When I learned that (former) West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez had taken the job at Michigan (thus ending the only coaching search more ridiculous and embarrassing than ours), I was eager to see what the national reaction would be.
Although there certainly are differences between his situation and Bobby Petrino's, there are some similarities too...after all, he is leaving his team in the lurch just days before they play in the Fiesta Bowl (a much bigger game than any of the battles for draft position that the Falcons have remaining). So surely ESPN and the national media would be outraged, right? I mean, isn't Rodriguez crushing the hopes and dreams of those fine young student-athletes who expected him to finish the season? Doesn't this signify the downfall of society as we know it? For God's sake, won't somebody please think of the children???
Uh, wrong. In fact, readers were treated to a column by Ivan Maisel in which Maisel pronounces the move "justified" and then uses a quote from Rodriguez's agent, of all people, to prove his point: "It was not about money. It was tough, basically because of the great effort the players gave him over the years, the great support from the fans, and the great support of the Mountaineer Athletic Foundation and the people who made donations through it."
For those of you keeping score, Rodriguez leaves for Michigan and more money and is a hero because it was a tough decision. Petrino leaves for Arkansas and less money and is a lying scumbag...probably the foulest human ever to walk the earth. I sure am glad ESPN cleared that up for me - otherwise I would have been really confused.