I Would Like to Over-Analyze a Possibly Innocuous Statement

 Is Nick there? Giggle, giggle, giggle.... During yesterday's game in Tuscaloosa, CBS color man Gary Danielson said something that pissed me off. Well, he said lots of things that pissed me off (I mean, is he John Parker Wilson's dad?), but one stood out in particular. Late in the game, Verne Lundquist asked what the score of the game told us about Alabama. Danielson, who couldn't stop talking about how he had played in the NFL, said something along the lines of, "anybody can play with anybody on any given day." Fine. A hackneyed expression, but fine. However, he continued: "It shows that there isn't much difference between the 2nd best team in the country and the 50th or 60th ranked team (I'm paraphrasing, but the numbers are correct)." Hold the phone, because I'm about to irrationally overreact. Danielson is intimating that UK is merely the 50th or 60th best team in the country. That's lunacy, folks. Now, I understand it could have been a slip of the tongue, and if asked point blank, he'd probably rank the Cats in the top 30. And in Danielson's defense, it appeared Lundquist may have been engaging in some "gotcha" journalism. Regardless, the perception that UK is the perpetual "crappy SEC team" is getting old and tired. I find this especially troubling coming from Danielson, who called both the Florida and LSU games last season. Yes, we lost to a clearly superior team. However, a weaker team (hell, us two years ago) loses that game by 35 points. A quick burst TD and a gift-wrapped seven points in the first quarter, coupled with a stagnate and confidence-less offense would doom any "50th or 60th ranked team." Instead, we fought back, didn't let them walk on us (lookin' your way, UGA), and made the game tense for the Bammers until Lones skull-ed his three-iron into the bench. To Danielson's credit, he mentioned the Cats' resolve numerous times in the broadcast. And this isn't an attack on Gary Danielson, who I think is one of the best in the business (save his apparent man-love for Nick Saban and JPW alike). Still, it's the perception that bothers me. I'm not sure what else this program can do to prove that they can play with the bign's. OK, the end. Thanks for the indulgence.