The BCS Committee politely disagrees with President-elect Obama

November 12, 12:46 PMCollege Sports ExaminerJacob Osterhout

Previous Next

2 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the College Sports Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

 

Here's what I've noticed from talking to my friends: The only people who defend the BCS system are fans of programs that are annual contenders for the BCS National Championship Game.

Ohio State fans, Florida fans, USC fans, Texas fans and Oklahoma fans, they all defend the BCS system as the reason America loves college football.

I beg to disagree.

The reason America loves college football is not because of the BCS, but because America loves football. Period. We would love football even if it was organized like boxing, with competing leagues, Pay Per View contracts and a ranking system determined by money.

But these BCS defenders do have a point. The BCS benefits the teams they love.

On Monday Night Football, President-elect Barrack Obama called for college football to institute an eight-team playoff system. In the 44th President's own words:

I think it's about time we had playoffs in college football. I'm fed up with these computer rankings and this that and the other. Get eight teams -- the top eight teams right at the end. You got a playoff. Decide on a national champion.

In response, the BCS committee used the same argument as my friends who are fans of college football powerhouse programs. Oregon president David Frohnmayer, chair of the BCS Presidential Oversight Committee, thought that the reason Obama enjoyed college football so much was because of the BCS system -- that somehow the system created a more compelling season.

Really? I could make a "compelling" rebuttal, but SI.com's Arash Markazi beat me to it. Markazi writes:

Not having a playoff in college football does not make the regular season more exciting, it makes it categorically unfair. Explain to Utah and Boise State, two undefeated teams that could turn out to be college football's version of George Mason or Davidson in a possible tournament, that they don't deserve a chance to play for a national championship. They could go undefeated year after year and never once even crack the BCS Top 5, but that and a possible trip to the Poinsettia Bowl are apparently supposed to be "compelling" to their fan base.

It would seem that with the future President of the United States of America and solid logic on its side, a playoff system in college football would be inevitable. Unfortunately, it's not going to happen -- but not because of money, as many have suggested.

The BCS system will survive long into the future for exactly the same reason it should've died a short and painful death soon after it was created in 1998. America loves football. And because America loves football, we will never stop watching and rooting for our teams. We will not stop going to the games, buying the apparel or constantly updating the scoreboard on our computers.

Simply put, America loves football too much to make the sacrifice necessary to break an inept and corrupt system that puts the mighty on stage and relegates the unheralded to the back row.