You Don't Know What You Think You Know

When I graduated high school, I made it a point to become as politically involved as possible. I joined a political message board (dude, I was 18, give me a break) and talked about campaigns, war and everything under Washington's sun all day long. Eventually, I became a moderator on the site and spent every waking minute discussing and researching what I believed to be important issues.

Except I wasn't. As I delved deeper into the political arena, I realized that everything important happens behind closed doors. Everything. And they stay behind those doors forever.

Of course, there are those Watergate moments that make the common person believe that injustices within politics eventually see the light of day, but those are rare occurrences. In fact, conspiracy theorists might say that scandals are leaked on purpose to give citizens that exact feeling of security. Believe what you will.

I'm no conspiracy theorist, but I do know one thing for sure: wherever there is money and power, there is a whole lot of dirty shit going on that you will likely never know about. And here's another thing I know: there is a lot of money and power in collegiate sports.

I am never surprised when I hear of some behind-the-scenes scandal regarding the NCAA. Reggie Bush receiving gifts is about as shocking as hearing another Senator got caught with his pants down. It happens, it's a part of the game. What does surprise me (but probably shouldn't, when you look at people's political knowledge), is the reactions from the fans.

When the Lew Perkins scandal broke out, you would think that the guy was apart of an assassination cover up based off the general amazement of commentators. It was simply inconceivable to Joe Sports Fan that a school's AD had overseen ticket fraud and accepted free exercise equipment. People who react this way are surely not into politics.

I, for one, would be shocked if this was the worst thing Perkins has over done. I am quite certain that the athletic departments at USC and Memphis are dirtier than we imagine, and the same goes for any school who has had big-money success in recent years. You simply do not gain that much money and power without leaving a trail of dead in your wake.

But so it goes, as we see nearly every month with Senator X or Governor Y who gets caught with illegal funds from lobbyists or whatever other scandal that finds its ways to newspapers. With the millions upon millions that get shoveled around in NCAA sports, you would be very naive to believe that the movers and shakers are nothing more than savvy businessmen with nothing to hide.

This is why I haven't paid much attention to the Lew Perkins or Reggie Bush story, because it's the same story the has been and will be told. I know these things go on every day, I just don't know the specifics. There is no knowledge to be gained from the details, only reputations and programs to destroy. If that's your idea of justice, go for it, lynch 'em. Just don't act like Perkins is a scumbag and not the norm, because you're wrong about that.

If you're reading this, more than likely you are a sports fan. You're not a political junkie with inside information. If this scandal surprised you at all, then you know less about the going-ons in the world than 18 year olds who frequent message boards.

Stick to Saturdays, stick to what you know.