BCS Game

[ali0112]

Roll Tide!  Just thought I would say that. 

[The_Scientist]

True story:
I was once explaining to FG how the BCS works.  At the end of my rather lengthy exposition, she responded, "How much pizza do you think you could eat?"  Her mind had wandered off to the Man vs. Food episode where the host's eating partner hurled in the parking lot while trying to down their ridiculously huge meat-loaded challenge pizza. 

This illustrates two points.  One, FG had absolutely no interest in sports, and never will.  Two, the BCS is so complicated that explaining it will cause the average person to stop listening.  Get a playoff going already!

Of course that will take a long time because too much money is at stake for the NCAA in the present system, the power conferences don't want to risk being shown up by the Boise States of the world, and one thing these schools have plenty of is hypocrisy (can't let the kids miss too much school and jeopardize their 50% chance of graduating.)

[GianniB]

HOOK 'EM HORNS!  Just thought I would say that

[Jmolinari]

Hrm.

[The_Scientist]

That's cute.  FG can't stop chuckling at that picture.

[Jmolinari]

It's a classic old internet meme. And i really don't have any idea what you're talking about:)

[The_Scientist]

I'd explain, but you'd end up posting a picture of a bunny-topped pizza.

[Jmolinari]

that's true...and it would likely be more interesting:)

[Loundry]

It works like this:

College football is a billion dollar industry where everyone pays the players handsomely (why wouldn't they?) and goes through ridiculous contortions to pretend that they're not paying the players handsomely in some kind of pretentious, Elizabethan nod to "sportsmanship".  College football is treated with religious fervor by its fans, so naturally everyone wants to know who "#1" is, and there are arcane, byzantine machinations to prevent that from actually happening, and the same machinations allow faux-important people to "vote" on the issue rather than having a simple and well-proven (not to mention fun and completely within the realm of sports and football) method such as a dual-elimination playoff.

Outside of that, football is the best competitive team sport on the planet having with the most complex strategy, the most thrilling possibilities of reversal of fortune, and the best ways of building tension which ramps up excitement.  It's best to ignore all of the ugly facts in the previous paragraph and treat football as a fun game.  It is calculated to be one million times better than soccer within two points of precision.  (Some people think it's insulting to call soccer "soccer", insisting that it share the name with a much superior game.  I think it is charitable and kind to call soccer "soccer" considering that a more fitting name would be "keep-away".)

[The_Scientist]

I highly recommend that anyone with an interest in football read Gregg Easterbrook's Tuesday Morning Quarterback column at espn.com.  Even if you don't care about the game it makes great reading, since he regularly expounds on whatever topic has struck his fancy that week, so you can just skip the football stuff.  He is an exceptional writer and clear thinker on a large number of issues, and he's not afraid to challenge conventional wisdom. 

He's not a foodie, and often he makes fun of the pretentions of the genre, blueberry almond martinis and such. 

[uOTPia Dweller]

I'd explain, but you'd end up posting a picture of a bunny-topped pizza.

Then explain to me this. Now the top eight teams play four bowl games, just one decides the mythical national championship.

With a playoff system, eight teams would play seven games. All seven would decide the national championship. How can one make more revenue from four games rather than seven?

Division II is where they decide it on the field. Now if my alma mater can stop being a bridesmate.

[totm]

Division II is where they decide it on the field. Now if my alma mater can stop being a bridesmate.

Not just division II but every division below I-A (to call divisions BCS and FCS or whatever just addes more confusion).

[KoPP]

The game may have been on a Smurf field, but the Bowling Green-Idaho game last night has been the best game I've seen yet.

As to playoffs, pork isn't only a political entity - football schools love it as well. A real playoff would mean that the big conferences wouldn't have a lockdown on the big money bowls, so they may not have enough money to pay coaches to lock up players in the shed...(heh)

[totm]

One could only hope a playoff would eliminate all the senseless err useless err boring err 6-6 vs 6-6 bowls.  No way in hell it will ever happen.  $$$$$$$

[uOTPia Dweller]

One could only hope a playoff would eliminate all the senseless err useless err boring err 6-6 vs 6-6 bowls.  No way in hell it will ever happen.  $$$$$$$

A playoff system would have no effect on the minor bowls whatsoever other than the dates the games are played on.