A year ago, I never thought....

...we would ever elect a president who literally didn't really want the job. But I was wrong.

...I would fall in love again. And even though I was wrong, I'm glad I was wrong, even if I couldn't make it work.

...that Colorado would win the Pac-12 South, Idaho would win nine games, Wyoming the MWC Mountain, and North Dakota would go 8-0 in the Big Sky. Good year in the Intermountain West football world.
...that Michigan State, Oregon, Texas, UCLA, and Notre Dame would all have losing records...and teams like Eastern Michigan and Old Dominion didn't.

...we would lose so many great and famous musicians back-to-back: Prince, David Bowie, Maurice White,...
...or so many legendary athletes: Arnold Palmer, Muhammed Ali, and even Darryl Dawkins (no, he may not have been the best in his sport, but he was "legendary"!).

A year ago, I never thought I'd move from my large house to a small one, but I'm glad I have. It's allowing me to stay stronger longer, and do more writing for you.

A year ago, I never thought I'd say this: I'm satisfied with the large number of bowl games in college football. Watching how ecstatic teams like New Mexico and Boston College and yes, Idaho are to win that final game...listening to coaches celebrate the "reward" of up to fifteen extra practices, and for seniors to get that one last game, and for new guys to set up their success for the next season? I'm newly converted. So, hooray for the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, the Belk Bowl, the Popeye's Bahama Bowl, and bring back the Cereal Bowl, the Salad Bowl, and whatever else you want to bring back so that all the 6-win teams get that reward. The 10-win teams get better bowls, the 12-win teams get the CFP. I'm satisfied.

(And a year ago, I'd never thought I'd say this: Thanks to Florida and LSU having to reschedule their SEC conference game, South Alabama got to go to a bowl game yesterday. I'll tell you why at the bottom...)

A year ago, I never thought the concept of "fact-checking" would be separated so dramatically from the concept of "news reporting". When I was learning the trade, you checked the validity of your reporting BEFORE you reported. Now? It seems like even the reputable news sources choose to print what furthers their own political preferences, left AND right. 

A year ago, I never thought that we would get SO separated between the "red" and "blue" America. We literally do NOT have the same "truth" we're dealing with. It was bad when the very PURPOSE of the two parties in Congress was to stop the other one from succeeding. Now? We literally had a nation of "reds" actively hating the classiest man to hold the office of President, and a nation of "blues" who document (but again, what does THAT mean in a "post-truth" society?) crime after crime of the next President to no avail?

It doesn't matter what reality is in a nation where we elect celebrities. I think the world of Mr. Obama, but he didn't have Presidential credentials when he was elected - he was simply a hot rising star because of his 2004 convention speech. And just as Mr. Kennedy was the first president to use television to his advantage, Mr. Trump was the first president to use his television celebrity to his advantage. He knew, long before the rest of us, that we live in a nation where we craved a celebrity leader. We craved the idea of having someone famous in the White House - not a politician, not a statesman.

Will he be a good president? There is no such thing anymore.The purpose of our governing body is to entertain us, silly! The only leader that can truly help us is Christ. As long as we remember Who is truly in control, and Who our true Leader is, our choice as POTUS is immaterial. 

Whatever happens in 2017 is God's Will. 
Just like it was in 2016. 
And the thousands and thousands of years before that...

No worries. And a year ago,... well, yeah, I thought that then, too.

Happy New Year, friends. God bless you all. 
                                                                                      -gps




(PS - When the schedule came out, South Alabama was planning on going to LSU on November 19th, and Presbyterian had a date at Florida. However, a month earlier, the UF/LSU game was hurricaned out. So the negotiations started, and the two SEC powers paid off the two lower teams to play each other, leaving USA and Presbyterian to play each other. Suddenly, the Jaguars went from an automatic loss to LSU on the road to an easy win hosting the FBS 2-9 Presbyterian Blue Hose. That means instead of being 5-7, they finished 6-6....and bowl eligible. What a weird world.)