Here I'm asking the question on whether or not there should be a playoff tournament for FBS college football (formerly known as Division 1-A, or major college football). My stance: I'm provisionally in favor of it.
Frankly many arguments put forth by the anti-playoff contingent are vapid. Their main argument seems to be that college football has the best regular season in all of sports, and a playoff would just ruin it. One thing they state is that many historically significant regular season games, such as Texas-Arkansas in 1969, USC-UCLA in 1967, Oklahoma-Nebraska in 1987, Michigan-Ohio State in 2006, etc. would lose their luster if we had a playoff. The sense of urgency just wouldn't be there. Maybe they're right about that, but if that happens I frankly wouldn't mourn that loss. Their primary stance is "we already have a playoff. It's called the regular season."
That is pure sophistry. The regular season isn't a playoff. It's more like a combination of a months-long beauty pageant, elimination-style reality TV, and a caste system. Each year about 10 or so teams are anointed as national championship contenders. If those teams turn out to be the best, great! Those teams can certainly lose their anointing with a defeat or two. The problem is, the rest have to work many times as hard to impress the intelligentsia. And if you're not from one of the Big 6 conferences - SEC, Big 10, ACC, Big 12, Pac 10 or Big East - some voters will give you no shot. There's absolutely nothing you can do to make some voters consider you worthy of being considered one of the top two teams. Some state this openly. Take TCU. The same arguments come up every year. Those teams (this year TCU) play in a weak conference, hence weak schedules, and therefore don't deserve squat. Colin Cowherd actually put it in those exact words: "The little guy doesn't deserve squat!" Had Boise State not lost to Nevada, many would still insist on denying them anything. Don't you see, programs like Boise State and TCU just shouldn't get uppity and need to learn not to forget their place. Then they'll say: there's no way those teams would be undefeated in a conference like the SEC. Maybe not, but are you so sure they'd never fare any better than the middle of their conference? Are you absolutely certain BSU or TCU would get eaten alive in the SEC and finish just slightly ahead of Vanderbilt and Tennessee?
Another argument they trot out is that if we went to a playoff, bowl games would be less meaningful. First of all, many of the pre-New Year's Day bowl games now (and some on or after) don't attract much buzz outside of the participating schools. Who right now arranges their entire schedule around the Insight Bowl or Alamo Bowl? Also keep in mind that playoff proponents usually don't advocate ending these bowl games. Many, myself included, see the value in those games. Players get a chance to do more team bonding, do some sight-seeing, community service, and end their season on a high note. There's no reason why a playoff tournament and bowls for those who don't make it can't co-exist.
Another bit of sophistry is this faux concern about academics. The FCS plus Divisions II, III and the NAIA have a playoff system. Where's your concern over academics for those players? They play 3 or 4 postseason games before a champion is crowned. And this after at least 10 regular season games, so spare me your crocodile tears.
The problematic part is figuring out what kind of system to have. I haven't yet come up with a conclusive opinion on this, hence my provisional support for a playoff.What I don't want to see is a system that's great for us who sit on our couches at home, guzzling beer and stuffing ourselves with munchies but economically infeasible and logistically nightmarish for students, parents and alumni who want to go to the games. Maybe their should be no more than two rounds at neutral sites. Making arrangements to attend one bowl game is problematic enough. Please don't compound that problem any more than what's absolutely unavoidable. If you do proceed to implement a playoff, proceed thoughtfully.
No comments:
Post a Comment