2009: The College Football Season Of Disappointment

I remember a couple of years ago when being a college football fan meant there was a debate to be had every week as superpowers cascaded down a glorious road towards a potential national title.

And every week, one lost a game to another program that they often shouldn't have.  Every week things were shaken up, but the superpowers still emerged on top.

The BCS games still were stupid because there was no playoff system, but at least the names were big and there was some dispute as to who really was the best team in the country.

That's because the laundry list of insane programs stood head and shoulders above any other potential contenders.  I'm talking about programs like Oklahoma, Notre Dame, USC (ESPN's top three programs of all time), Michigan, LSU, Georgia, Cal, Texas Tech, Florida...

And before that...

Florida State, Ohio State, Miami...

And teams who always shook it up like...

Tennessee, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Stanford, Oregon State, Oregon, Boise State, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State...

This year, the season ended and the national title is Alabama and Texas.

Yawn.

There are a bunch of undefeated programs that I haven't paid any attention to because I don't care about them.  Sure I think TCU is better than Texas and probably more deserving of a shot at the title, but would either beat Alabama?

Probably not.

And before you raise your hand and scream that you do care about TCU, Cincy, and Boise State, let me ask how many of their games you watched this year?

I watched a couple for each.  Maybe.

I caught some highlights but I never cared about them.

I just knew all season watching Texas that someone, somewhere, had to be better.

And in the end, heck, maybe no one was better.  Maybe this bowl line up really is the best of the best.

If it is that's really too bad.  I don't think anyone who isn't affiliated with Georgia Tech or Iowa will be watching that game.

Cincy and Florida is going to be a let down.  TCU and Boise State will end up proving very little in the hearts of college football fans.

It just seems like for 2009 the sport lost its luster.  The fans are realizing we need the big programs and the occasional stand from the little guys, but it gets boring when the little guys make more than an occasional stand.

This is a plea to the big name programs: get it together again.  I miss you.

We miss the SEC skirmishes that remind us its the best conference in college football.  I hate having to think the Pac-10 is better.

We need the Oklahoma-Texas rivalry to be for all the marbles, but we also need to know each team is heading for a BCS game.

We need Ohio State and Michigan to be at each other's throats vying for the Rose Bowl.

We need LSU in all their redneck glory to buck up and beat down their challengers.  We need Georgia to do the same, but hopefully to get spoiled by an Auburn, Tennessee, or Florida team that is a bit of a dog.

And most of all, we really need the King Kong of the west coast to go back to playing big brother to everyone.  That is everyone with the exception of Notre Dame, who might jump out and spoil the king.

Where are my big name programs this year?  Who do I argue with?

I guess there is next year, but I can't care about college football again until then.  Maybe when next year comes back around there will actually be something to care about, but until then happy bowling to Cincy, TCU, Boise State, Iowa, Georgia Tech, and whoever else may be playing.

I won't be watching your games and neither will anyone else.