Go Mighty Card

Lots of Luck

A fair-weather fan will come and go as a team's winning percentage rises and falls. A casual fan will have a vague idea of how a team is doing and typically ask questions like, "Did they play last night?" or "Who's playing point guard for them now?"

If you're a die-hard fan, though, you're different. For you, the season never ends, because you're always thinking about the next game, whether it's next Saturday or next September. You're not so obsessed (or maybe you are) that you skip family gatherings for important games, but you only attend knowing that your DVR is faithfully watching for you and that the game itself is only as far away as the phone in your pocket. 

If you're this type of fan there are certain ethical tradeoffs you have to make. If your power forward has been accused of infidelity, you might give him the benefit of the doubt if he's averaging thirteen rebounds a game. Dozens of witnesses could claim that your right fielder has been taking steroids, but that might not matter to you if he hits forty home runs a year.

When others question these choices you'll either hide behind the Constitution ("he's innocent until proven guilty") or the jersey ("I root for the team, not the player"), but either argument leaves you with a bitter taste in your mouth. No matter what you say out loud, there is always a small voice in the corner of your mind that whispers the truth.

There are no whispers with Andrew Luck.

We can easily measure Luck's passing prowess in yards, his judgment in touchdown to interception ratio, and his strength in flattened defensive backs, but his true greatness cannot be quantified with statistics. He is a scholar and a leader, and even if he'd never picked up a football you'd be thrilled if he rang your doorbell and asked to date your daughter -- as long as he promised to shave that beard first.

This fall there will be dozens of interviews and magazine covers and newspaper stories promoting Luck as a Heisman candidate, but most of them will miss the key aspect of the story: we can be proud of Andrew Luck.

Speaking of Mr. Luck, here a few recent links:

• Heisman Pundit discusses what Luck must do to win the trophy. (7/18/2011)
• From College Football Live, a conversation about leadership with Urban Meyer. (7/16/2011)
• Scott Allen from Rule of Tree wonders about how important winning is for Luck's Heisman candidacy. (7/13/2011)
• From ThePostGame, a suggestion that Luck could me the Missing Manning Brother. (7/11/2011)
• From The Bleacher Report, Jon Gruden says Luck is the best prospect he's studied. (7/11/2011)
• Following the Manning Passing Academy, Luck reflected again on his Decision and the upcoming season. (7/11/2011)
• And in case you missed it, from Sports Illustrated's Michael Rosenberg, a profile of Luck and his decision to return. (1/7/2011)

Monday Evening Links

Has it really only been two days since the Big Game Beatdown?  Somehow it feels like we've had the Axe forever, doesn't it?  Anyway, I thought it might be fun to take one more look back at the game, so I've gathered some useful links for your perusal.  Don't worry, though.  Starting tomorrow we'll be looking towards the future.

Scott Allen of RuleOfTree.com gives the low-down on the Cardinal's BCS chances.  There are still a few dominos that need to fall in the right direction, but the Rose Bowl is looking more and more possible.

Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News grades the Cardinal performance against Cal.  Hint: It's a good grade.

Mark Purdy of the San Jose Mercury News waxes poetic about Andrew Luck, and discovers that there's at least one thing he doesn't do well.

Ray Ratto of Comcast Sportsnet has more on Mr. Luck, focusing on his freight train impression at the expense of Cal defensive back Sean Cattouse.

Elliott Almond of the San Jose Mercury News offers a quick piece on Go Mighty Card's favorite Cardinal receiver, Doug Baldwin.

In the blogosphere, Darius at Various Provocations offers his outlook on the futures of Andrew Luck (going) and Jim Harbaugh (staying, for now).

Sports Illustrated's Steward Mandel laments the fact that a player as great as Andrew Luck might not even be invited to New York for the Heisman ceremony, and a team as great as the Stanford Cardinal might not even be invited to a BCS bowl.

If you can slog through two minutes of nonsense about the Big Ten and Virginia Tech, ESPN's Pat Forde has some good stuff to say about Andrew Luck:

 

Finally, here's a quick video from the good folks at Sports Illustrated:

 

Monday Morning Links

If you're not quite ready to be productive yet, why not spend some time perusing these Stanford Football links, presented in no particular order.  And don't think for a second that you're wasting time.  After all, I've done all the leg work for you.  All you have to do click, furrow your brow, and pretend like you're analyzing a spread sheet.  You're welcome.

It's been clear for a while now that the New York Times loves the Mighty Card.  Here's their latest love letter, a piece on Owen Marecic.

Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News grades the Cardinal's performance at Arizona State and looks ahead to Big Game.

Sophomore linebacker Shayne Skov has been turning heads, and not just because of his sweet mohawk.  He just might be the most talented player on the Cardinal defense.  Here's a nice profile from the San Jose Mercury News.

Scott Allen of Rule of Tree wrote a great piece last week in response to all the criticism Stanford fans have been getting for leaving empty seats at the stadium.  The bottom line?  There just aren't a lot of fans out there.

Albert Breer of NFL.com stuns the football world by discovering that Jim Harbaugh is a hot coaching candidate, even in the NFL.  

Still smarting from their narrow defeat at the hands of the Oregon Ducks, the folks at California Golden Blogs point out that there seems to be a double standard with regards to illegal hits in college football.  Offensive players who take cheap shots at defenders often do so with impunity.

Finally, the best for last.  ESPN.com's Ted Miller has updated his bowl projections for the Pac-10, and he still thinks Stanford will find a way to make it to the Rose Bowl.  Have we mentioned that we love Ted Miller?