With college football in position for takeoff and bound for
the 2008 season, the debate of the NCAA adopting a post-season playoff versus
protecting the bowl games takes flight again.Fans across America will write to newspapers, call radio stations and e-mail
anyone who will listen and express their views.Proponents of a playoff ardently believe the time has come for the NCAA
to wise up and implement a single elimination tournament of four, eight or even
16 teams.Supporters of bowl games argue
that, while not perfect, the current system determines a national champion at
least as effectively as a playoff would, and provides a holiday tradition that
millions of fans have enjoyed for more than a century.
Organizers of San Diego’s two bowl games back the latter
argument.This position is supported by
several points.
Perhaps the most compelling argument in favor of maintaining
the status quo is that college football already has a playoff.It’s called the regular season!Jump ahead to September 13th.If you’re a fanatic, it’s probably already
circled on your calendar.The 2nd-ranked
Ohio State Buckeyes board a plane and fly to Los Angeles to take on the
4th-ranked USC Trojans.The winner
continues on with high hopes of a national championship.The loser?Well, they better not lose again; and they better hope other powerhouses
fall to defeat somewhere along their paths to bowl season.“I really question the wisdom of a playoff,”
said Nebraska Athletic Director Tom Osbourne. “The regular season is the playoff…
every game is important.You can’t
really take a Saturday off.” Now I enjoy college basketball as much as
anyone.I certainly make it a point to
get home and sit in front of the television with a sandwich and soda for the
best rivalry in the country, Duke vs. North Carolina.But, other than bragging rights, does the
outcome really mean anything?More than
likely they’ll both be getting high seeds in the 65-team NCAA Tournament
regardless of what happens.
Of the several arguments in favor of the playoff, I find it
interesting that not one mentions what should be considered the most critical
asset of college football, the student-athlete.Approximately 6,800 players, 13,500 band members and 1,250 cheerleaders
from 68 universities will enjoy bowl experiences that will create memories to
last a lifetime.Kansas Head Coach Mark
Mangino agrees, “I think the bowls are unique to college football.I don’t care how many Bowl games you play or
are coaching, they’re all special.Those
are memories that the players will have forever.” Consider the lessons the
Texas Longhorns received when they boarded an active U.S. Navy warship and
mixed with Sailors and Marines defending our country.Or think of the Navy Midshipmen who lifted
the spirits of sick children and their families at Ronald McDonald House.Bowls are much more than just a football
game.
Moreover, 34 of the teams (or around 3,400 players) will go
home as Bowl Champions.In college
basketball, with the exception of the tournament winner, each and every team
ends their season with a disappointing, and sometimes humiliating loss.“Every bowl game is a meaningful experience
for student athletes,” remarked Dr. John Peterson, President of the University
of Tennessee.“It’s what it should
be.And at the end of the year you don’t
say only one team feels good about itself.” Let’s recap this point, football
rewards team’s achievements for the entire season.And as exciting as March Madness is,
basketball rewards that one team that gets got for six straight games.
And think of the communities hosting the bowls.Last year bowl organizations, most being of
the non-profit variety, garnered more than $1.7 billion in aggregate economic
benefit for their regions.Several
hundred thousand fans pack their bags and follow their team to Pasadena,
Orlando, San Antonio, San Diego, Tampa or any of the other 28 communities to
cheer on their teams.They stay in
hotels, dine in restaurants, shop in stores, enjoy the local attractions and
spend millions of dollars!Arizona
Governor Janet Napolitano once said, “The economic impact that these games and
the Fiesta Bowl Festival bring our state is remarkable.”
And no, bowl games and playoffs cannot coexist.As we all heard growing up, “Money doesn’t
grow on trees!”Let’s create a
hypothetical situation.Let’s say your
(insert school here) are ranked 4th in the country and enter an eight-team
playoff.Their quarterfinal game is in
Dallas’ Cotton Bowl.If they win,
they’re on to Tampa’s Outback Bowl for the semi-final.They win that one and they’re off to the
National Championship in Miami’s Orange Bowl.So now you’re sitting around with your friends in your middle-class two
bedroom condo in Anytown, USA pondering what to do.Do you spend your dough on a quarterfinal game?Or do you pass and wait for a semi-final
matchup or better yet, the championship game?The bowl games will suffer.Most,
if not all bowl games cannot survive without fans filling the stadiums and
hotels that they serve.
And evidenced by impressive numbers of television viewers,
and huge numbers of fans attending the games, bowls are as popular as
ever.Yes, I bet even you graduates out
there tune in or better yet, travel to watch your alma mater do battle in the
post-season!
Convinced yet that bowl games are what’s best for college
football?Probably not.It’s a debate that will live on for years to
come.And in reality it’s good for what
I consider the greatest sport in the world.But c’mon… let’s stop the nonsense and celebrate a system that has
existed since the first Rose Bowl January 1st, 1902.
