Idaho: Breeding ground for lost causes?

The craziest man in NFL football named Tom Cable as the new head coach of the Oakland Raiders.

Welcome to the lost cause club, Tom. It seems Idahoans are the current poster children for high hopes waiting to be dashed. I'm talking to you, Gov. Palin.

Let's face it, Idaho is one of the stepchild states of this country. No respect, no heroes and a bad image that keeps getting worse. You may not know, but when Cable played for the University of Idaho Vandals, he was part of the offensive line blocking for Quarterback Scott Linehan. Like Cable's Raiders predecessor Lane Kiffin, Linehan was fired this week. Linehan's St. Louis Rams aren't as good as the Raiders and both will continue to struggle.

So why is it that Idaho can't get good press? OK, it isn't ALL bad; there are some people who genuinely believe the Republican ticket of McCain-Palin will beat the Obama Changemachine. There are even people I know who are planning to punch a full Republican ticket.

It's not my fault. I grew up in that other stepchild state, Utah. The day Utah turns blue is the day the devil gets to have his scotch on the rocks.

And everybody, including ESPN, loves the Boise State Broncos. As we like to say in Moscow, Boise isn't a state.

If you try to blame this run of bad luck on outgoing senator Larry Craig and his restroom exploits, you are missing the point. Craig isn't the problem. Palin isn't the problem. The Vandal cheerleaders skimpy uniforms aren't the problem. These are just visible symptoms.

So what is it about Idaho that breeds people built for lost causes? Is it North Idaho's "Aryan Nation" background or southern Idaho's identification as nothing more than a bunch of Napoleon Dynamite wanna-bes? (On a side note, I hate that movie. Some things are funny because they are true; some things are so true they just can't be funny.)

Enter Cable, most recently the offensive line coach of the Raiders. His previous stint leading a team was for the Vandals from 2000-03. He went 11-35 in four seasons before being replaced by Nick Holt who was replaced by Dennis Erickson who was replaced by Robb Akey. (For the record, I took a sick joy in watching the UNLV Runnin' Rebels knock Erickson's Arizona St. Sun Devils out of their 15th spot in the rankings.) The longest Cable ever held a coaching job was from 1992-1997 when he was the O-line coach at Cal.

In other words, he's perfect for the Raiders. He's their sixth head coach since they were creamed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXVII.

But who knows? Maybe Idaho will break out of this slump. Cable could turn the Raiders around (not likely), McCain-Palin could win the White House (please, God, no), the next U.S. Senator from Idaho could be a decent guy (Larry LaRocca, vote now), and standout Vandal linebacker David Vobora (picked dead last in the 2008 NFL draft) might get into a game.

Or, the nation could continue to only be informed of Idaho's lost causes. Sorry, Broncos. You may get a lot of air time, but you'll never win the BCS championship.

The good news is that I know plenty of people either from Idaho or went to UI that are not lost causes. Whether they can reverse the trend or not, only time will tell.