When I started writing with any sense of professionalism, I swore to myself that while I wouldn't always be right, I would be thoughtful. So this is an exercise in attempted thoughtfulness.

Back a few months ago, when the first rumors of Missouri leaving the Big XII to join the SEC came to the forefront, I immediately disliked the idea. I didn't think Mizzou was a good cultural fit, a good football fit, a good geographic fit...really, just not a good fit at all.

But more than anything, the idea of leaving behind the Missouri-Kansas rivalry really irked me. Remember: I'm not Missouri born and bred; I'm a Texan. But when I was taught to be a Missouri fan, Lesson No. 1 was "We don't like Kansas. That's our thing."

The idea of Missouri leaving its roots -- leaving the Big XII, leaving what was left of the Big 8 -- just really did not jive with me. It didn't seem like the right move for Missouri.

If you haven't heard (for some reason), Missouri in fact left the Big XII today to join the SEC. My feelings on the move haven't changed: I didn't like it. I felt like it was a money grab for the university as opposed to embracing all of the things that the university has preached for years and years.*

*Remember when Mizzou sold shirts in support of the Joplin rebuilding efforts under the banner of "One State. One Spirit. One Mizzou"? Remember when, a couple months later, Mizzou screwed over Kansas City -- where roughly 1/4 of its fans live -- by leaving the Big XII? I found that particularly interesting.

But I was in the minority with my opposing view. 90% of people -- including most of the people whose opinions I truly value on matters such as this -- loved the move, thought it was absolutely the right move. Why, then? Why did I have such a polar opposite view of those whose opinions I value (and, quite frankly, usually agree with)?

So I set off to be thoughtful. I tried to really break down exactly why I was feeling this way. It wasn't really because I wanted to save the Mizzou-Kansas rivalry; that's far too minor, in the long run, to be so adamant about.

And I think I figured it out. I think I figured out the core reason why the Mizzou-to-the-SEC move bothers me so much and, frankly, why I've been viewing this entire situation so incorrectly:

Politics.

For anyone who knows me, you know that politics are my absolute kryptonite. I absolutely cannot stand politics. It seems to me that poltics are the biggest waste of time and emotion that our society has to offer.

My long-standing political view: the only thing more naive than believing that nobody is lying to you is believing that only one side is lying to you.

I think I had too long believed that while politics may rule other realms of life, surely not sports! And surely not college sports! And surely not my alma mater's sports!

But I, as I usually am, was wrong.

I think today served as a stark revelation to me that even the most apolitical things -- like college athletics -- are ruled by politics and politicians. People whose job it is to get things done for the betterment of their own situation, not the greater good.

It hit me when I remembered back to a report by the great Mike DeArmond at the Kansas City Star a couple of days ago. I distinctly remember this passage:

"Concerns over the amount of the exit fee that Missouri would have to pay the Big 12 and other legal maneuvering is likely holding up the decision. But MU donors have made millions of dollars in pledges to cover exit fees and expenses, according to the source, and it is anticipated MU would announce plans to make a significant stadium expansion upon joining the SEC."

Missouri, under pressure from its donors, made the move to the SEC. It wasn't the hundreds of e-mails that Brady Deaton said he took into consideration. It wasn't the "#Mizzou2SEC" hashtag trending topic on Twitter. It was the donors -- the ones with political capital -- getting what they wanted.

It was a truly stark realization, I think, because I've been extremely naive. I think I truly believed that this was a two-way relationship between my alma mater and I: I cared about it, and it cared about me.

But today, it became very evident that really, college sports is just another political arena. College sports is a business -- I've known that for a long time -- but more than anything, it's a business ruled by politics.

And I cannot stand politics.

I can certainly see the upside of moving to the SEC. I think I'm actually going to enjoy seeing my alma mater play against Georgia and Florida and Arkansas. In fact, the idea is actually growing on me.

And now I understand why all of the people whose opinions I so value are so polar-opposite to me in this instance: because they get it. I didn't. I was still in the first era of my sports fandom -- the happy-go-lucky, let's-go-team era. But for better or for worse, today was the ending of that era, and I tried very, very hard to hang on, but hanging on just wasn't going to happen. I get it now.

I think I found the core issue behind all of this. Today was, to me, a stark realization that the things that I enjoy, the things that you enjoy, the things that we all enjoy, are controlled by a very select few. And those select few -- as you would do in a similar situation -- will act in the best interest of themselves as opposed to their constituents.

Just like politics. And man, do I hate politics.

I think Jeff Sullivan, the outstanding blogger for SB Nation and Lookout Landing, said it best: if we were truly rational about sports, we wouldn't watch sports.

I'm still going to watch sports. But now, I'm going to make a real, tangible effort to just watch the games and not worry about anything outside of that.

Because on the field, there are rules that I understand. Outside of the field, well, I just don't have enough political capital to matter.