There are times in a man’s life where he hits low points. With every moment of genius comes an equal and adjacent moment of failure. For Tom Cruise it was being a scientologist and divorcing Katie Holmes (who is an angel). For Adam Sandler it’s everything after The Waterboy in 1998. Today, I admit myself into this category of great men that have had epic failures. Today, I apologize for my flop that was last week’s El Pollo column.
So this is to you, dear reader. Whether there are one of you or 20,000 of you (the latter one I know is not true, the first one probably is), last week is not who I am. I owe you better. If you have read this one time and thought, “Wow this is fucking stupid,” I still owe you better. Still, I was only six points away from being 2-1, but the content wasn’t there. Following seven weeks of Pulitzer-worthy content, I guess I was due.
Please note: UAB lost a heartbreaker in overtime last week. This week, they are back to where they want to be: underdogs.
Massachusetts is a home to me
In this moment, PJ is talking, not El Pollo. This is probably the most sincere I will ever be in this column. Massachusetts is a beautiful state in the middle of the beautiful New England region. I have had the pleasure of growing up about half the time in Eastern Massachusetts. I could not be happier or more grateful for that. Some of my best memories were made on Christmas Eve in Chelmsford, Mass. This week, UMass falls under El Pollo’s selection standards, so I decided I would show some love. Go Minutemen.
ULM is a powerhouse (in a video game)
For fans of college football and video games, I’m sure the NCAA Football games were important to your life. No matter how much it is for you, I’m pretty sure that game is the reason my buddy has made it through college. In the midst of his horrendous science-major curriculum, he has made many teams and used all of my buddies at home as players. This is not only awesome because we are elite athletes, but it keeps his sanity because we are spread out throughout the East Coast.
In his seasons of playing with the Warhawks, he has made the program far more than relevant. I will not use this time to condemn him for making me the kicker (even though he made my other friends all skill positions). Instead, I will reward him for his amazing work as an Athletic Director/coach/starting quarterback. If ULM can make a national championship in a video game, they can win one game in real life. Go Hawks.
NC State doesn’t care about the #haters or the #losers
I have been very clear that I love resilience. It first came about when Louisiana Tech had an embarrassing loss and an embarrassing fumble. Regardless of the fact they lost 93 yards, they did not lose the football. That is what I value on the football field. The opposite would be the Falcons having a chance for redemption Sunday night and looking like they wanted to be watching from their couches.
This week, I am giving a resilience pick to NC State. Before the season, they were getting whispers of playoff contenders. On the Campus Cover, Cody and I made fun of this concept at length. Many other people also laughed at this idea because after all, they are fucking NC State. They are more of a poster child of mediocrity than me or Jeff Fisher. But, after a week one loss, they have been rolling harder than a jackrabbit on molly. Go Pack.