How much influence does the rabid sports fan have on the games that he/she supports so thoroughly with time and money? I would argue that, in most cases, we have very little influence. For at least the decades I've been alive, there has been a lot going on in the sports world that contradicts the collective whim of the fan. Work stoppage disasters, rising ticket prices, the degeneration of broadcasting; the sports fan has been helpless to do anything about these issues despite sharing more or less a united stance against them. There are two reasons for this, I think-- it's tough to measure when sports fans are largely in agreement, and even when it's obvious, it's difficult to figure out how to do anything about it.
But a great opportunity has arrived to make our voice heard. From Dec. 1 to Jan. 7, the date of the BCS game that claims it will decide a national championship in college football, hard core fans have an excellent chance to do something about an injustice. While I'm not claiming to have metrics in support of it, it seems pretty clear that most sports fans want a tournament to decide the national champion in college football. We're told this will never happen though, and I think college football's ruling class assumes we will always support the system they have in place, begrudgingly or not. But this year is the perfect year to NOT support the system. There will be 5 BCS games played from Jan. 1 to Jan. 7. I call for all true sports fans, those who know that college football needs a tournament to pick a valid national champion, to BOYCOTT the BCS games this season. If you happen to be a fan of one of the 10 teams playing in the games, I understand the need to watch your team, but you should BOYCOTT the other four.
We can get into all the flaws with the BCS system, and any system that doesn't involve a tournament, in later entries on this blog, but this one is just about rallying the masses. Use your remote to show college football decision makers of the present and the future that you will not blindly buy into whatever haphazard product they sell.
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2 comments:
Dan, thanks for leading the charge on this. March Madness is awesome. Why shouldn't there be a similar venue for fans of college football?
Dan,
I put your blog out to all the people on the Tennessee mailing list. One girl already sent me something her son had worked up. I'll send it to you. Pretty generic I think......a 16 team playoff that would start about Dec. 29th and end on approx. Jan. 19th. Of course then I'd have to set up a football family bracket and you'd come in middle of the pack mediocrity too!
The Commish
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