The Great Debate: The opinions that didn’t quite make it
I can’t believe it. The end of the semester is just a few weeks away, and with that, my first semester as the sports editor at the Daily Trojan. In just a blink of an eye, this semester has whizzed past me, and now I’m sitting here writing my final column of the semester. Crazy.
When brainstorming my topic for my column on a given week, I’d go through a boatload of possible topics. Throughout the semester, I had ideas that for whatever reason, just didn’t quite make the cut for the column at the time. So what better way to end The Great Debate for this semester than by going back and revisiting some of those ideas and breaking down my thoughts on these topics.
Aaron Rodgers isn’t the final piece for the Jets
As a recovering New York Jets fan, this topic was very near and dear to my heart. I have watched the team struggle and fail time after time over the many years I’ve followed it. I had a draft of this topic almost fully done before I scrapped the whole idea.
I realized I was being a little too cynical. My main basis for the argument was that there are so many other needs for the Jets besides quarterback. Yes, I understand that quarterback is the most important position on a football field. But when there are other glaring holes, such as offensive line, safety and overall injuries, I can’t convince myself this is a Super Bowl-caliber team.
That being said, the Jets are getting a four-time MVP winner and one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. Second-year wide receiver and reigning offensive rookie of the year Garrett Wilson will only get better along with the rest of their young core. But no matter how hard I try, I still can’t help but feel skeptical about them being able to go all the way.
The NCAA shouldn’t touch the March Madness format
When I first started thinking about what I wanted my column to look like this semester, this was one of my initial ideas of what I could write about. So why did this idea never make its own column? Mostly because I completely forgot about it.
But either way, there’s not a whole lot to say. Some college coaches have proposed expanding the field of 68 to a possible 128 teams. By all accounts, it doesn’t seem like this will likely happen.
But I do know money is what makes the world go ‘round. So I would not be surprised if the NCAA does expand the field in some way to try and get more money out of March Madness. This would be a huge mistake.
I think I speak for most college basketball fans when I say the tournament is, in a word: perfect. This past tournament showed this perfection first-hand with all the crazy upsets and unpredictability. Adding more teams would only dilute the playing field and allow teams like Southeastern Louisiana, who finished 18-14 in the Southland conference this year, into the tournament.
I don’t have much to the argument except for my love of the tournament. March Madness is one of those rare things where you won’t find people complaining about how it could be better. It is already so great.
Chelsea won’t finish inside the top 8
A little switch up on this one, giving my opinions on sports going on across the pond. I’d like to start by saying to my co-sports editor Jason Lopez Lopez and my good friend Vincent Cisneros that I apologize for what you have to watch every week.
As a Liverpool fan, I can’t be too harsh, considering their season isn’t going too much better. But every time I feel mad about the way Liverpool has been playing, I turn on a Chelsea F.C. game and instantly feel better about my fandom.
As things stand for Chelsea, they’re currently in 11th place sitting at 39 points. They’re only 8 points clear of the relegation zone and from eighth. They haven’t won since early March, and they have just two wins in their past 13 games. This team just has not been good.
They’re on their third manager this season, which epitomizes the lack of consistency the club has had all season. With so many other teams having resurgent seasons, I don’t see how they can pull back into proper form with only a few games left. But hey, at least they still have a chance in the second leg of their Champions League tie against Real Madrid.
While these ideas didn’t end up making it into their own columns, they are all things I stand by nonetheless. With the semester dwindling and production for the Daily Trojan almost wrapped up, this column will have to be put to rest for now. So until I sit down to write another edition, we’ll just have to see if my bold claims will stand the test of time.
Stefano Fendrich is a sophomore writing about his opinions on some of sport’s biggest debates in his column, “The Great Debate,” which runs every other Tuesday. He is also a sports editor at the Daily Trojan.