Monday, January 12, 2009

The BCS is Awesome.

I mean it. I know Boyd says poo on the BCS, but come on, it's awesome. What other sport has you pissing and moaning about who deserves to be called the best days (and probably weeks) after the final game was played? I don't remember anyone talking about how the Patriots should have actually been the NFL champs, or the Lakers as the NBA champs. This is what makes the BCS so great: it is consistently debated and no one ever stops talking about it.

Utah and Texas fans are up in arms right now because they got "screwed by the BCS." If college football had a plus-1 (as everyone seems to be pimping right now) the Utes wouldn't have even gotten in. So, a full playoff would be great. But how many teams? 8? 12? 16? There is always going to be some complaint in college football, so why not let the complaining be about the BCS and who gets hosed every year? It makes for great debate. I can sit around with my friends and debate the BCS for hours. With a playoff, it would be something like this: Well, I figured Florida would win and they did. Captivating. I'd rather debate what would happen if Utah played Florida or USC than discuss who just won a playoff. For my money, the BCS gives us something extra to talk about, something to get irate about.

Everyone wants some kind of a playoff, but how often does the best team win a single-elimination playoff? Was Kansas truly the best team in college basketball last year? Were the Giants really the best team in the NFL? Does anyone really think the Cardinals, Eagles, Ravens or Steelers is the best team in the league this season? Mostly just their own fans. The NBA and MLB both do it right - a series. You can't really make the argument that the Celtics weren't the best team in the NBA last year because they had to go through 4 series' in order to win the trophy. But, the Giants as the best team in the NFL last year after the season the Patriots had? No - the sun shines on every dog's a$ at least once. The G men played their best game of the season when it mattered. It doesn't mean they were the best team in the NFL, but they were crowned champions. In a 7-game series, the Pats win in 6 max. But without it, the 10-6 Giants get the crown. But at least they had to go through a playoff, right?

If a college football playoff could be done that included at least 8 teams, it would be awesome. I can only assume the ratings would be through the roof. But how do you decide who gets in? Each of the BCS conferences get one team in and the other two are at-large? If that's the case this year, then eligible for the two at-large spots would be Utah (12-0), Alabama (12-1), Texas (11-1), The Ohio State (10-2), Boise State (12-0), and Texas Tech (11-1). Who do you leave out? Or do you just put in the top 8 teams regardless (not irregardless) of conference affiliation? Personally, I think that would be awesome, but current BCS conferences would throw a hissy fit and Notre Dame would find some way to buy themselves a guaranteed spot using NBC's money. But would a playoff like this (or any kind) put a damper on the regular season? That's what all these college football experts keep saying - the BCS makes the regular season mean something. Would a playoff change that? Would it become like college basketball, where only the die-hard fans pay attention before the tourney starts, or would it increase in popularity and build on the already growing fan base?

The point is, nothing in college football is ever going to work. Maybe they should go half an NCAA basketball tournament - a 32 (.5) team playoff. At least that way the only team whining would be #33, and no one gives a deuce about them. The BCS allows the controversy that is college football to be put on display all season long, most especially for one week in early January for everyone to watch. It's not perfect, but it sure makes for some good debate. The BCS is awesome.

4 comments:

Boyd said...

I wasn't saying poo on the BCS as in it's such a horrible thing, just that it is officially a dead ass topic. And then here comes T-Bone, writing ANOTHER 5000 word opus on the BCS.

I just can't care anymore.

Boyd said...

Oh, and just because you wrote it, I will respond with a few thoughts.

1st: The BCS is better than the old system, hands down. At least we get a few good quality games at the end of the meaningless season.

2nd: Is debate really what you want? Sure, talking it out is fun, but I would rather just see a true championship than talk about it. The Super Bowl is the highest rated event every year on TV, regardless of wether people debate it or not. Why? It is legitimate. BCS TV ratings, even for the BCS championship itself are lower than many NFL wild card and divisional playoff games. See, people in America LOVE football. And I just don't see how adding 7 great games would hurt the sport.

3rd: You speak of the complaining that will continue to go on if they go to a playoff. The difference is that it will be the complaining of 2 loss teams rather than the legitimate complaining of 0 and 1 loss teams.

4th: Your argument about a playoff not necessarily proving who the best team is happens to be legitimate, but in end, it doesn't matter who the best team is, it matters who the champion is. And that can't truly be decided unless it is done on the field.

5th: The college football experts are wrong. The BCS and bowl systems make the regular season mean absolutely nothing. They render it irrelevent because they define it as such by not allowing the best teams to duke it out on the field.

6th:Comparing this to NCAA basketball isn't a fair comparison. People don't get geeked about college hoops for a ton of reasons that don't apply to college football, namely: 32 regular season games=too damn many. 64 teams get in to the tournament=too damn many. Trust me, if they lowered it to a 16 team tourney and cut the games played to 24 or 25, people would be a lot more interested. And that's what we want in a college football playoff, 8 teams. 6.7 percent of the whole field making a playoff. You have to be pretty elite to make that playoff wouldn't you say?

In the end, the BCS is better than what we had before, but why stick with something just because it is better, when you can have the best?

Phil said...

Word Boyd! you just shreded this post. That either makes you awesome, or a real dick of a friend. I think your an awesome dick

Taylor said...

Apparently I'm the only one who recognized the sarcasm in my original post... Do you really think I want to hear all the pissing and moaning about the BCS weeks after it's over? Come on guys. I guess I should have done a better writing job.