T.J.
Bench Warmer
Hey guys, just wanted to run this by people here and get some opinions on it, I'm welcome to all criticism and believe me, this is far from my best work. I just banged it out right now at 1:30 in the morning. We had to write a 2 page paper (I wish it was longer because I felt like I had to cut down on stuff) about the following:
Write about a recent experience in which you tried to convince someone of something. What reasons did you use to make your claim convincing? Which were most successful? What were the opposing reasons? How did you respond?
Now I had to pretty much explain everything out to the reader because all writing is meant to be understood by the reader, so here it is, let me have it:
Recently, I had yet another pretty heated argument with my friend about a topic we pretty commonly disagree on; college football. It’s not just college football, but a specific team. My friend Mike absolutely hates the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and everything about them whereas I am a pretty avid fan of theirs. I have had season tickets for two seasons now and watch every game in which they don’t play at home. Now the situation we always disagree on, my friend believes that the only reason Rutgers is considered an above-average football team is because they play a weak schedule and beat their “inferior†opponents whom have no national credibility. He believes that if Rutgers were ever matched up against a real college football “powerhouse,†Rutgers would get destroyed. Now my side to that argument is that Rutgers plays in a top-rated conference, the Big East and plays a mildly challenging “Out of Conference†schedule against several schools from across the country.
The Big East football conference is one of 6 college football conferences that get an automatic bid to a Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Game at the end of the year, which are 5 of college football’s best post-season games, one of which determines the National Champions of the NCAA. The Big East consists of eight teams from the eastern coast of North America. Two perennial college football “powerhouses†play in the conference; the West Virginia Mountaineers and the Louisville Cardinals. Now Rutgers has not been too successful against those two teams in the past until last season when they defeated then number 3 nationally ranked Louisville in dramatic fashion at Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway, NJ. Rutgers ended up losing to West Virginia in a Triple Overtime thriller in Morgantown, WV which would have made Rutgers the Big East Champions, and sent them to a BCS Bowl game. After the victory against Louisville, I approached Mike and told him that we had done it, we beat a national football “powerhouse.†Mike, of course not wanting to admit he was wrong, started to debate that Louisville was just over-rated and never belonged in the upper echelon ranks of college football, and that Louisville and West Virginia are the only tough teams on Rutgers schedule and they should get some tougher teams to play. My argument to that is that in college football, teams must make their schedules several years in advance, and the teams they schedule 5 years in advance may not be the same caliber team when it comes time to play. For instance, in 2001 the Illinois Fighting Illini were named champions of the Big Ten, another BCS conference. Rutgers scheduled Illinois for a two game series beginning in 2005 with a game at Illinois and in 2006 having a game at Rutgers. That was a very good move by the Rutgers athletic staff to schedule a very good, strong football team for the upcoming seasons. However, when Illinois came to New Jersey in 2006, they were not close to the same caliber team they were in 2001. Rutgers defeated them soundly 33-0 and Illinois went on to win two games that whole season. Now when it all comes down to it, all Rutgers can do as a football team is face off against who is on their schedule, play the best they can, and let the rest of the chips fall as they may.
In conclusion, my argument is that if Rutgers can win a good majority of their games, including a win against a top ranked Louisville or West Virginia team, than in my opinion they should be considered a top ranked football team. Of course there are going to be people who disagree, like my friend Mike. The truth of the matter is that in college football, it’s controversy that makes the sport as popular as it is today.
Write about a recent experience in which you tried to convince someone of something. What reasons did you use to make your claim convincing? Which were most successful? What were the opposing reasons? How did you respond?
Now I had to pretty much explain everything out to the reader because all writing is meant to be understood by the reader, so here it is, let me have it:
Recently, I had yet another pretty heated argument with my friend about a topic we pretty commonly disagree on; college football. It’s not just college football, but a specific team. My friend Mike absolutely hates the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and everything about them whereas I am a pretty avid fan of theirs. I have had season tickets for two seasons now and watch every game in which they don’t play at home. Now the situation we always disagree on, my friend believes that the only reason Rutgers is considered an above-average football team is because they play a weak schedule and beat their “inferior†opponents whom have no national credibility. He believes that if Rutgers were ever matched up against a real college football “powerhouse,†Rutgers would get destroyed. Now my side to that argument is that Rutgers plays in a top-rated conference, the Big East and plays a mildly challenging “Out of Conference†schedule against several schools from across the country.
The Big East football conference is one of 6 college football conferences that get an automatic bid to a Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Game at the end of the year, which are 5 of college football’s best post-season games, one of which determines the National Champions of the NCAA. The Big East consists of eight teams from the eastern coast of North America. Two perennial college football “powerhouses†play in the conference; the West Virginia Mountaineers and the Louisville Cardinals. Now Rutgers has not been too successful against those two teams in the past until last season when they defeated then number 3 nationally ranked Louisville in dramatic fashion at Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway, NJ. Rutgers ended up losing to West Virginia in a Triple Overtime thriller in Morgantown, WV which would have made Rutgers the Big East Champions, and sent them to a BCS Bowl game. After the victory against Louisville, I approached Mike and told him that we had done it, we beat a national football “powerhouse.†Mike, of course not wanting to admit he was wrong, started to debate that Louisville was just over-rated and never belonged in the upper echelon ranks of college football, and that Louisville and West Virginia are the only tough teams on Rutgers schedule and they should get some tougher teams to play. My argument to that is that in college football, teams must make their schedules several years in advance, and the teams they schedule 5 years in advance may not be the same caliber team when it comes time to play. For instance, in 2001 the Illinois Fighting Illini were named champions of the Big Ten, another BCS conference. Rutgers scheduled Illinois for a two game series beginning in 2005 with a game at Illinois and in 2006 having a game at Rutgers. That was a very good move by the Rutgers athletic staff to schedule a very good, strong football team for the upcoming seasons. However, when Illinois came to New Jersey in 2006, they were not close to the same caliber team they were in 2001. Rutgers defeated them soundly 33-0 and Illinois went on to win two games that whole season. Now when it all comes down to it, all Rutgers can do as a football team is face off against who is on their schedule, play the best they can, and let the rest of the chips fall as they may.
In conclusion, my argument is that if Rutgers can win a good majority of their games, including a win against a top ranked Louisville or West Virginia team, than in my opinion they should be considered a top ranked football team. Of course there are going to be people who disagree, like my friend Mike. The truth of the matter is that in college football, it’s controversy that makes the sport as popular as it is today.
