Farewell to Pigskin Prophets

Another year of friendly competition has ended and it is safe to say that Loren Sandhop took the rest of us to the cleaners. His picks late in the season pulled him ahead of the pack and I offer my congratulations for the effort.

I had envisioned a column discussing my theory about Sandhop's picks improving but as the high school season has ended it will have to wait for a more appropriate time.

I would also like to offer a special bit of thanks to our other perennial prophets, Erin Stuber and Greg Kittrell for their efforts throughout this year's picking season and to the many guests who were occasionally surprised to hear my absurd requests of them on various Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

For my part, I am oddly relieved to see the Prophets' season ending. This particular football season has brought some tough times for me and I am content to suffer them in the privacy of my own living room for the rest of the season.

But before I sign off on my last Pigskin Prophets column of the year, I would like to take one last opportunity to wax football because, well, I can and the football season is far from over.

I was discussing the closing of the college football season with a friend of mine this weekend, while listening to the dismal performance Virginia Tech put up against Miami (thus ruining that pick of mine), and we started talking about how it seemed like there was still a great deal of football left but the truth of the matter is, there isn't a lot of football left.

There are just two games left in the regular season and while they are possibly two of the most important games of the season for some teams, two games is just a mere eight quarters, a mere two hours of actual football time, not much at all.

I know that in actual viewing time it is closer to eight hours, provided you only watch two games in the next two weeks, but the point is that as the season draws to a close more emphasis is put upon those last moments, for seniors, for fans who have watched disappointing seasons and so on.

The end of the season also includes the rivalry bowls that we all look forward to. This season's Apple Cup, in particular, will mark the final bowl-like situation for the 13 fifth year seniors on the roster for Washington State University. It will also be an opportunity for those seniors to defend their holding of the Cup.

No matter how you slice it, the season, while closing, is not finished but there is no time left for fourth quarter glory that will lead to a bowl birth. There is just enough time left for the pride wins and crossed fingers to finish the season at .500.

So, I commend the faithful fans and the sturdy players who've made it thus far. I also commend those who choose to stick it on the line, take a hit and stretch out for the goal line in this, the greatest of games.

My thanks, once more to this year's Prophets for your participation and good humor throughout the process.