GMTS Newsletter: QB + Miss Alabama? Not news

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Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013

There is a quote I've been thinking a lot about lately.

"In the East, college football is a cultural exercise. On the West Coast, it is a tourist attraction. In the Midwest, it is cannibalism. But in the South, college football is a religion, and every Saturday is a holy day." -Marino Casem, Alcorn State University

And that is no more apparent than in the great state of Alabama.

I spent my fair share of time in the Heart of Dixie growing up. My mom was born and raised there, and my grandparents lived there.

And here are some nuggets of information that I gleaned:

-The Iron Bowl is more important than the Super Bowl.

-Saying "I played for Alabama/Auburn" instantly puts you two rungs ahead of any other candidate in a job interview.

-Fall weekends can be summed up in two words: football and church. And sometimes, as that quote attests, the line is blurred between the two.

-Black Friday isn't a thing. Iron Bowl Friday is. I remember back when the annual game between Alabama and Auburn was played on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Stores were NOT open. Forget shopping. Everyone in the state was watching football.

Football takes on a different importance in Alabama. There aren't any professional teams to follow, because there don't need to be. Alabama and Auburn are all an Alabamian needs.

Growing up an Auburn fan, I fully admit it's the underdog, the same way Memphis, Cincinnati and Louisville are perceived as second class citizens to Tennessee, Ohio State and Kentucky (in some people’s minds).

But even that second-tier team garners enough support to have an RV lot full of fans tailgating outside their Winnebagos three days before game day.

There is nothing a 20-something can do in the state of Alabama that will make him more famous, more revered, or more wanted, than to be the star of one of these fair teams.

So, sorry America - Alabama's starting quarterback dating Miss Alabama? That’s not news.

Brent Musburger, roll up your wagging tongue and let those cartoony bug eyes revert back to their original form.

It would be news if he WEREN'T dating Miss Alabama.

It's the oldest cliche in the playbook: the quarterback dating the beauty queen. There's a reason it's a cliche. It's true.

And somehow, maybe because of a combination of an older man verbally ogling her on a national stage, and poor Kirk Herbstreit's awkward and complicit giggle, all of us know the name Katherine Webb.

Don't act like you haven't googled her. Like you haven't seen her Miss Alabama swimsuit photo. Like she wasn’t on every national morning show today.

Right now, she's more famous than her famous boyfriend, AJ McCarron, which is the reason she's famous in the first place. Yeah, try to follow that vicious circle. That’s life in the Twitterverse.

And it's all because a pre-planned cutaway of Katherine cheering her boyfriend on in the stands went viral. Oddly, they’ve only been dating three weeks. I have paper cuts older than that relationship.

But somehow, ESPN producers thought this burgeoning love affair was important enough that it be shared with millions. That, or some male producers thought she was really hot. You make the call.

So let this be the last we speak of Katherine Webb. She seems like perfectly nice girl (an Auburn grad, no less). Until she does something newsworthy.

From Today’s Show:

-HoF Votes Today: Baseball’s Hall of Fame reveals its class of 2013 (or lack thereof) today. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are in the mix, each with the spectre of performance-enhancing drugs hanging over their heads. There’s a chance no one could make the cut. We’ll find out this afternoon at 2. But in the meantime, check out John Popovich’s take . He says it better than I ever could.

-Tobacco-Free: Yes, it’ll strike some as odd in a state known for tobacco, but it could happen. NKU could go tobacco-free . The best part is when I clicked on this story to share it with you guys, the headline ad was about quitting smoking. That’s fantastically random.

Today’s Distracting Link:

Wednesdays can be rough. Check out this site, where you can choose from a whole bunch of relaxing stuff.

http://moodturn.com/