It’s always a challenge to move into a new neighborhood, even when you’re nomadic like I am. So before I jump into writing here at The Crystal Ball Run full-time, I figured I should introduce myself to all of you, readers.
I’ve been writing about college football on the web for about 8 years now, and started my own blog, Pigskin Punditry, in 2010. I am a graduate of the University of Missouri with a bachelor’s degree in communication.
I fell in love with college football the first time I went to a game in person during my freshman year at Mizzou. Given the state of the program at the time, it is a wonder that I was able to fall in love with the sport. Yet I was hooked.
I am currently based in Las Vegas, so I’m in the thick of Mountain West and Pac-12 country. I grew up in Big East country, and worked and attended school in Big
12 and Big Ten country. Now, with my alma mater transitioning to the SEC, I believe I have a good grasp on the national scene of college football.
I took much of the 2011 season off from writing due to some (still unresolved) personal reasons, but when I was approached by the editors here, I viewed it as
an opportunity that could not be passed up.
I do consider myself to be a bit different from a lot of other writers, though, at least as far as some of my views of the game go. I’ll try to encapsulate those things here, just so you have an understanding of where I come from in viewing the game. I am fervently against the Bowl Championship Series, although my rationale has evolved over time. I lean towards a small playoff, but I am actually more in favor of a different solution in general.
I am an offensive-minded football guy. I would rather watch the spectacle of a 66-63 game than a 9-6 game, but I also don’t think that the 66-63 game is great football or even good football.
There can be value in watching more than the traditional powers, and I try to watch (given team and television schedules and my own familial commitments) to watching at least part of one game for every team in the FBS. And for better or worse, the state of modern day college football can be summed up in the quote from Deep Throat in the movie All the President’s Men, “Follow the money.”
In addition to national coverage, I plan on writing about the Pac-12 and the non-automatic qualifying leagues—at least, as long as the term is relevant. We have a long way to go until the season starts, so let’s try and get through the offseason together.