Here's Looking at You: Who's to Blame for the BCS?

The BCS is going nowhere fast, and there's only one person to blame:

You.

Not the athletic directors, not the college presidents, not ESPN or FOX, but you.

Okay, so not just you.

Your friends who you go to games with every weekend....them too. 

The guy you sit next to at the bar on Saturday afternoon...sure, why not?

I shoulder my share of the blame as well.

Let's face it: As messed up as the BCS might be, there's little pressure to change anything.

Why?

Last time I checked, we still watch the games, we still go to the games, and we still talk about the games.

In fact, some might argue we talk about the games more than we did before the BCS existed. I don't subscribe to the theory that all publicity is good publicity—but the BCS certainly isn't hurting for attention.

Essentially what happens is that we—the fans—sit at a table, and the waiter—the BCS—comes out with a big bowl of crap.

And amazingly, we wolf it down. 

After we finish eating, we complain endlessly about how poorly the crap tasted—but when another bowl comes out, we dig right back in.

I'll be the first to admit I don't like the BCS. The fact that we had to have the Michigan-Florida debate last year when Boise State was the only undefeated team in the country proved that something's not quite right—and we appear headed down a similar road this season.

But we still watch the games.

No matter how bad the system is, the fans will never stay away. Nor should we. We love the sport and feel strongly about the teams and players involved.

That's what makes college football the best game in the world—we won't let something like the BCS change the way we feel about it.

The downside, of course, is that as long as more than seven million people tune in to every BCS game—including games that involve such powerhouses as Utah, Pittsburgh, and Wake Forest—the BCS has no reason to tinker with what they have.

The system is driven by money and TV ratings—and the current version gets plenty of both. As far as the decision-makers are concerned, the BCS not only works—it's flourishing.

The easy solution would be for me to tell you not to attend any bowl games, or even watch them on television.

But I'm not naive enough to think that's a viable option.

Millions of fans live and die with their teams. College football is a source of pride and debate, and one that we're lucky to have. 

We watch hundreds of games per season—not because we love the teams involved, but because we love the sport they play.

And we aren't gonna let a little thing like the BCS get in the way of our enjoying the sport.

Ah, here comes the waiter from the kitchen...I wonder what he's serving this time.