16-31, 201 yards and one TD.

And, he led his team to a 45-17 beatdown of Ole Miss. Don't waste your time saying that was all about the running game, etc.

If our secondary -- a unit that benefited greatly from a few early, middle and late game missed passes by Woodson to receivers who were absolutely, positively wide open -- plays the same way against Stafford, guess what? It will all be about whether Stafford is on or not, accurate or not, and whether his receivers can catch the dadgum ball.

I have a very weird feeling about this game; I never expected to see Jackque Rickerson get toasted like that or Dicky Lyons (8 catches, 124 yards!?!) just have his way all game long. And some other guy had 8 for 128!

This may surprise some of you, but Dicky Lyons was averaging 5 catches, 55 yards per game! That other dude, Steve Johnson, was averaging 5 catches for 75 yards. Quit telling me how good that Kentucky offense was. Our secondary and our linebackers underperformed in pass coverage, plain and simple.

Which means Matthew Stafford may have a very good day against us. That is my focus, and why this game scares me. Winning 15 of 17 has naturally made us overconfident as hell. That was before Tebow. Things are just off the charts. For instance, look at this -- which is one Gator fan complimenting another this week in the aftermath of the Kentucky game:

Quote:

[Hey], gotta give you credit.  You were telling us back in July that Georgia would suck, and you were right.  (Of course, this is all relative.  They still might be good enough to beat [] Ohio State and Boston College.)

They suck, but they're in first place in the SEC East?

Georgia's offensive line is said to be terrible, but some folks still don't know how to give Stafford credit for overcoming that. That guy is not a bad QB and he might hit a hot streak against us. And we're talking about the secondary in this thread but it is really the linebacking group in pass coverage that has me concerned. I may be completely wrong on this but it seems as though they are getting eaten alive on some intermediate patterns.

Finally, this upcoming game is the definition of a rivalry game and this is their first shot at the Great Tebow while he is running the show. And believe you me, they sense "blood in the water" so to speak. They are going to come after Tim and will probably gladly accept a late hit penalty or two.

Be ready, it's coming. There might be a few fights this game. But, if the Gators win as I sure as heck hope they do, this has all the makings of a special season for the University of Florida. This is what I call an "all gravy" year. Following the national championship and with many senior and junior leaders graduating, it is obviously a transitional year. To be able to make it back to the conference championship game in the nations toughest conference would be an amazing accomplishment.

Since the Canes are (in my estimation) idling, I'll only say this. I think Miami has made a good bet with Randy Shannon. At worst, he turns out to be a Ron Zook who doesn't quite get over the hump but recruits great talent. At best, he's a native Floridian and (at present) the only black head coach among the major programs. That's quite a politically-correct coup for the Canes.

Given that he beat the Noles last week, I don't think he looks back. If he loses more unexpected games this year, next year becomes problematic but even then FSU is still in a much more dicey situation.

So, on to FSU.

The rise of USF, UCF, FAU and FIU is more of a problem for the one major program among the Big Three up here in the Panhandle. The Noles made a longterm bet by choosing the ACC over the SEC that went against their sports culture (football first). Now, if the Noles wind up being the second Florida school in an ACC that's seen as inferior (football-wise) to a Big East with USF as a lead dog -- that spells bigtime trouble for the Noles. I'm convinced that Jeff Bowden wanted to play Xavier Lee from the start but Bobby preferred Drew -- just as Bobby preferred Chris Rix. And of course, Bobby gets what Bobby wants, and somebody else takes the blame.

Has an elite Florida high school quarterback even been treated more shabbily by one of the Big Three programs as has Xavier Lee by FSU?

Drew Weatherford? Who thinks that football team believes in Drew Weatherford? I couldn't wait to hear Jeff Cameron's rant about this. I thought it would be a classic because he would not be able to defend Xavier (three straight passes into the dirt with no serious look downfield on the last drive of the game?), but he sure as hell wouldn't be satisfied with them giving the job back to Drew. And, as I expected, he was despondent over the prospect of Drew leading the team and thought if a change had to be made (and he thought it shouldn't be made), the clear option was to go with the younger quarterbacks. I'm not sure about that one. Drew isn't awful -- he's just average, and a slow quarterback in this situation leads to a slow death on the offensive side of the ball. But . . . he is a junior and might be a serviceable QB until graduation. I like him; he's clearly a stand-up guy and tough. He just doesn't bring the excitement or the threat that Xavier Lee brings when he steps on the field.

This FSU situation keeps hitting new lows. You think it can't get any worse, and then it does. The players may be close to a full revolt. I hate for it to end like this for Bobby but my goodness, this is pure mess. The weird thing (to me) is this: from the little bit I saw, FSU looked like the better team against Miami.

Why are they freaking when a QB with only 6 or 7 starts does what Xavier Lee did? It makes you think there is a problem with X's grades -- but that's all rumor and I certainly hope there's nothing to it.

A Lesson in Football Perseverance, Kentucky Style

I love to see an underdog achieve success and I love to see folks in the media have to do the backstroke. Earlier this week, Mark Story in the Lexington Herald-Leader stepped up and devoured his plate of crow. Well done, Mark. More interesting, though, was this excerpt in a column where the ultimate theme was a program persevering and making a series of supremely good decisions:

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After two years of UK offensive futility with Ron Hudson trying to install the Kansas State multiple attack on a Kentucky roster that didn't fit the scheme, it was Mitch Barnhart that got a big [decision] right.

Saving Brooks from one of his more admirable personal qualities -- extreme loyalty to the people who work for him -- the UK athletics director helped engineer the offensive coordinator's resignation.

That allowed Brooks to elevate Phillips. Joker has grown so in that role, he has become one of college football's brightest head-coaching prospects.

Phillip Fulmer and Bobby Bowden deserve some credit for Kentucky's rise. With Florida State's offense growing stale in 2004, the venerable Bowden allowed his longtime offensive line coach, Jimmy Heggins, to fall on his sword.

The next year, it was Tennessee's attack that had grown listless. It was Fulmer's offensive coordinator, Randy Sanders, who took the p.r. bullet for his boss.

Brooks lured both to Kentucky.

Now, people in Woodson's hometown of Radcliff will tell you that it is Sanders who is most responsible for the dramatic mid-career turnaround of the quarterback's fortunes.

It is Heggins -- while not exactly working with a roster stacked with five-star recruits -- who has built an offensive line that in 2007 has allowed Woodson to become a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate and Kentucky to move the ball on all comers (so far).

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Congratulations to the Kentucky Wildcats. A special congratulations to Jimmy Heggins, a refugee from the FSU Seminoles who probably (well -- maybe, maybe not) got the raw end of the stick here in Tallahassee. But, make no mistake about it, there should be a serious beatdown coming today against the Mighty Gators. At least there better be.

Oh, Those Civilized British!

I'm a firm believer (warning: prepare for my form of psychobabble) that examining the top sport of a particular nation tells you something essential about that nation and also provides you with certain unvarnished truths about that culture. With that in mind, check out this observation by Paul Mirengoff at PowerLine, regarding British soccer:

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One of the differences between American professional sports and English soccer is that, while American teams try never publicly to disrespect an opponent, English soccer managers and players have no qualms about providing "locker room fodder." In fact, in England it's customary to diss one's rivals, especially during the run-up to big matches. This difference may run contrary to certain national stereotypes, but there it is.

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There it is? I'll say! It helps to explain, even if just a bit, British hooliganism. You combine a game and sporting culture that is wedded to inexorably slow play and lack of action (a "nuanced" approach to sports, I presume) with incendiary smack talk. Great combo, don't you know?

But something tells me, by the way the topic was addressed, the good Deacon approves. Hmmmmmm -- committed Anglophile, no doubt. Something I'm very curious about, though, is whether the same thing (athletes openly dissing the opposition prior to the game) applies in Germany? Or in Scotland, even?