times are changing

I was a little sad when I read this story today. After SEC and MLB baseball (of course!) I have a huge passion for SEC football. I grew up in this small college town only 8 blocks from Ben Hill Griffin -- so close you could hear the crowd roar through an open window and watch tailGators enjoy the pre- and post-game festivities on the street outside. I learned all about football in high school when my father and I would go to as many home games as we could -- back when the Gators were still just trying to win an SEC Championship. When they were on the road, we would watch them on TV. This gradually led to me watching more and more football until I reached the point where I watch almost every SEC game on any given Saturday (about 3 games a week, give or take.)

The noon game was almost always reserved for the Jefferson Pilot Game of the Week. Everything about the JP broadcast (which was bought out by Lincoln Financial and then apparently Raycom) was second or third rate. The announcers mispronounced names, the camera crew had trouble following the ball on the field, and they never, ever had timely updates on other SEC games (you'd have to switch to ESPN for those.) You made fun of them, but eventually the telecast grew on you. It was regional sportscasting in an age of big media. Some might call it quaint.

All that will be over come the 2009 football season. The SEC signed a contract with ESPN to pick up any games not chosen by CBS. Up-to-the-minute stats will replace Excel-style graphics, a crisp HD picture will most likely stand in for grainy '80s-highlights-quality footage. It will be different. A cookie-cutter version of a beloved southern pastime. I will make it a point to watch as many JP telecasts as possible this season and enjoy the last bit of regional flair in SEC sports. I will be sorry to see them go.