Last year, during football season, I tried to explain the LSU/Alabama drama, via a post entitled The Jilted Lover. Imagine my surprise this past week when I opened up the USA Today after a grueling day on the road to find Glenn Guilbeau’s piece entitled, Saban’s Homecoming Inspires Emotion from LSU Faithful. Here’s the opening paragragh:
Like jilted lovers, LSU fans will be waiting Saturday night at Tiger Stadium for former coach Nick Saban’s arrival. He will have a new love in his arm wearing vivid red and adorned with the No. 1 ranking LSU had in January.
Coincidink? I doubt it. I still get a fair number of hits daily on this post and Mr. Guilbeau has evidently been to Music Maven before. I have to admit, it is a good analogy. So, I want to roll just a little bit further with it.
So yesterday, the ex-girlfriend (Saban) came back to the hometown with slick, Big Al on her arm. I have to admit that I still can’t stand either of them, but I’m pretty content with my own big wedding last year (National Championship) and my own new beau (Les Miles). While I’d still like to be Belle of the Ball and in the spotlight right now, I know that my new marriage is just going through the growing pains of starting out a life together (and an inexperienced Redshirt Freshman QB).
Does it hurt to see them together? Yes. Do I wish that both would fall flat on their faces? Yes. But all I can control is my situation and I have to admit, it’s a pretty good one. As we came face to face on Saturday, I felt mocked and put down. I felt the anger rise and I wanted nothing more than to see them both humiliated and knocked off their perch. And then, after a while it began not to matter. I felt very disconnected from this person who I was once at one with. This Ex was but a stranger to me now and my affection for my new love deepened. Through good times and tough times, she’s been loyal, loving and committed to our relationship, constantly trying to please me. We are now, truly, like peas and carrots.
So, Big Al and the Ex may be on to their own “big dance” and I wish them well. Our meeting proved that I’m not the pushover they thought I was. Even though I didn’t win the fight, I gave them a run for their money, showing that I’ve still got what it takes.
Up until last Friday, I somewhat chose my words carefully on this blog as to never have my opinions or thoughts adversely affect my employer if some internet nut ever connected the dots between me and my job and decided on some inane act of revenge. (Don’t laugh….I’ve seen it happen to a good friend.) While I’m not in the CIA or anything like that, I take my responsibilities to the folks who pay me very seriously and would never want to jeopardize their business or reputation by someone hiding behind a keyboard in dark room somewhere looking to settle a score for something I said on this blog.
However….last Friday was my last day of employment with my employer. I still love them all dearly but it was just time for a change. I’ll eventually be working in an independent roll for another company, but for the next few weeks I am unemployed. Unemployment provides me with the opportunity to say a few things that I have been biting my tongue about. So, allow me this rant. Just for today. And, maybe tomorrow.
Today’s rant is about delusional people.
I am so sick of reading and hearing the opines of delusional people. While some are harmless, like Alabama’s fans thinking that Nick Saban is the re-incarnation of The Bear; other “theories” can and do cause irreparable damage to people’s reputations, careers and lives. Take the Les Miles to Michigan situation. On the morning of the SEC Championship, before the game, Kirk Herbstreit of ESPN quotes a “reputable source” and says that it’s a done deal. Les Miles is leaving LSU for Michigan and the announcement would be made before Monday.
Now…I have to question…why? Why make that announcement before the guy is going out to coach a bunch of young men who don’t need to be hearing that their coach is leaving? And, as it turns out….it WASN’T TRUE. However, Herbstreit’s bogus announcement caused Miles to have to distract himself from his pre-game preparation, call an impromptu press conference and effectively take himself out of the running for the Michigan coaching job (his alma mater and dream job), even before getting to discuss an offer with the Michigan administration. Of course, there has been no apology from ESPN or Herbstreit for breaking a FALSE story and potentially jeopardizing a team’s shot a National Championship. I can promise you this….if LSU had lost to Tennessee, there would have been hell to pay at ESPN for that move.
As if that wasn’t enough, even after Les Miles signs his contract extension with LSU, the ESPN minions continued to call him a liar and lump him in with all of the scruple-less coaches who have lied about staying when they were actually going. **cough**Nick Saban**cough**. Matter of fact, right up until the Michigan announcement that integrity deficient Rich Rodriguez of West Virginia would be stalking the sidelines in Maize and Blue next year, ESPN was still berating Les Miles and saying, point blank, that Les Miles was going to be coaching at Michigan next year. Are they trying to affect LSU’s preparation to play Herbstreit’s alma mater, Ohio St.? One has to wonder. Maybe there’s no “motive”, just stupidity or a wanting for there to be a story so bad that you’ll make one up just to have it.
With the proliferation of the internet, in particular, people just say what they want even though there is no basis of truth to their assertions. One such preposterous claim is that these are not the same woman:
You tell me….
For those of you who are not enlightened, this is Caroline Lyders — the girlfriend of Taylor Hicks. However, there’s a faction of fandom that is proclaiming that the woman on the left — who happened to accompany Mr. Hicks to Hawaii in May and is currently in Asia with him — is an impostor. As the theory goes, Ms. Lyders was “hired” by Taylor Hicks to pose as his girlfriend to hide the identity of the chick on the beach. Why? Dunno. Makes no sense to me, but there are folks out there hell-bent on “exposing the sham”. They are determined that these two are not the same person. I’m like WTF? Unless that’s her identical twin, it’s her. But nooooooo, they say (among other very nasty things about this girl).
I’m a black & white kinda girl. Logical to a fault. That “conspiracy” defies logic. But, these folks go right along printing fairy tales and trying to get legs underneath the “story”. Despite the rationalization of “part of the sham” each time Taylor is seen with Ms. Lyders, will it ever be true that this lady is, in fact, involved with Taylor Hicks for these folks?
Maybe, like Les Miles, when something happens that is irrefutable proof that what they are doing is really what they are doing, people will just “Let it Be”, no? Sorry, I just had to work The Beatles in — this is a music blog, after all.
As for me, I hope that I can get as much satisfaction in Taylor and Caroline’s happily ever after as I’ve received from Rich Rodriguez’s move to Michigan. Taylor’s looking pretty happy to me…..
Music Maven 