Watched that spring game and all I could think about was the 1991 season when we had that three-game stand against Assumption, Stonehill, and Saint Anselm. Those boys knew what a rivalry meant. You look at what the SEC has done with this draft, 87 players picked, and the whole world is supposed to bow down. But I remember when we used to pack the stands for the NE-10 title game against Bryant back in 2003 and you could feel the hatred in the air. Not this manufactured conference realignment nonsense where nobody knows who their real enemy is anymore.
The portal killed the rivalry. Plain and simple. You used to spend four years hating the same guys on the other sideline. You knew their quarterback's name, you knew which defensive end talked trash, you knew exactly which coach ran up the score two years ago and you were waiting for payback. Now half the roster turns over every winter and you're facing a team full of mercenaries who don't even know the history. The 1998 team would have laughed at the idea of playing a "rival" that you only see once every three years because of some television contract.
I miss the days when the NE-10 championship meant something real. When we played Southern Connecticut in November and the wind was howling and the field was frozen and both teams had been building toward that moment since August two-a-days. Not this spring practice nonsense where we're trying to figure out which portal transfer fits the culture. You can't build a rivalry with guys who are already looking at their next destination before the season even starts.
The SEC can have their 87 draft picks and their fancy stadiums and their billion-dollar TV deals. Give me a cold Saturday in October against a team we've hated for thirty years and I'll show you what real football looks like. Everything else is just noise.