My Official BS (Bowl Selection) Sunday Rant (2007)

I wrote this on one of the message boards, late Saturday night/early Sunday morning, and at the time I realized I wasn’t likely to say it better today, so I saved it to use here:

Ohio State is certain of making the title game this year. That much is certain. The game hasn’t been played yet, and the #1 ranking likely coming Ohio State’s way tomorrow is no automatic guarantee that they will win (You’d think that lesson would’ve sunk in by now, but apparently some teams, and a lot of fans, refuse to learn it). Fine, they have a shot, though only because the two teams above them both lost, not because they claimed a semifinal playoff win.

The fact that there is no clear choice as the opponent means that system has failed. It was set up to do one thing: select the best two teams. Note, the system is “selecting” the teams. They don’t earn the place in the title game by winning. The BCS rankings will prove that tomorrow (i.e. today, Dec. 2). More than one team that won its last game will be left out of the title game… again, only two get picked by the polls and computers… not by the results on the field, but by how the “numbers come out.”

That, as we’re seeing right now (i.e. late Sat. night), is as much or more the result of how persuasive a coach or television pundit can be in lobbying for a team, than the result of a game. From what I’ve seen, neither coaches nor pundits actually are permitted to “suit up” and play the game for their teams. Their contribution to the BCS is by voting, and by lobbying. This means that the title game is determined by politics (and potentially corrupt politics at that) rather than by competition. 

I thought sports was about competition? That’s why I like watching sports. Or rather, liked… in this case, the competition is omitted in favor a process which I (and others, including a writer at ESPN.com) compare to the Iowa political caucus. 

Two years ago, there was relatively little debate about who the best two teams were. Two years ago, however, was the exception, not the rule. It is the exceptions, in fact, which prove the rule, for being so rare. The system is broken. If you like it the way it is, you don’t have to speak up; you can lobby for your team (as I see many, but not all, doing on these message boards).

I prefer to make a case for a playoff, not for any team. So if you see me posting on the message boards, that’s what I’m doing.

If you don’t like the system the way it is, consider what I have to say. And also, don’t withhold your dissatisfaction. Make your views known. And while some may accuse me of making this issue too important, I beg to differ. Politics and money (and the combinations thereof) have corrupted much of society, not just sports, but the FBS (former IA) and the BCS in particular represent perhaps the most glaring example of corruption and disregard for the original goals and standards of college athletics. One need only to compare the FBS with the rest of the NCAA team sports (including Div I basketball) to see this.

Finally, for anyone who hasn’t read many of my posts on the message board, or on this blog, I will state what apparently needs repeating: I do NOT believe Kansas deserves a shot at the title game, or even a shot at a BCS bowl. Missouri deserves it more. I don’t even think the Jayhawks deserve a place in an 8-team playoff. I consider them to be worthy of a #9 or #10 BCS ranking at best, with Hawaii at #8.

So if you’ve come to the boards to bash people for their school allegiances, you’ll see that (a) I have three, of which KU is not the strongest; and (b) that I will agree with much of what you are planning to say to me about the KU football team’s lack of worthiness for a BCS bowl. My user name indicates that I am at Kansas currently, but I am not of Kansas, nor would I ever claim to be. And as you’ll see, I’ve left the catchy school cheer here on my profile, where it belongs, instead of repeated ad nauseam on the message boards.

If you’ve managed to read this far, you must be literate, so thank you for reading. Both this particular post, and for reading in general (which is a disappearing habit nowadays).