Article:Meet the Users: Davis21wylie

1. How did you learn about ArmchairGM?

Roblefko actually spammed me about AGM at Wikipedia back in February 2006. Like most spam, I initially ignored the message, but for some reason I eventually decided to check it out, and the rest, as they say, is history. Meanwhile, poor old Lefky got banned from Wikipedia forever when they found out about his spamming. For shame.

2. What are the odds that Chipper Jones bats .400 this year?

I'd say pretty close to 0.0%. Chipper's a fantastic hitter, always has been, but right now he's been very lucky in terms of hits on balls in play -- his BABIP is .409 in '08, while his career BABIP is "only" .322 (which is actually pretty good, the league average is around .300). Eventually those seeing-eye balls are going to start finding gloves and his batting average is going to regress to the .300-.330 range he usually hits in. Plus, you know he's going to be slowed by an injury at some point (in fact, he's not really all that healthy right now). There's pretty much no way he hits .400.

3. I loved you ACC Preview and hope you do some for the other conferences. Who do you think will be the surprise team in College Football this year?

I like South Carolina as a surprise team. They went 6-6 last year, but they played better than that record and they had a very tough schedule. This year, they return 17 starters and have an easier schedule, with UGA, Tennessee, and LSU at home (though they do have to play Florida & Clemson on the road). If Spurrier can find a QB, they'll be much improved over last year.

4. Which person are you more likely to stab: A Guy Crying over the death of UGA XI or a guy who claims that Yankees still have a curse over the BoSox?

Well, any Yankees fan who still claims a curse is just an idiot; we've exorcised that thing multiple times over now. So by process of elimination, it's gotta be the guy crying about a f*cking dog dying. A damn ugly dog, too.

5. You've lived in Atlanta (Georgia Tech) and presumably the Northeast, Boston area. What's the biggest difference between Southern sports fans and New England sports fans?

I was born in Atlanta and lived up north before moving back down, so I have a unique dual-citizenship type of perspective on these things. It's generally a lot more laid-back down here. The Braves are still a big deal, for instance, but the atmosphere at the games is pretty loose, there will be people there just to hang out with friends and relax. Cheaper tickets encourage that, too. You don't shell out the $$ for a Red Sox game at Fenway just to chat it up with your BFFs... Now, one exception is college and high school football, which is treated with a near-religious fervency in the south. They enjoy football as much as anyone at, say, BC (where my cousin went), but I went to a Florida game at The Swamp last year with some friends, and that was an intense experience. Going to an SEC stadium is a whole different ballgame, that's all I can say.