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The best is supposed to be what we want, right?

I mean, no one would settle for Detroit when he could have Paris. Only a fool (or a world-class miser) would hold on to his Chevy Metro when he could afford to plunk down $1.7 million for a Bugatti Veyron. And before today I had never heard of Noma, but a lot of people swear this Danish restaurant is the finest in the world and if I had the opportunity to dine there for free, I certainly wouldn’t say, sorry, I’m full.

So why are so many college football fans so darn upset over the LSU vs. Alabama rematch that will conclude the 2011 season on Jan. 9 in the National Championship Game?

Okay, on a very obvious level I get the rancor. Their first meeting – Nov. 5′s breathlessly overhyped “Game of the Century” that ended in a 9-6 LSU win – did not exactly deliver pulse-pounding action, unless you consider the punting game to be the height of athletic thrills.

And there’s no denying that SEC fatigue is a very real condition in non-red states. The conference is guaranteed a sixth straight national champion and, depending on the outcome, LSU will win its third or Alabama will capture its second title in the last eight years. The good ol’ boys have become monotonously monstrous, and their fans love nothing more than reminding the rest of the country of how superior their brand of football is.

Despite all that, there is no escaping this simple fact: LSU and Alabama are the two best teams in college football right now. They have proven that conclusively over the course of the last four months. In short, they have earned the right to play for the crystal football.

The bitter complainers out there – namely Oklahoma State and Stanford – simply don’t have a case. Either could have earned a spot in New Orleans on Jan. 9 but they failed at key moments. Oklahoma State inexplicably lost to Iowa State while Stanford was handled easily by Oregon at home. Sure, Bama lost too – to the best team in the nation, in overtime, by a measly three points, in a game it would have won if their field goal kicker didn’t have the aim of Helen Keller.

Yes, you’re probably thinking, but what about a playoff? If our goal is to have the best, surely that would top having some computers and human voters decide who plays for the crown, right? Well, not necessarily. A four-team playoff would be great. Stanford vs. LSU and Oklahoma State vs. Alabama in the semifinals, with the winners to meet for all the glory – sign me up for that. Any playoff setup larger than that, however, would really start to lessen the importance of the regular season.

Do we really need Arkansas, which got reamed by both LSU and Alabama, competing for the right to say it’s the best team in the land? Or Kansas State, which lost by 41 points to Oklahoma and barely escaped Eastern Kentucky – EASTERN KENTUCKY?! – by three points? Or Boise State, which faced fewer quality teams in an entire season than LSU or Alabama did in a couple of weeks?

Whilst the left hand is a palm and finger grip, the right hand is solely a finger grip, and to help you to appreciate how your right hand should feel I want you to take a golf ball in your right hand as if you were about to throw it a long way overarm.

Now look at how you are holding the ball and you will see that you are holding it mainly in your fingers and not very tightly. This will encourage your wrist to flex backwards as your arm moves forwards, giving you that snap in the wrist just as you release the ball. Remember, you are not holding the ball tightly, but in a technically correct manner, and that is how you should grip the club.

Now move the ball more into your palm and make the same movement; you will find that much of the flexibility in your wrist has gone.

Although you will have a firmer grip on the ball your ability to throw it a long way has diminished, and this is similar to how many players place their right hand on the grip. It feels more powerful, but in fact is weaker.

To attain the correct right hand grip place it so that the palm faces the target, with the grip at the base of the fingers.

Close your fingers around the grip, feeling that the right forefinger is slightly triggered and therefore very slightly separated from the middle two. The little finger should rest either on top of the left forefinger (if you have small hands) or between it and the left middle finger. The thumb should sit just to the left of centre on the grip.

The left thumb will sit snugly in the palm of the right hand, and is invisible when viewed face on. The right forefinger sits very much at the side of, rather than under, the grip. The ‘V’ of the right hand is virtually parallel to that of the left and therefore points just inside the right shoulder. Again, the best way to monitor your grip is to hold the club up in front of you.

Check the position of both ‘V’s; the number of knuckles visible on the left hand should be two to two-and-a-half.

As you progress at this game, so your grip may need to alter slightly according to how much hand action you are capable of producing, but the guidelines I have given should be acceptable for most players.

If, after reading this, you realise that your grip is far from perfect, persevere with the change. Initially it may feel terrible and the results may not instantly inspire you, but remember that a sound grip is the basis of a sound swing.

Then close the fingers around the grip, leaving the index finger slightly triggered. Again, the view from the front and from the side.

To introduce the right hand to the grip, place it so that the palm is facing the target. The view from the front and from the side.