Daily Dose of Delusion, Part III

#1
lawgator1

lawgator1

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#1
First, my apologies in advance that I won't be around for most of the day Thursday to participate in the follow-up to this post. Truth be told, that may be a good thing for all of us. So I'm posting this now in hopes that by the time I get back to it the site has crashed.

It occurred to me as I read all the threads and posts over the last few days that we all keep speaking in terms of who we want to win and why, or more often, who we think will win and why. What we have not discussed is who ought to win and why. And by that I mean who deserves to win, who is in the better moral position to benefit from, or claim moral entitlement to, the win?

There are many measures for such a question. We could seek out and compare the background hardships of the players, we could discuss the tragedies that have befallen the families of coaches and staffs over the years, and we could contrast the different missions of the programs at this point in time.

It seems to me that the only valid objective measue of who deserves to win must be based on the fact that this is a college athletic event. And therefore the proper measure of a moral claim to victory is who has the better school academically.

This is a very easy proposition because it just so turns out that the University of Florida is an absurdly better school than the University of Tennessee. Let's compare, shall we?

According to US NEWS & WORLD REPORT, UF ranks as the 47th best school in the U.S. UT ranks 88th, right behind the University of Tulsa. Seriously, the University of Tulsa.

Furthermore, as of 1999 (the last year for which I could find stats) the University of Florida ranked eighth among ALL universities in the number of National Merit scholars. And this made them third among public universities. UT was 76th, right behind -- dare I say it -- the University of Mississippi.

I will leave it to others to find their own numbers on this point. But I think the USN&WR ranking and the National Merit Scholars ranking are pretty much the sina qua non of ranking schools academically and are widely regarded as the two best measures available for this task.

And so, with only one daily dose of reality part to go until game day, I say simply this:

The University of Florida morally deserves to win on Saturday.
 
#2
#2
Yeah, but I am not rooting for Tennessee's quiz team.

This is football and I can't believe you would bring that up for this.

Lets go give Harvard the national championship now.
 
#3
#3
tvolsfan said:
Yeah, but I am not rooting for Tennessee's quiz team.

This is football and I can't believe you would bring that up for this.

Lets go give Harvard the national championship now.
Click to expand...

You fell for it hook, line, and sinker.
 
#4
#4
That, Mr. lgator, is the most absurd topic I have ever wasted 10 seconds reading (10 seconds I will never get back).
 
#8
#8
i agree with lgator....the best the gators get saturday nite is "moral" victory....we'll take the one in the "W" column!
 
#10
#10
And yet, no one so far argues with either the facts or the logic..... Interesting turn of events.... I am off!! See everyone tomorrow.
 
#12
#12
Gator, lets leave the "lay" students out of this acedemic comparison, since they will not be taking the field on Saturday, and just compare the student athletes on each team to decide who "deserves" the win. Which team has had more national merit winners on the team? What are the comparative graduation rates? Overall team GPA? etc..

I don't know how the comparison will come out and don't really care. I would hope both teams are working to improve in those areas. I just want to see a good hard played game come saturday evening. GO VOLS
 
#13
#13
lawgator1 said:
First, my apologies in advance that I won't be around for most of the day Thursday to participate in the follow-up to this post. Truth be told, that may be a good thing for all of us. So I'm posting this now in hopes that by the time I get back to it the site has crashed.

It occurred to me as I read all the threads and posts over the last few days that we all keep speaking in terms of who we want to win and why, or more often, who we think will win and why. What we have not discussed is who ought to win and why. And by that I mean who deserves to win, who is in the better moral position to benefit from, or claim moral entitlement to, the win?

There are many measures for such a question. We could seek out and compare the background hardships of the players, we could discuss the tragedies that have befallen the families of coaches and staffs over the years, and we could contrast the different missions of the programs at this point in time.

It seems to me that the only valid objective measue of who deserves to win must be based on the fact that this is a college athletic event. And therefore the proper measure of a moral claim to victory is who has the better school academically.

This is a very easy proposition because it just so turns out that the University of Florida is an absurdly better school than the University of Tennessee. Let's compare, shall we?

According to US NEWS & WORLD REPORT, UF ranks as the 47th best school in the U.S. UT ranks 88th, right behind the University of Tulsa. Seriously, the University of Tulsa.

Furthermore, as of 1999 (the last year for which I could find stats) the University of Florida ranked eighth among ALL universities in the number of National Merit scholars. And this made them third among public universities. UT was 76th, right behind -- dare I say it -- the University of Mississippi.

I will leave it to others to find their own numbers on this point. But I think the USN&WR ranking and the National Merit Scholars ranking are pretty much the sina qua non of ranking schools academically and are widely regarded as the two best measures available for this task.

And so, with only one daily dose of reality part to go until game day, I say simply this:

The University of Florida morally deserves to win on Saturday.
Click to expand...


Lawyers. :shakehead:
 
#14
#14
Oh no, Florida has been listed as a better school than the beloved University of Tennessee. My confidence in the Vols football team winning a game this week has just fell through the floor. Thanks, LG, thanks a lot.
 
#15
#15
lawgator1 said:
First, my apologies in advance that I won't be around for most of the day Thursday to participate in the follow-up to this post. Truth be told, that may be a good thing for all of us. So I'm posting this now in hopes that by the time I get back to it the site has crashed.

It occurred to me as I read all the threads and posts over the last few days that we all keep speaking in terms of who we want to win and why, or more often, who we think will win and why. What we have not discussed is who ought to win and why. And by that I mean who deserves to win, who is in the better moral position to benefit from, or claim moral entitlement to, the win?

There are many measures for such a question. We could seek out and compare the background hardships of the players, we could discuss the tragedies that have befallen the families of coaches and staffs over the years, and we could contrast the different missions of the programs at this point in time.

It seems to me that the only valid objective measue of who deserves to win must be based on the fact that this is a college athletic event. And therefore the proper measure of a moral claim to victory is who has the better school academically.

This is a very easy proposition because it just so turns out that the University of Florida is an absurdly better school than the University of Tennessee. Let's compare, shall we?

According to US NEWS & WORLD REPORT, UF ranks as the 47th best school in the U.S. UT ranks 88th, right behind the University of Tulsa. Seriously, the University of Tulsa.

Furthermore, as of 1999 (the last year for which I could find stats) the University of Florida ranked eighth among ALL universities in the number of National Merit scholars. And this made them third among public universities. UT was 76th, right behind -- dare I say it -- the University of Mississippi.

I will leave it to others to find their own numbers on this point. But I think the USN&WR ranking and the National Merit Scholars ranking are pretty much the sina qua non of ranking schools academically and are widely regarded as the two best measures available for this task.

And so, with only one daily dose of reality part to go until game day, I say simply this:

The University of Florida morally deserves to win on Saturday.
Click to expand...
LIO, am I not correct in saying that National Merit Scholars are determined by how they do on the SAT in high school? The award has nothing to do with the university they attend. Even smart kids make mistakes.

It would appear that the moral high ground is eroding at an alarming rate.
 
#16
#16
gator law pathetic...........i bet if you even told that to the gators they would disown you as a college FOOTBALL fan......were you watching bill nye while writing this, go watch the quiz bowl, team i believe someone else said it too but, but if teams "morally" deserved wins based on academics, then the ivy league is the new SEC......golly you dissappoint me as a FOOTBALL fan.
 
#18
#18
lawgator1 said:
And yet, no one so far argues with either the facts or the logic..... Interesting turn of events.... I am off!! See everyone tomorrow.
Click to expand...

That could be one of the dumbest posts I have ever seen. I am referencing your post that started this thread.

They have more merit scholars? They also have approximately 20,000 more students I would estimate. I would hope they have more than we would. Pull up some useful facts next time.
 
#20
#20
Using the words "University of Florida" and "morally" in the same sentence is just plain wrong. I don't care who you are.
 
#21
#21
VolsWinRLose said:
LIO, am I not correct in saying that National Merit Scholars are determined by how they do on the SAT in high school? The award has nothing to do with the university they attend. Even smart kids make mistakes.

It would appear that the moral high ground is eroding at an alarming rate.
Click to expand...

Nope... even worse. National Merit is decided by the PSAT. Usually taken as HS sophomores.
 
#22
#22
How do UF's graduate programs stack up against UT's? Personally, I think it is much smarter to save some money by going to a more affordable undergrad school and then spending the big bucks on a graduate degree. Thus, for me, graduate programs are a better measuring stick of a university's academics.
 
#23
#23
Oh lawgator... such the master baiter.

Very clever. You have discovered that UT is not UVA, or UNC, or Cal, or Michigan academically, but neither is Florida. Congratulations on the number of merit scholars. Congratulations also on the ever-expanding population of your state and its legion of misguided 18 year-olds seeking in-state tuition.

Tennessee's population is 5,900,000. Slightly more than one third that of Florida. Tennessee recruited 129 National Merit and Achievement Scholars, while Florida recruited 259; working out to a ratio of roughly 1:2. The enrollment of UT is roughly 27,000. The enrollment at UF is approximately 50,000. This also works out to a ratio of roughly 1:2. Not bad for a state one-third the size.

Florida is a good school operating on an economy of scale. Tennessee does probably about as well in proportion with the endowment, applicants, and faculty that it gets.

At Tennessee, a wise professor once introduced me to the concept of the "red herring". A "red herring" is a logical fallacy in which an irrelevant topic is presented in order to divert attention from the original issue. An academic post on a football message board seems to fit the definition well. One which attempts to peg one school as being morally deserving of winning a football game versus another due to an arbitrary academic rating fits the definition even better. The issue is this: THAT WE ARE MAKING LUGGAGE OUT OF YOUR A$$ES ON SATURDAY IN THE NAME OF INKY JOHNSON, AND THERE IS NOTHING URBAN MEYER, CHRIS LEAK, OR LEE CORSO CAN DO TO STOP IT. Well, maybe ol' Lee can, if he picks us to win.

Two things I know for sure: 1. that there is not a Volunteer on this board that would trade their UT diploma for one from UF; and 2. we are wiping the field with you guys on Saturday.

"Veritatem cogniscetis et veritas vos liberabit" - You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.
-motto of the University of Tennessee

PS- I'm a lawyer, so don't badmouth the profession, fellow Vols. It is only 80-90% of us which give the other 10-20% of us a bad name.

:hi:
 
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