I've come to realize that there is a growing resentment to the bowls. While I guess it comes from the fact that 98 percent of college football fans are rabidly pro-playoff (of which I'm part of the dwindling two percent), I must say that I love the bowls. Love 'em.
I find enjoyment in the Sugar and Fiesta Bowls, even when Notre Dame is allowed to play in them and you just know the Irish will trail by four TDs by halftime. I love seeing how the conferences fare, even though way too much weight is put on a conference's bowl record. (When a MAC Champion plays a No. 8 BCS-school, obviously, something's going to be a little skewed).
And while many critics (mostly those who don't watch or report on college football - e.g. Harris pollsters and Heisman voters) pipe in that there are too many bowls, I love all 34. I like the fact that 34 teams will end the season with a win, and can claim themselves champions of the PetroSun Bowl (you probably know that one better as the Independence Bowl). I'll sit down with a beer or 12 and watch the rematches and the MAC vs. WAC Wednesday noon game.
What I hate most about the bowls (besides the renaming with corporate sponsers) is what everyone else apparently loves: The Jan. 1 bowl games. Because (up until this year), Jan. 1 pretty much meant the end of the college football season, and nothing is more depressing than that. But not this year! A record seven bowl games will be played after New Year's Day,* with the biggest of non-BCS'ers being the Cotton Bowl, which finally gets its own time slot on Jan. 2. Of course, while others may scoff at being excited over the post-Jan. 1 Liberty, GMAC and International Bowls, I say bring 'em on.
So for this bowl season I'm going to go through and write a little something about each one. I'll include the opening lines for each, and I may even give a prediction for some (which will most certainly be wrong). I may do some quick analysis, and yes, some may only get a single line (I know there are some really bad ones). But regardless, I'm going to give each bowl the spotlight it deserves, because it's the bowls that help make college football truly unique.
*Save for the years where Jan. 1 falls on a Sunday and is moved in consideration of the NFL.
Count me as one of the 2% as well John.
ReplyDeleteI would just simply love to have a +1 championship game. Hell, the format is already in place to do just that with the 5th BCS game.
I thought about writing an anti-playoff blog, but it seems so cliche. My biggest beef with a playoff though is that it will take away from the regular season; and my fear is that a plus-one will eventually become a legit four-team playoff, and no playoff in any sport has ever stayed the same size - eventually college football would have a 16-team playoff, which would cut into the regular season and kill the bowls (this has actually already happened in college basketball with the NIT, which would be dead if not for ESPN taking ownership just to fill up Tuesday nights).
ReplyDeleteI agree that it might eventually turn into that. But this year with OU and Texas, a few years back with Auburn and OU, just show that a plus-1 wouldn't take away from the regular season, but serve as a proof of who is better. Currently we have no way to know if Auburn deserves it more, or Texas deserves it more.
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