Bowls Of Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing

For those who would rather watch mediocre FBS (I-A) teams create a snoozefest than watch the two teams remaining in the knockout competition known as the Division I Football Championship, there's not much I'll be able to do to sway you.

However, for those who are wondering just where in purgatory the EagleBank Bowl and the magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl have come from, I direct you to: the Aloha Bowl, the Bluebonnet Bowl, the Cherry Bowl, the Freedom Bowl, the Pecan Bowl, the Salad Bowl, and the Seattle Bowl.

For those who feast on college football, the above bowls more or less represent the "White Castle slider" philosophy: make it shiny and greasy and people will gobble it down and forget that they even did so...until they realize a few hours later they could have been consuming their time more wisely.

(You can choose your own fast-food analogy for the "cheap in bulk" bowl games that dominate the schedule from Dec. 20 to Dec. 30).

Why not consume something that's good for you? Why not watch a game that demonstrates that the teams with the most tenacity, endurance, dedication, and yes, teamwork, are the ones worthy of lifting a championship trophy?

Why continue to watch dead-end games that reward mediocrity, or games that are important because the teams that reached them have done so by invitation, or by a popularity contest?

I've written elsewhere about the fact that the NCAA does not officially recognize the FBS (I-A) "champion." Those three trophies you see in the picture represent the three consecutive FCS (I-AA) championships won by the Appalachian State Mountaineers from the 2005 to 2007 seasons. Perhaps you've heard of Appalachian State?

This year, the Mountaineers (of the Southern Conference) got knocked out of the playoffs in the quarterfinal round by the Richmond Spiders (of the Colonial Athletic Association). The upset was all the more impressive since it was at the Mountaineers' home field. Richmond then upset the Northern Iowa Panthers in the semifinal round last weekend at the Panthers' home field.

The Spiders face the Montana Grizzlies (of the Big Sky Conference) in the FCS championship game Friday at 8pm ET (5pm PT) on ESPN2. The game will be at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, TN (home of UT-Chattanooga), where it's been held every year since 1997.

Would FBS (I-A) ever countenance a fixed site for its title game (as I addressed in my previous article)? Will FBS (and the BCS) ever have the cojones—the testicular fortitude—to step up and serve the college football fans some actual haute cuisine or at least some reasonably worthy victuals, instead of the empty-calorie-filled bowls of junk we are force-fed year after year?

I don't know about you, but I'm not tuning into the EagleBank Bowl or the magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl to find out. If I watch any football Saturday, it will be the Div. III championship game (the "Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl") between Wisconsin-Whitewater and Mt. Union College, also on ESPN2. Or perhaps some NFL. But no greasy bowls, thank you, I'm on a diet to lower my FBS levels.

Instead, I'll be watching a football team lift an NCAA Div. I championship trophy Friday evening. It may not be as heavily marketed or as flashy and shiny as the junk food foisted upon us during "Bowl Week" (it's more like a fortnight), but it's much more meaningful.

So, try eating your veggies tomorrow...you might just like them.