Play with the Cards that are Dealt

I’m conflicted on that subject. Stanziball will probably keep us from having to worry about sharing anything — after that last game I’m convinced there’s mysterious forces at work aiding Iowa’s team. Call it voodoo, divine intervention, or whatever; I can’t remember the last time a team got that many miracle plays in their favor. Most teams get one, maybe two a year. Iowa gets that many every single game.

I don’t care which side of the debate you are on, as long as you are consistently on that side of the debate. If you accept a title should one occur this year between us and Iowa, you can never say anything to any OSU fans about 2005 and 2008. If you’re like me, and you choose not to acknowledge that we are in any way champions, having lost to the co-champ (if that’s how it shakes out), you can carp on the OSU people, you just can’t count 2009 as a championship. Make a decision, but stick by your decision and don’t be a hypocrite.

Before engaging, assumptions must be noted. First, the Moo Point Mantra (PSU Must. Win. Out.) Second, that Iowa drops one and only one game, resulting in PSU & Iowa having identical 7-1 conference records (and 11-1 overall records) which the Big Ten Conference recognizes individually as Co-Champions.

Now, given that HYPOTHETICAL situation, and noting we are writing only of the Big Ten Conference and not of the BCS and its Rose Bowl tiebreakers, we can begin. The Big Ten Conference will recognize / declare / confer / anoint, whatever action verb you choose, this Co-Championship to each team and this is not debatable. It will be done and will be final and they will take whatever actions are associated with that anointment, which should be spelled out here by somebody who’s more in the know than me. For it will help us with the next part of discussion: how to deal with that declaration.

UncleNit says he will ‘happily accept it’. That’s the choice of one Fan, one of many stakeholder groups with choices for dealing with this declaration. The others are The Players, The Coaches and The University. The Fans probably have the most flexibility, then the Players and Coaches and then the University. Things each stakeholder can do:

The Fans: We can ‘accept’ it and that can take different forms. I’d be proud of the team of course, but I’m with Junny and won’t go the OSU route and do that to Iowa. So you won’t hear me claiming back to back Big Tens (verbally or in writing) and I won’t rock any tee shirts or gear with that kind of language on it. And generally, I’d just verbally asterisk it anytime it comes up. Wherever it might get posted here, I’d asteriskically comment upon it, and I’d offer gradulations to Iowa over at BHGP.

The Players & Coaches: they’re a little more stuck, but mostly have the same options. Every time they’re asked about it, they can be gracious and use acceptance and pride language and then they also have a choice of additionally including the verbal qualifyer that Iowa beat them and gradulations to them on a great season. I mean, it can be done, without being a total douchea.

The University is more tightly bound. They’d look like total doucheas for doing anything other than ‘accepting’, both from the conference itself and totally from the MSM, which would have a meaty little mouse to pounce upon. The on-stadium written recognition is probably tightly bound to this, but I’m open for more kennoledgable folks to enlighten me as to the options there.