rebdawg 5 Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 Karma vs. Bama From "The Law of Karma" In Buddhist teaching, the law of karma, says only this: `for every event that occurs, there will follow another event whose existence was caused by the first, and this second event will be pleasant or unpleasant according as its cause was skillful or unskillful.' A skillful event is one that is not accompanied by craving, resistance or delusions; an unskillful event is one that is accompanied by any one of those things. (Events are not skillful in themselves, but are so called only in virtue of the mental events that occur with them.) For the past several years (at least 1993) I have heard Alabama fans asking “Why us?†During each embarrassing fiasco I have heard Alabama fans lamenting, “Why do they keep piling on us?†or “Why can’t they just leave us alone?†and my personal favorite, “What did we do to deserve all this?†I have some friends that are very dear to me and they are good fans of their team. It does hurt me to see them dealing with the avalanche of humiliation that has befallen the Crimson Nation. It is to those good fans of the Crimson Tide that I address those questions with this answer, it is because of the other 75% of Alabama fans. If we are to believe the wise old Buddha than the reason that Alabama has had such a rough few decades is because of past sin. Perhaps sin is a little too strong of a word, we’ll go with the Karmic axiom unskillful event. Not all of the unskillful events were as heinous as the game fixing allegations leveled on Bear Bryant and Wally Butts in 1962 or the flagrant NCAA violations of 1993 and 1999. No those are but blips on the radar of unskillful events that have led to the current state of affairs in Tuscaloosa. A century of holier-than-thou attitudes, hypocritically pious mind-sets, and condescending comments about all other programs have lead to the current deluge of negative energy. Every time an Alabama fan claims 12 (or the even more absurd 17) national championships it is an unskillful event. Every time an Alabama fan utters the phrase “rightful place at the top of the college football world,†it is an unskillful event. Every time an Alabama fan boasts of impending domination it is an unskillful event. Remember one of the things that Buddhists claim is an unskillful event is “delusion.†This mindset is born of a desire to be all the things that Alabama used to be. A common problem for many sports fans is that they base their own self-worth on the successes of their favorite team Fans of all teams and all sports do this. Alabama is a poor state and has been since the plunderings of post-Civil War reconstruction. Poverty is a huge blow to self-esteem. For decades downtrodden Alabamians could hang there self-respect on the fact that their team played football better than yours. Their coach was better than yours. Another unskillful event is “resistance.†Alabama fans need to realize and accept that it will never be like it was again. The rules have changed and for the better. Sure it was great for the Alabamas, Notre Dames, et al of the football world when there were no scholarship limitations and only halfhearted attempts at enforcing recruiting policies, but the popularity of the game in this era proves that those changes were beneficial for all of college football. If the good fans of Alabama want the current wave of disparagement to end then they must convince the rest of the Bama fans to tone down the egos. If you place the responsibility for your own happiness in someone else’s hands you will never be truly happy. “Craving†is another unskillful event. The world owes no one a national title. Wins are not a birth right. Winning is exhilarating, losing is disappointing, and expectations are a double-edged sword. If you want to feel better about yourself build a bird house or help out at a soup kitchen. As long as Alabama fans pummel the university administration, coaching staff, and 85 sum odd young men with their unobtainable expectations they will always fall short of reaching them. The first rule to setting goals is that they have to be obtainable. This is not just food for thought for Alabama fans it applies to all of us but it appears it is less obvious to some than to others. Alabama fans, if you discount your recent probation as not being legitimate because of the methods used by Phil Fulmer and NCAA to substantiate the accusations then you are missing the big picture. Alabama was guilty and nothing can change that. If you are of the frame of mind that the tape of Nick Saban using a racist term was released when it was to hurt Alabama’s recruiting you are again missing the big picture. It does not matter at all what the motivation was for releasing the tape recording or when the time frame in which they did it. The only thing that matters is that Saban used a racial slur and should have been reprimanded if not fired. If, as an Alabama fan, you read this and you think it rings a little true than you are good fan. If you get upset or denounce it as garbage or another sign of how we are jealous of Alabama then you are proving the point for me. Thanks and enjoy your bad Karma. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUslug 1 Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 You know this going to go over the heads of your intended auidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewau02 0 Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 Let me preface this by saying that Buddha was not wise. He was a charlatan. I don't believe in kharma. I believe in cause and consequence. I believe in what goes around, comes around. You may construe this as kharma. I construe this as your past sins coming back to revisit you. Other than that, I agree with your overall premise suggesting that if Bama fans are victims, then they are indeed victims of their own arrogance and expectations. I believe in the Holy Bible, and the Bible preaches against arrogance and superiority. When the followers of Christ became arrogant and power hungry, then God immediately put them back in their place. I'm not trying to give anyone a religious lecture here, I just want you to know where I stand on this issue since you brought up this topic. The problem with Bama fans is that the vast majority of them constantly display an egregious level of arrogance and condescension more so than most sports fans. I wasn't alive during the 60's and most of the 70's but I suspect this arrogance that we see in their fanbase began somewhere around that time. I don't believe that God cares who wins or loses football games. However, I believe that their recent struggles is a product of their own arrogance. Allow me to give a few examples to you. Bill Curry was coach in the late 80's. Although his teams improved every year, he resigned do to pressure over not beating Auburn. After all, according to the Bama administration and fanbase, Bama is superior to Auburn and should never lose four in a row to the cow college....right? Then, they hire Gene Stallings. Despite winning a MNC back in 1992 and restoring glory to the program, the fans incessantly complained about his slow, methodical offenses, and the way his teams won football games. After all, they are Alabama and should beat every team by 30+ a game....right? Then, they hire Mike Dubose and only because he played for the Bear. The man had no head coaching experience and was a D-line coach before being names head coach in 1997. Then again, it doesn't matter who Bama hires, the man can win MNC simply because he is Bama's head coach and all the recruits in America want to go there. Never mind the fact that he had no executive experience running a program. He can win simply because he's Bama's coach......right? Alabama gets caught red handed trying to buy a HS coach in Memphis in a desparate attempt to steal a prized high school recruit to Tuscalosa. Instead of blaming themselves for their own stupidity, they blame the whistle blower, Phil Fulmer, for all of the sanctions and scholarship losses that ensued. After all, they are Bama and beyond reproach and everyone else is wrong.....right? Never mind the fact that Fulmer turned them in for cheating in his own state. Dennis Francionne left, not because he was lied to and mislead regarding the severity of the looming NCAA sanctions, but because he is a liar and a bad person, worse than Rasputin, reminiscent of Benedict Arnold. After all, the University could not have been at fault because they are Bama and beyond reproach....right? Mike Shula inherited a mess in Tuscaloosa. Yet, in three years, he went from devestating probation to a top ten ranking nationally and a front page cover on Sports Illustrated. Also, he helped to rebuild the recruiting base and signed some really good classes while he was there. Yet, he was fired because he was 0-4 against Auburn. No perspective was given to the fact that he lost to Auburn because Auburn had more talent than he did. After all, despite Bama's talent level, they should never lose to Auburn.....right? Anyway, you probably get my drift by now. Whether it was running Bill Curry out of town; whether it was being ungrateful for Gene Stallings; whether it was hiring a novice as head coach; whether it was cheating or firing a coach. All of these instances are a product of the arrogance that permeates the administration at UA and trickles down to their fanbase. I don't believe that God has punished them for their arrogance, but I do believe that their arrogance has caused them to make bad decisions time and time again over the past 20 years. Just my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarTiger 3,917 Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 Nice post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rexbo 104 Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 The only teachings of Karma that 'Bama fans will understand comes from watching My Name is Earl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
townhallsavoy 2 Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 Bama fans won't understand your post because they think "Karma" is some kind of chewy candy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DyeEraTiger 0 Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 Karma vs. Bama From "The Law of Karma" In Buddhist teaching, the law of karma, says only this: `for every event that occurs, there will follow another event whose existence was caused by the first, and this second event will be pleasant or unpleasant according as its cause was skillful or unskillful.' A skillful event is one that is not accompanied by craving, resistance or delusions; an unskillful event is one that is accompanied by any one of those things. (Events are not skillful in themselves, but are so called only in virtue of the mental events that occur with them.) For the past several years (at least 1993) I have heard Alabama fans asking “Why us?†During each embarrassing fiasco I have heard Alabama fans lamenting, “Why do they keep piling on us?†or “Why can’t they just leave us alone?†and my personal favorite, “What did we do to deserve all this?†I have some friends that are very dear to me and they are good fans of their team. It does hurt me to see them dealing with the avalanche of humiliation that has befallen the Crimson Nation. It is to those good fans of the Crimson Tide that I address those questions with this answer, it is because of the other 75% of Alabama fans. If we are to believe the wise old Buddha than the reason that Alabama has had such a rough few decades is because of past sin. Perhaps sin is a little too strong of a word, we’ll go with the Karmic axiom unskillful event. Not all of the unskillful events were as heinous as the game fixing allegations leveled on Bear Bryant and Wally Butts in 1962 or the flagrant NCAA violations of 1993 and 1999. No those are but blips on the radar of unskillful events that have led to the current state of affairs in Tuscaloosa. A century of holier-than-thou attitudes, hypocritically pious mind-sets, and condescending comments about all other programs have lead to the current deluge of negative energy. Every time an Alabama fan claims 12 (or the even more absurd 17) national championships it is an unskillful event. Every time an Alabama fan utters the phrase “rightful place at the top of the college football world,†it is an unskillful event. Every time an Alabama fan boasts of impending domination it is an unskillful event. Remember one of the things that Buddhists claim is an unskillful event is “delusion.†This mindset is born of a desire to be all the things that Alabama used to be. A common problem for many sports fans is that they base their own self-worth on the successes of their favorite team Fans of all teams and all sports do this. Alabama is a poor state and has been since the plunderings of post-Civil War reconstruction. Poverty is a huge blow to self-esteem. For decades downtrodden Alabamians could hang there self-respect on the fact that their team played football better than yours. Their coach was better than yours. Another unskillful event is “resistance.†Alabama fans need to realize and accept that it will never be like it was again. The rules have changed and for the better. Sure it was great for the Alabamas, Notre Dames, et al of the football world when there were no scholarship limitations and only halfhearted attempts at enforcing recruiting policies, but the popularity of the game in this era proves that those changes were beneficial for all of college football. If the good fans of Alabama want the current wave of disparagement to end then they must convince the rest of the Bama fans to tone down the egos. If you place the responsibility for your own happiness in someone else’s hands you will never be truly happy. “Craving†is another unskillful event. The world owes no one a national title. Wins are not a birth right. Winning is exhilarating, losing is disappointing, and expectations are a double-edged sword. If you want to feel better about yourself build a bird house or help out at a soup kitchen. As long as Alabama fans pummel the university administration, coaching staff, and 85 sum odd young men with their unobtainable expectations they will always fall short of reaching them. The first rule to setting goals is that they have to be obtainable. This is not just food for thought for Alabama fans it applies to all of us but it appears it is less obvious to some than to others. Alabama fans, if you discount your recent probation as not being legitimate because of the methods used by Phil Fulmer and NCAA to substantiate the accusations then you are missing the big picture. Alabama was guilty and nothing can change that. If you are of the frame of mind that the tape of Nick Saban using a racist term was released when it was to hurt Alabama’s recruiting you are again missing the big picture. It does not matter at all what the motivation was for releasing the tape recording or when the time frame in which they did it. The only thing that matters is that Saban used a racial slur and should have been reprimanded if not fired. If, as an Alabama fan, you read this and you think it rings a little true than you are good fan. If you get upset or denounce it as garbage or another sign of how we are jealous of Alabama then you are proving the point for me. Thanks and enjoy your bad Karma. You had me with you all the way to the racial slur and lost me there. Reaching waaaaaay too far with that one for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinCrimson 61 Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 A racial slur? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mowegl 4 Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 You lost me at Alabama fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKCAUB 0 Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 I don't believe in all that mumbo jumbo either...but "Instant Karma" was a great song! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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