Recently, our eloquent poster EJ talked about the shame of the BCS rejecting a +1 format. I wholeheartedly agreed.
What puzzles me more about this whole fiasco, however, is how something as significant as this can get swept under the media rug. What if this story were to emerge, say 6 months ago, when the BCS computer system failed again for yet another year? The blame for this falls in three areas:
1. Fans - We are most to blame. Why are we so fickle? Two years ago, I remember having volatile discussions for hours, stressing that the Gators deserved the spot over Michigan. There were fist fights, cries of activism, and ESPN ran the story for five straight weeks. What happened?
The sad reality is that college football is not in the national consciousness right now. Fans are thinking about the NFL Draft, baseball, and getting their tax refunds. The BCS just isn't as important. When the outcry begins next December, just be ready to point the fingers where they belong.
2. Media - Much like the fans, the media (particularly ESPN) is a symptom of the current focus. Any network that can have a show called "Who's NOW" is not concerned with long-term issues. They'll milk the BCS fatalities for all its worth come college football season, but it's irrelevant now. Ratings dominate all.
3. College Football Presidents, Conference Commissioners - Simply put, they just don't have any guts. They cave to the bottom line every single time, without actually exploring whether the bottom line can be increased. That's the most astonishing thing about this whole affair...as EJ pointed out, this could be extremely lucrative.
We all know the system will fail again this year. We'll also know why.
Friday, May 2, 2008
BCS Movers Play the Media, Fans
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4 comments:
It's one of the most frustrating thing in all of sports. College football has the best regular season of any sport, yet the worst post season. It could be fixed so easily...
Mark Schlabach and Gene Wojiekowski had 2 excellent articles on espn.com about this. It really is just an apalling lack of common sense being shown.
Do you guys think that underdogs like Boise State, Hawaii and FAU have a better chance of cracking a playoff system or the current system?
I think getting lucky and going undefeated on a soft schedule and getting into a BCS game that way is more realistic for schools like mine. We play tough enough non conference teams (Texas, Florida, Michigan State, YIKES!).
Playoffs would be more exciting, but I think the little guys have a better shot to reach BCS the way it is now.
That is a good point. I think it would be tough either way, but if FAU were to go undefeated with our ridiculous out of conference schedule, we would have to get a look. It definitely depends on what the playoff system is. If we're talking about a march madness esque 64 team playoff, then I think that would obviously be the way to go. A smaller playoff like 8 or 16 would be difficult, unless every conference winner got the automatic bid. Then we would have already been in it last year.
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