You don’t have to agree with Condoleezza Rice’s politics to admit it’s pretty cool that she can dissect both Middle East policy and a flea flicker. Can Pat Dye do that?
There’s a point during many Sunday afternoons and some Monday nights where the Ravens’ game is on, and my phone rings.
Now, I have Caller ID so I know who’s on the other end. I answer and it’s one of my friends calling either to complain about a Baltimore miscue or to exult in a score.
More often than not, it’s my dear friend Alison, who knows the roster better than just about anyone who is not a Ravens coach, present company included.
I call Alison to your attention to state what should be obvious: A knowledgeable sports fan is a knowledgeable sports fan, regardless of gender.
Last week, we told you about the latest manifestation of the trend where those who played or coached sports dismiss the awareness of those who didn’t.
Astute listeners might have caught a name that, at first blush, seemed out of place, during last week’s program.
Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has been named as one of 13 members of a panel that will select the four teams that will play for next year’s mythical national championship in college football.
Rice’s selection drew derision in more than a few corners, none more strident than from former Auburn coach Pat Dye, who declared that all Rice knew about football is what someone told her.
Of course that could be said about any sports fan, but Dye was surely invoking the “a woman’s place in the home is in the kitchen, not in front of the television while the menfolk is watching football” card.
Dye’s surely not alone in his ignorance. I dare say some of our female listeners have drawn the exasperated stares of supposedly learned men as they tried to carry on a conversation about football or any other presumed male enclave.
The problem with Dye’s logic is that it’s entirely wrong. Argue, if you will, about Rice’s geopolitical views, but what isn’t or shouldn’t be up for discussion is what she knows about football.
Rice told USA Today columnist Christine Brennan that her Saturday routine includes rising around 6 a.m. Pacific time and watching ESPN’s pregame show as she works out.
Then, Rice said, she watches games all day, unless she goes to one in person at Stanford, where she is the provost and had a hand in hiring two coaches. She currently talks strategy with Stanford’s current coach, David Shaw.
Let’s not forget that when Rice rescued former President George W. Bush from choking on a pretzel on a Sunday, they were watching football.
Her name has periodically come up as a possible NFL commissioner, and league owners could do worse.
Rice, who said she grew up watching football with her father in Alabama in the 1960’s, spent last week, discussing policy on the talk shows, but not the ones hosted by Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity, but rather those fronted by sports hosts Dan Patrick and Colin Cowherd, where she more than held her own.