Collegiate Sports
That was the buzzword this weekend, “realignment.” As a Baylor grad, it was exciting to see the *New Big 12* become the *Big 16*. It was also tragic to see how fast the cards fell in the Pac 12. Until I started reading some of the ESPN coverage about it, I did not realize just how old the Pac 12 was. Yes, the conference was not the same throughout its history, but still…that’s crazy it’s lasted so long. As someone that remembers the Southwest Conference, I can sympathize with Pac 12 fans. Personally…I think the Pac 12 has been pretty weak across the board for the past while, but that’s not the point.
Waking up on Saturday and seeing that a Power 5 conference had almost ceased to exist was kind of shocking. Realignment is seldom a gentle process though. It usually occurs after reaching some kind of tipping point. There may have been tens, hundreds, thousands of small events or actions that built up to that tipping point, but once it was reached…change was going to happen. Realignment is a way of trying to restore balance to a system that has been imbalanced by that tipping point. We’re talking about sports at the moment, but I could just as easily be talking about my life or career.
Personal Realignment
Going through some intense personal difficulties over the past year caused a realignment in my life. It was not a fun experience, but ultimately I am going to be better as a result of going through it. While I was dealing with health issues, I didn’t even have the time to worry about professional problems. I was not able to work for months. That took a toll on my career. I have basically had to hit the reset button to get myself back to work again. Realignment wasn’t easy, but it gave me perspective. A greater focus on how I spend my time and money has forced me to be more efficient with both. Hopefully $200 oil doesn’t throw me back into the old habits, but we’ll see in a couple of months.
With greater perspective from realignment, I can look at situations from a more objective view. I can safely say that the Big 12 will be the best basketball conference ever. We’ll be a constant CFP participant for football. Nobody cares about baseball but we’ll do that too. All of the SEC maximalists can suck it, but especially Texas and Oklahoma. I’m just wondering how many weeks into each SEC season it’ll take for the “Texas is back baby!” talk to die down. Currently in the Big 12 it’s around 3-5 conference games. Think that number will be higher or lower in the SEC? We’ll see in another year…
