Friends and Virginians:
Over the past year, I’ve written about legal matters, economic trends and political dynamics. All of it is a prelude to the really important stuff: college football.
Yes, ’tis the season for epic rivalries, irrepressible personalities and always … the hunt for the national championship.
Last night, I was in Charlottesville to witness the UVA Cavaliers defeat their cross-state rivals, the Virginia Tech Hokies, 27-7. (Note that Tech had won 19 of the previous 20 match-ups so it was time). Sadly, my post-game attempt to take down the goal posts was thwarted by the local police.
With that out of the way, I can now make three bold predictions about the future —
- UVA will win the ACC title next Saturday over a mediocre Duke team, then surprise folks in the CFB championships.
- Diego Pavia, the most exciting college player, will win the Heisman in two weeks, then go on to a long and successful career in the WWE.
- Lane Kiffin, the newly named head coach at LSU, will be run out of Baton Rouge within three years.
A word about #3 ….
First of all, I’m not hating because my Dad was born in Louisiana. Secondly, the LSU job is a graveyard, as many good coaches have been eaten alive there (yes, including the GOAT Nick Saban). Third, Kiffin is making an epic mistake in leaving Ole Miss.
One of the benefits of old age (I’m 57) is that you realize that — when you have a good thing going — you should stick with it.
Kiffin has a good thing going in Oxford, Mississippi. He has been winning with a football team that has tradition but not much success, while representing a state with a lot of history — not all of it good.
In short, his team, the Ole Miss Rebels (yes, I’m partial to the name), has been a unifying force in the state of Mississippi. Their run to the national championship had the chance to be the stuff of legends. He could spend two more decades there and lose plenty of games and it wouldn’t matter …
And now it’s all for naught as the coach is quitting for a larger paycheck elsewhere.
Which leads me to the following statement, which will shock and surprise many of you, particularly of a younger generation:
Money isn’t everything.
The ability to leave one job to pursue another higher-paying job is the essence of capitalism. But it’s also a deeply unsatisfying theme of your life, if you’re always chasing the next paycheck. It’s more than ok to live in a community, where you are loved and respected, even if you could make more elsewhere.
They say that college football teaches us about life (or is it the other way around?)
Sometimes, you need to remain a Rebel.
JCP Notes: It was a happy Thanksgiving holiday, with two of our four kids back home. Sharon and I ran the Fairfax City 5K on Thursday morning. (I finished in the “old man time” of 27:50). Here’s a photo with our neighbor and former fellow FPYC coach Ron Lyerly at the finish line.
On Monday, December 1, I will be joining the State Board of Elections in Richmond to certify the results of the 2025 elections. (No surprises there).
Then, also on Monday, I have a 3 pm argument before the Virginia Supreme Court on my appeal of the Shalom Church case, which raises the following First Amendment issue for the Court: do religious denominations have greater property rights than ordinary individuals? (You know my position)
Enjoy Advent season and the December weather.
Peace,
Chap