South Carolina: Better

I was spending some time on the worst place on the internet the other day and saw something that caught my eye. 

It didn’t stick with me because I took personal offense to the overall shot at myself and other Aggies. Partly because I think it was pretty funny. Partly because he may have a point. And partly because when you’re 12 years old and a 45 year old Texas Tech fan calls you something obscene related to sheep and animal husbandry in the comments of an ESPN article, nothing really slows you down after that. The internet has always been kind of mean, and it’s easier to develop thicker skin than it is to try to fix it (or fix your fandom, for that matter).

No, it stuck with me because it talked about a phrase I absolutely loathe.

“(X Sport) is better when (Y Team) is good.”

It’s not true. It’s never been true. Baseball is not better when the Yankees are good. The NFL is not better when the Bears are good (Sorry, Madden). I don’t know why people insist on saying that about different teams in different sports, but I’ve never once heard it and said “You know what? You’re right.”

With zero data to back it up, I assume it goes back to when you were watching sports as a kid. Just when you were starting to wrap your head around the beauty and majesty of sports in general, before things like “salary caps”, “coaching searches”, and “abject disappointment” became merged with the games on tv. And so you associate that time in your life with certain players and teams, and you feel like if those teams can be as good as they were back then, you’ll have the same love for the game.

I can understand how being a kid and watching the Celtics and the Lakers battling out for titles every other year makes you think the NBA is better when both those teams are good (it’s not). Or how if you have good memories of staying up late and watching Vince Young defeat USC with your dad, you might think CFB is better when the Longhorns are good (it’s definitely not).

But here’s the dirty little secret: 

Sports are better when your team is good. Sports are even better when your team is good, and your rivals are bad… but it’s wrong to be greedy. And that’s it. That’s the only answer.

Don’t mistake me, you can have fun watching any sport when your team is bad, and that’s especially true of college football. Every season has some fun story attached to it, some scheme or player that falls into that “can’t miss” category. But if the Aggies go 0-12 and Miami goes undefeated, I sure as hell am not going to say “Well at least college football as a whole was good” simply because I enjoyed “30 for 30: The U”. 

And maybe you have only recently gotten into the sport, or don’t really have a team of your own to cheer for, so you feel the game needs “Blue Bloods” at their best in order for the sport to be watchable. To that I would say, fall in love with the game, not the brands. 

As far as enjoyment goes, sports are self-sustaining. We’ve got to stop tinkering with them or believing we have some inherent ability to make them better in some way. Safer? Sure. More fair? Okay. More accessible in some ways? Why not? But the only real joy comes in those rare moments, when the stars align, when destiny is on your side, when optimism comes easy.

That's when you feel like a kid again.

That's when it's better.

Song

I simultaneously felt that Tyler Childers’ 2025 Album “Snipe Hunter” was somewhat disappointing while also acknowledging that the 9th track “Poachers” is probably going to end up in my Top 3 Most Played Songs this year… assuming it can supplant the powerhouse combo that is Wheels on the Bus, Let it Go, and Centerfield by John Fogerty (a must listen on the way to my son’s baseball games I’m afraid). 

There’s just something very beautiful about the way he blends a semi-coherent story with this overall theme that “perception is reality”, people are going to talk, so be smart but also… be yourself. Which if you grew up in a small town, or your favorite football team is in the playoff hunt… you understand what he means.

“His Papaw'd be rollin', I don't know where he strayed

I know that you'd know him, he's the one on the rad'ya

He's the one with the vid'ya of the coal minin' gays”

Stats

As always, you can find Fun With Numbers at GBH.

But for now, let’s talk about how passing offense and passing defense is so much better for the Aggies this year. 

Where does the credit belong for this offensive improvement? The arrival of Craver and Concepcion on campus? That’s probably the biggest factor, but you can’t ignore the others. Like an offensive line that’s better in pass pro than last year, plus Reed having a whole other year of experience to find the guys, and move out of the pocket when that pass pro isn’t there. Either way, it’s been pretty awesome to see.

On defense, the due credit gets even murkier. Elko taking back over some defensive duties as well as turning the secondary over to Lyle Hemphill? Another year of experience for Dezz Ricks? The return of Tyreek Chappell? A pass rush that’s better than last year, giving teams less time to get throws downfield? It all works together I imagine, and it's better.

Sandwich

There are few things better than fresh-off the-smoker BBQ, I fully believe that. But as someone who frequently cooks more than could ever be needed for one meal, I’ve really found a lot of joy in finding things to do with the leftovers in the days that follow a Saturday spent with my Traeger. Pulled pork tacos, steak and eggs, and swamp fries are all great uses for the remainders, but a leftover BBQ sandwich? That’s kind of the grail for me, and this past week I made a new one that I felt was worth sharing.

I started with a pork belly that I cut in half. One of my wife’s favorite things is pork belly bites, so one half I cut up into cubes, seasoned heavily, smoked until tender, then glazed with a hot honey sauce. Never a bad use for pork belly in our opinion, but I feel like I hadn’t done anything new or different with it in a while, so I followed this Meat Church recipe and seasoned and smoked it like a very small brisket. The result was awesome: thin, juicy bacon-like slices with a brisket-type bark, but I only ate a few bites as I had cooked way too much other stuff that day (I’m telling you, it’s a very real problem) and truth be told, I was already thinking about the sandwich I was going to make with this stuff. 

The beauty in a leftover sandwich is the simplicity of it. Two slices of sourdough bread, a little cheddar and a little Colby Jack cheese, a few slices of pork belly, and a little Kinder’s Hot Honey BBQ sauce. I made it two more times that week because of how good it was. Was it better than a fresh slice off the cutting board? I don’t know, and my wife would say it’s not better than my pork belly bites… but it’s good to be versatile and adaptable. When KC Concepcion is covered, you gotta be able to get the ball to Mario Craver.

BTHO South Carolina