Jinx! Buy Me a Coke!

Secondly, I try to offer an argument whenever I take a position; that doesn’t necessarily make me right, and I always invite civil debate, but, at a minimum, I try to give you a reason so you’ll at least know where I’m coming from, irrespective of whether you agree, and the comments are here precisely because this is a dialogue, not a lecture, so I welcome freewheeling discussion on open questions such as these.

Mandel very well may be correct about the national perception, but I took issue with his column (and did so so strongly) for two reasons: (1) the perception is simply mistaken, as Georgia is a national power by any reasonable definition; and (2) Mandel based his assertion of that perception on nothing, explicitly relying upon his presumption of what fictitious Montanans might think, if they existed, which they don’t.

As Sunday Morning Quarterback recently noted, the difference between Stewart Mandel and me is access. Mandel doesn’t get to see any more games than I do, and, while many more readers visit Sports Illustrated’s website than Dawg Sports, our potential readership (namely, anyone with internet access) is the same. All he has on me is the ability to chat up Knowshon Moreno in the locker room after the game or to pick up a phone and schedule an interview with Mark Richt. His position enables him to do that; mine does not.

What, then, does Mandel do with that precious access? Absolutely nothing. He’s just spouting off his opinions, no different from any random guy in a sports bar on a Tuesday night. He doesn’t have special insights gleaned from his position and the access that position provides; he’s just making crap up . . . literally. He didn’t even get Sports Illustrated to pay to fly him to Montana to interview the first 100 people he saw in Missoula; he just imagined what 100 Montanans might think and put that down on paper.

Mandel may have a point; real people actually may think what he supposes they might, but how are we to know that until and unless he goes out and talks to some of them? If that is the perception, wouldn’t Mandel’s readership be better served by his analyzing why the clearly erroneous perception that Penn State is more of a national power than Georgia exists?

That’s how Peter Bean would approach the question. That’s how Brian Cook would approach the question. That’s how Spencer Hall does, and Matt Hinton soon will, approach such questions. However, Stewart Mandel, with greater access and more tools at his disposal, consistently whiffs at pitches any of three dozen bloggers would put in the cheap seats, if only given the opportunity to take a single major-league at-bat.

I have tremendous respect for actual beat reporters, who are gathering information the rest of us cannot where the rubber meets the road. We are dependent upon their access, their skills, and their professionalism. The punditocracy of talking heads and insipid columns, however, has failed us, which is why guys like Stewart Mandel drive me absolutely batty. His column is just a waste of space, period.

Anyway, sorry about the rant. I’m glad you’re here, and I appreciate your taking the time to comment. As for the rest of it, have no fear; I am 100 per cent on board for the idea that Georgia is No. 1!