http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2015/1/5/...rd-posters

Quote:1. The Theorist

This person sees the stories about UAB and the Big 12 looking for members as a bat signal of sorts.

This person sees one article mentioning Memphis is talking with someone so he stays up for hours, looking at diagrams and spreadsheets and plots the entire shift of movements. He's theorizing and makes no bones about it, but he sounds so convincing it provokes others into responding.

The Theorist likes the attention so he won't stop. Three of the top five threads on your message board are started by him, one about Boise State, one about Jim Delaney and the other about Conference USA. All have difference scenarios which have Georgia State or UTSA going to a three different leagues.

This person doesn't actually know anything on the inside. All he knows is what's out in the public and uses that information for his dream scenario. And if news ever happens, he's the first to think what's next.

As long as there is an off-season, The Theorist will dominate discussion. They are relatively quiet during the season because they might not actually care about the team they professes to support. It's debatable whether he can name ten players on the team. Once realignment talks happens anywhere on any corner of the internet, The Theorist shows up with his brand new East Coast Conference.

2. The Guy With Sources Who Are All Wrong

This guy knows his stuff, until he doesn't know his stuff. He's got sources, who are well connected to the inner-working of the NCAA. This source might as well be working at NCAA HQ for all the juice they provide. In all likelihood, he's taking "probables" from difference websites and turning them into "certainties".

This guy has Georgia Tech going to the Big Ten, Florida State and Clemson a lock for the Big 12, the end of the ACC and the start of the four power conferences who are all at 16 teams apiece. Pencil it in, put some money down. It. Is. Happening. The Theorist goes nuts with the info Source Guy is providing and chaos breaks loose.

A few days later, the sources got a new story. It's being delayed because Baylor or Duke is threatening to sue everyone. Everyone is lawyering up. After a couple more weeks, this guy disappears altogether. His name becomes dirt and becomes fodder for message-board inside jokes.

Then, a few months later, he's back and stronger than ever. He's got some new sources and we repeat the cycle all over again.

3. The Doomsday Scenariost

While everyone is talking about what this means for their team, there's one guy, likely who has been going to games for approximately four-hundred years, who hates all this change.

If it were up to him, the Southwest Conference would reform, the Big 8 would get back together and the Big East wouldn't be a football conference.

This guy has had it up to here with all this greedy conference moving. These young whipper-snappers in their nice suits and using that fancy lingo are destroying the very spirit of college sports.

He will argue anyone and might challenge someone to a fight in the real world. Most everyone laughs at him from behind their monitors or phones because he doesn't quit. The same 4-5 points will be made over and over again until he has a believer or two.

Usually there's always a poster who finds out who this person really is and actually meets the man and finds his sociable, humble and nothing like what everyone thinks about him, unless the message board subjects are brought up. At that point, he turns into crazy old man who yells his points and talks about those dang kids and their hip and hop music.

4. The Cryptic Commentor

This is the guy that is usually right, but you only realize it after the fact. He doesn't start threads or discussions, but jumps in and offers an anecdote, usually in the form of a riddle. Something like "I got a feeling something will be announced next week *winky face*".

Only those who have been around take him seriously. The uninitiated will reply to him asking questions, but get stonewalled in return. The Cryptic Commentor doesn't reply to anyone and sometimes had a regular message board alias that he discusses other topics with.

When what he said happens actually happens, people will link back to his post and proclaim him Nostradamus. However the Cryptic Commentor doesn't revel in his prediction that TCU was going to the Big 12. He will disappear until the next big bombshell is dropped, after he plays golf with the AD.

5. The Guy Who Can't Even Right Now

Everything is happening. The Theorist is creating seven different models of super conferences, Mr Wrong Sources is saying the deal is done, the Doomsday guy hates it all and the Cryptic Commentor left his first comment in four months.

And at the end of it is the poor soul who can't even begin to process all this.

The Guy Who Can't Even Right Now is typically a lower-level booster, has a modest job, goes to most of the home games and likely is a die-hard supporter of the local NFL team. He never wins Fantasy Football because he won't even touch the waiver wire, but yet still chugs along.

This fella reads all this written about conferences changing or even going away and he doesn't get it. He doesn't know who on the message board to trust. His neighbor is asking about it, so this guy has to have something to tell him the next day, so he goes through the message boards, probably buys a Rivals subscription just to view the comments and ends up more confused than before.

The next day, he just mumbles to the neighbor that there's a lot of moving pieces going on behind the scenes and then diverts to subject to the NFL.

6. The Please Can We Talk About The Team Guy

While everyone already mentioned is all about some realignment to one extent or another, there's always the guy who is sick of it. This guy doesn't care whose joining the Big 12 next year. All he cares about is who will start at DB in the first game, how the depth chart will shake out and how the coaches won't screw it all up with their razzle-dazzle.

It doesn't matter if the team plays Our Lady Of The Blind, Deaf and Dumb or the Green Bay Packers, all this guy needs to know is kickoff time.

While the message board fills up with hypothetical conferences, he wants to know a hypothetical front seven, how that schedule three years from now is filling up and how many more recruits the coaches need to get before National Signing Day.

Left out is the Power Conference Guy-

The one who only cares about the power conferences. Doesn't grasp or care that realignment impacts schools outside the P5. This person is generally in favor of mega-conferences, wishes more teams would be pushed out of the power conferences, loves to make fun of any school trying to move up and probably wishes we could go back to the BCS.

And dont forget the G5 guy!

The one who spends half his time whining about the P5 and how unfair it is that the major bowl games don't want a contract with their conference that averages less than 30K attendance or that ESPN won't give equal time and attention to Northwesteastern State vs St. Ansel of Bumblescum as they do to Michigan vs Notre Dame. He spends the other half of his time telling us how his team is the most deserving of all the G5 for promotion into the division he just got done comparing to various evil regimes from history from Pol Pot to Hitler.

I'd be in favor of College Football Guy who sees the value of all conferences being financially healthy and building each other up.

I think March Madness creates more of this in basketball than what we have with college football. A 16 team playoff with automatic bids for each conference champion would go a LONG way towards fixing that, but who knows if the world ever sees that happen.

I'm the "who gives a sh*t guy."

No one will ever admit to being the "wrong sources guy"

You forgot about 'The Lobbyist'. He's the guy who puts together a compelling case for his school and visits multiple boards presenting the facts. He's convinced that his work is the exact piece that will convince decision-makers - all of whom I'm sure hang out on these boards - and propel his school over the top and into a P5 conference.

(01-05-2015 02:25 PM)geef Wrote:  You forgot about 'The Lobbyist'. He's the guy who puts together a compelling case for his school and visits multiple boards presenting the facts. He's convinced that his work is the exact piece that will convince decision-makers - all of whom I'm sure hang out on these boards - and propel his school over the top and into a P5 conference.

Pimping Aint Eazy...

(01-05-2015 02:04 PM)ClairtonPanther Wrote:  I'm the "who gives a sh*t guy."

Once again - join the club.

How could the "Haters" be left out?

I fall into the GOR guy. Let me know when someone successfully moves and gets out of the GOR willy nilly, or semi willy nilly.

(01-05-2015 02:19 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  No one will ever admit to being the "wrong sources guy"

Perhaps not but their moniker usually begins with "Dude of" or has a Star Wars connotation.

What about Mr. Delusional Irrational Notre Dame Fan? Lou Holtz comes to mind. The video is old and things have changed since then, but it's still pretty funny and Notre Dame could be replaced with other team names.

(01-05-2015 02:19 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  No one will ever admit to being the "wrong sources guy"

That's because if you say it enough, it becomes the truth.

(01-05-2015 03:47 PM)nzmorange Wrote:  

(01-05-2015 02:19 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  No one will ever admit to being the "wrong sources guy"

That's because if you say it enough, it becomes the truth.

Like the Big XII is doomed?

You forgot "The Debunker". He's the one who explains why your realignment scenario isn't happening.

I am the college aged Doomsday Scenarist.

Bring back the old days.

(01-05-2015 03:38 PM)LSU04_08 Wrote:  What about Mr. Delusional Irrational Notre Dame Fan? Lou Holtz comes to mind. The video is old and things have changed since then, but it's still pretty funny and Notre Dame could be replaced with other team names.

Priceless!

Some subtypes of the theorists:
Tidy symmetrists: guys whose guiding force is that all conferences conform to some sort of standardized, symmetric, and equal configuration whether that be numerical, geographic, athletic, or budgetary.

Relegationists: those who build realignment scenarios on the possibility of any school ever voting for a system with the possibility of relegation.

Can't play along
That should be a type

How would team A be effected if team B does this.


No team B will not do that
Those scenarios that are on here all the time require you to play along.
Instead of playing along or ignoring the thread the two obvious options just hijack it.

I guess I would be a theorist
Just can't even is probably the same as not being able to play along.
Theorist is fine as long as you don't think your ideas are facts.