Big 12? SEC? Who gives a crap?

OK, just in case you're one of the 7 people on the planet who has yet to ask my opinion about what conference Missouri is heading to, I'll share my thoughts.

First of all, I'd like it to be known that I do not give a crap. Really. Go to the freakin' SWAC for all I care. I just want something to happen. Let's get the stupid thing figured out, and let's go play football. Oh, and basketball.

Second, speaking of basketball, as much as I love it, it matters not one iota in these discussions. From here on out, I'll be speaking of football. It's where the money is, and it's what's driving all conference realignment talks.

Third, I do think Missouri is going to stay in the Big 12. Our administration doesn't take risks. Going to the SEC would be a risk. Staying in the Big 12 is comfortable. We can keep on enjoying the same mediocrity we've enjoyed for years. Beating up on Iowa State, Kansas, and Texas Tech year after year, and heading to the Brut Sun Bowl. Think about it. If Missouri heads to the SEC, they're going to get destroyed initially. We can't hang with the Floridas, LSUs, and Alabamas of the world. Those places eat, sleep, and breathe football. There are no Iowa States in the SEC. We'd have a long road ahead of us if we went there. Not so much in the Big 12.

90% of Missouri fans are going to be disappointed when they hear Brady Deaton announce that we're staying in the Big 12. I don't know if we're just delusional in thinking that things are going to be that much better in the SEC or what. I work with people from Alabama. We're Yankees in their eyes. We're never going to be accepted in that league. From a conference stability standpoint, absolutely the SEC makes sense. But from a competition standpoint, it's suicide.

One thing I will say is that people seem to think we won't be able to recruit SEC caliber talent. I wholeheartedly disagree. At first, we're going to struggle to recruit Florida, Alabama, etc. But at first, we struggled to recruit the state of Texas. It'll be an adjustment, but one that I think we're capable of making. I see us doing to that region what we currently do in Texas - recruit the 2nd and 3rd tier kids that Florida, Auburn, and Alabama don't want, and turn them into Chase Daniel, Sean Weatherspoon, and Danario Alexander. We'd get there recruiting-wise.

We'd get there competition-wise too. And by there, I mean to the current level we're at in the Big 12. We'd be a Mississippi State/Tennessee type school in the SEC. Competing for a league title once every 10 years, and going to mid-level bowl games every year. So why go to the SEC to compete at a level we're already competing at? I know, they're throwing around dollar figures, but it's all a sham. The money's going to be there no matter where we go.

But all of that SEC talk is going to be moot. I forsee the Big 12 adding a couple more schools (Louisville, Cincinnati, BYU, SMU) and getting the conference championship game back. I see Missouri officials realizing that the grass isn't always greener, and sticking around. You know, until Texas gets fed up with revenue sharing and threatens to bolt again, in 6 years.

There is no easy solution. It's never going to be roses like it was with the Big 12 North and South, when everyone was seemingly happy. A few schools got greedy (ourselves included) and screwed everything up.

Honestly, I'm just tired of talking, listening to people argue, and reading about it. My only hope in this whole thing is that something gets figured out soon, so we can go back to talking, arguing, and reading about what really matters: what happens on the field. (And off the field, if you're an $EC fan)