Comedian Demetri Martin has a great rant on sports and championships. "I used to play sports. Then I realized you can buy trophies. Now I'm good at everything."
This is how the University of Central Florida Knights will be remembered in 2018.
Not for sending shockwaves throughout the college football landscape by upsetting perennial power, and former No. 1 team in the country, Auburn in the Peach Bowl New Year's Day.
It won't be for going undefeated with an epic overtime win against Memphis in the AAC Championship Game.
Or not for defeating rival USF in what many consider to be one of the best games of the college football season.
Nope. Instead, UCF will be remembered for its persistent whining and blubbering about how the program deserves to be National Champions because it went 13-0 with a win against the Tigers.
So...give it to them.
Yes. Seriously. Why not?
Society has begrudgingly accepted the "Everyone-Gets-a-Trophy" culture and UCF is the quintessential definition of the insufferable juvenile stomping their feet until they get what they want without deserving the rewards.
The Knights defeated a very good Auburn team. An Auburn team that defeated both Georgia and Alabama - both of whom are playing for the National Championship.
But that's where the argument ends.
Even the little brother gets a win against his big brother in a game of hoops once in a while.
According to TeamRankings.com, UCF has the 54th toughest schedule in the nation and Sagarin, who is universally respected in the college football world, has the Knights at 72nd.
Before its New Year's Day victory, UCF has two wins against a Top-25 College Football Playoff ranked team (Memphis twice).
None of this inspires champion, but give it to them anyway. They deserved to be called National Champions, just like 1998 Tulane or 1999 Marshall deserve it.
UCF did itself a disservice and painted a huge target on its back for next season with this abomination. LaVar Ball thinks the Knights complain too much.
The right move was to have a parade to celebrate an undefeated season, but entitlement created a monster because the Knights defeated the likes of FIU and Austin Peay.
What the Knights don't have is consistency. The program could be avoiding all of this if UCF would've continued the winning wave after its victory against Baylor in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl. Instead, the momentum quickly ebbed with a forgettable winless record in 2015.
The Knights have zero clout. No tradition. And no legacy.
Florida State had to schedule games at places like Nebraska and LSU, without a return game, to build its program and prestige.
It won. Proving everyone wrong over and again consistently throughout the '80's to be considered a premier power, even with a down 2017 season.
The Knights lack that consistency.
Want to be respected? Then win in 2018. Win in 2019. And so on.
But who're we kidding. The Knights are having a parade.
Congrats to the 2017 National Champions.
Edco must be having a sale.
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