Wednesday, January 03, 2007

The whole Boise State thing just makes me angry

First off, quickly, I'm not about to hate on the man for choosing of his own free will and for his own reasons to leave one job for another, but Nick Saban really did prove to be a snake, didn't he? Already, he had the reputation of being a job-hopper, but now the Dolphins are left holding the bag. A bag with dollar signs on it that was marked for Saban.

But on to the truly annoying happening from New Years Day: The Fiesta Bowl. I will admit, judging from the highlights, it looked like a fantastic game. A fantastic exhibition game. People now want to see if Boise State can take it a step further. They want MORE of that team -- that undefeated team. Unquestionably, that would generate more money than the current joke of a system. "We want playoffs for college football!" Yes. Indeed, we do. And all anyone wants to talk about, now, is how amazing that game was and how it will go down in the annals of college football history as one of the greatest of all time (*cough* bull! *cough*).

But here's the rub, for all you fickle musheads out there that don't understand why the B(C)S is still standing. For all the hoopla about this damn Fiesta Bowl, people seem all too happy to overlook the fact that it was absolutely MEANINGLESS! No freaking way am I going to watch Boise State vs Oklahoma with nothing on the line, zero, nada. In this respect, the blame lies entirely with the media (and the fans!) for giving this exhibition the fuel to endure. "Greatest college football game of all time?" Hell no, because there was nothing to play for! If Boise State loses, what happens? NOTHING! So why not go for trick plays? You know when you'll get playoffs that we're all clamoring for? When you sack up and start rejecting these charades that are being passed off as important bowl games. Put it this way: In college basketball, no one watches the NIT. No one. Unless your favorite team happens to be playing, nobody is interested in games with no stakes. Analogy time! The NIT is to college basketball and any bowl game not named the "National Championship Game" is to college football. There's no grey area, here! It's common sense!

In my ever-so humble opinion, Boise State deserves a shot at the winner of Ohio State v Florida. Yes, it may very well be a blowout, but they're undefeated. Isn't that what matters? Isn't that what everyone is so excited about? That the little guy won a New Year's Day bowl and proved it could hang with the big boys? That the little guy even exists in college football at all?!

You stop slathering over these games and the NCAA will step in. It might surprise people to know, but the NCAA has the power to go over the heads over every conference and choose not to sanction those games -- meaning they could still be played, but wouldn't be recognized by the NCAA. To do so, of course, would require massive upheaval and a spurning of tradition, but you want a playoff system? You have to turn off the TV, send a message to the media that these games have no bearing on anything but pride. The NCAA isn't stupid. They know a playoff set-up would be far more lucrative than the current system. They just need a push from the consumer.

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