SEC Pre-Season All-Star Team: Huh?

A few days ago, the All-Southeastern Conference Coaches' Football Team for 2009 was announced. Each SEC head coach got to vote for which player they liked the most at each position. As expected, Florida quarterback Tim Tebow was the pick for the first team, but his selection wasn't unanimous: one of the twelve coaches selected another quarterback. Instead of feeling good about Tebow's honor, Florida diehards expressed outrage and wanted to know which coach voted against him. Coach after coach then came out stating that they voted for Tebow. Finally, it looked as if former Gator (and now South Carolina) coach Steve Spurrier was identified as "the one". Spurrier admitted to the foul deed and said that it was just a mistake and that Tebow was the best quarterback around. Spurrier then had his voted changed to make the selection unanimous.

I don't understand why it was so important for some to complain about Tim Tebow's less-than-unanimous selection. Especially when there is a much more overriding issue with this entire 2009 All-SEC Team process being done in July: nobody's played any games yet this season! How does anybody know who the best players are going to be? There are always surprises each year, with new stars coming onto the scene and old ones having disappointing seasons. Wouldn't it have made more sense until the Southeastern Conference schedule was finished in early December and then hold the vote? I suspect the reason for the July vote was to stir up fan interest in anticipation of the coming season. I find that rationale laughable, though. SEC football fans are already almost insane in their fanaticism for the sport.

This preseason voting for the best players is especially asinine when you consider the extremely transitory nature of college football "careers". Athletes usually see little or no action in their freshman seasons. The big stars usually begin to make their mark in their sophomore year, but some sophomores are still second-string to junior and senior players on their teams. And when players reach their junior years, who knows which ones will step out into greatness? Only by watching them perform through the season can anyone decide who the "all-stars" are.

Well, that's my regional big conference: the SEC. But as I have written earlier, I'm trying something different this year and will be focusing on the Pacific Ten Conference. Hopefully, I'll be able to catch some late-night games on TV (after getting off from work).