Matriculation

'Nauts and Vulcans advance in the BDCS

MASSEY HILL - Anybody who knows anything, knows that "alma mater" is just a fancy Latin term meaning the college, or university, from which you graduated. It comes from a similar Latin phrase "almae matris" meaning "fostering mother". If you go back far enough, "matriculate" is distantly related to the Latin "mater," but its maternal associations were lost long ago. It is more closely related to the late Latin "matricula" which means "public roll, or "register", and it has more to do with being enrolled in an institution than being mothered. In academia today "to matriculate" is to enroll in a higher institution, but you'll also see it defined as being admitted to a school of higher learning as well. "Enrolled" and "admitted" obviously mean two different things, but used in either way is somewhat acceptable for the use of the word "matriculate". Mr. Webster defines "matriculate" as a verb meaning to be enrolled at a college, or university. Such as, he matriculated to The University of Alabama". So in Super Bowl IV when Kansas City Chiefs' head coach Hank Stram was caught on tape by NFL Films saying, "Just keep matriculatin' the ball down the field, boys", he was using the word incorrectly and totally out of context. Nobody in the media ever called Stram out over his misusage of the word and it has become somewhat of a joke over time. I'm sure if he were still alive today, he would define his usage as meaning, "to advance the ball methodically down the field" as he had intended it in 1970. At his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction in 2003, Stram winked at his legacy when he said, "As I matriculate my way down the field of life, I will never forget this moment and you wonderful people who helped make this day possible". More than likely, Stram knew he was mic'd for Super Bowl IV and was totally playing to the audience. The "matriculate" comment was him trying to use big, impressive words in an attempt to sound smarter than he actually was. Since then, Stram's misusage of the word "matriculate" has become part of football lore and is still sometimes misused by coaches, players and commentators in the same way that Stram misused it back in 1970. In Week 17 of the BDFL's 30th season, the Big Daddy Championship (BDCS) semi-finals delivered a couple of ugly blowouts. First, the North Birmingham Vulcans pistol-whipped the Benton Bullets (25-13) and then the Jugtown Juggernauts blasted the Fieldstown Bellcows (41-12). Therefore, the Vulcans and Juggernauts have matriculated to Big Daddy Bowl XXIII in Week 18 of the BDFL.

Big Daddy Bowl

The match-up of Big Daddy Bowl XXIII

TAMPA BAY - Week 18 of the BDFL, is to test a team's character, depth and toughness and that is what will be on display at Big Daddy Bowl XXIII at the "Big Sombrero" this upcoming weekend. The #3 seeded North Birmingham Vulcans are a slim underdog to the surprising#7 seeded Jugtown Juggernauts (-1.5) according to the Evil Las Vegas Oddsmakers (ELVO). The Vulcans will be seeking their first BDFL title for the second season in a row, while the Juggernauts will be trying to win their second BDFL title. The Juggernauts landed their first BDFL Championship Title back in 2016. The BDFL's media experts are predicting a close game with the Juggernauts winning on the arm of QB-Joe Burrow/CIN. While in another tropical paradise (Gulf Shores, Alabama) in the league's consolation Big Mullet Series (BMS) final, Big Mullet Bowl, ELVO favors the Western Hills Wildcats (-2.5) in another close one over the Shades Creek Sloth Monsters with the winner taking home the first draft pick in the upcoming 2025 BDFL Pony Draft in April. NOTE: The Gulf Coast Gamblers will not be competing for their third consecutive BMS championship.