| 29 September 2009
I didn't want to get involved in the repetitive arguments for college football getting a playoff system. We know the BCS is here and will be here for awhile. Unfortunately for the 90% of us who want the playoff system, we probably want get it anytime soon. Either way I think I have to try and get the other 10% on board because anyone who really believes the BCS system is the best thing for college football shouldn't even be considered a sports fan. I don't know if these people just like to go against the grain or they believe that their all high and mighty because their traditionalists who want to stick with the old ways of college football instead of doing what's right. I've written about how the college football rankings are complete nonsense and their only purpose are to provide a facade for media markets to conger up hype for upcoming games. We've seen this year that the hype hasn't lived up to expectations and most Top 10 teams seem about as legit as Lamar and Khloe's wedding. The only fair way to get a legitimate national champion is to have a playoff. This is why I'm going to list the Top Ten Pro BCS Arguments (and Why They're Wrong).
#10 - Students Need Time To Study for Finals
Can people finally come to grips that these players are athlete students and not student athletes? Let's just think of the travel schedule as an educational field trip. Other students travel abroad to further their education, which in turn, furthers their career outlook. Players can do the same thing by gaining more exposure and traveling with their teams. They will still have a chance to study and if they're like most students then they won't study until the week before anyway. There's so many ways to rectify this issue that it should really be a non-issue.
#9 - A Playoff Would Leave Legit Teams Out
Every playoff is going to leave some teams out that people would like to have in. That's the nature of having a season and being on the cusp. The difference is that at least multiple teams would have a chance and it would truly be a national championship and not a two-team championship. Currently teams benefit if they lose early on and are punished if they lose towards the end of the season. There's a reason it's called a season and not called survivor pool. Teams will be left in, but the majority of the correct teams will be in.
#8 - The Season Would Be Too Long
I haven't heard any athletes say that playing a maximum of three or four extra games would be too much for them. Most these athletes are well prepared for a long, enduring season and adding additional games wouldn't cause as many problems as people think. Yes, there is the chance of more injuries, but that's a risk for any sport. Are any NFL teams complaining that they make the playoffs because their players are more at risk for injury? I don't think so. These players can handle it.
#7 - Conforms to Other Sports
Numbers seven, six, and five on this list kind of coincide together, but each is their own issue in separate ways. Yes, college football is different than any other sport. There's a reason it's different, because the people in charge are idiots. No other college sport or professional sport doesn't have some sort of playoff. Division III? Playoff. Division II? Playoff. Division I-AA? Playoff. So how can anyone contend that the issues above are actual issues when the same sport, just different division has a playoff? The issue isn't about conforming it's about what's doing what's best for the sport anyway.
#6 - Ends Tradition
Here comes the traditionalist rally cry. A playoff system would end traditions like the Big Ten champ playing the Pac-10 champ at the Rose Bowl. First of all, the tradition has already been broken with the BCS because anytime a Pac-10 Team or Big Ten team is playing for the national championship then it may not be against the Pac-10 champ and it usually isn't being played at the Rose Bowl. Secondly, I don't think anyone of either fan base would rather see a meaningless Rose Bowl matchup then have a chance for their team to try and get to the national championship. Do you think USC was excited to be playing Penn State last year and not be in the national championship? Traditions are great, but new traditions can be formed.
#5 - A Playoff Messes Up The Bowls
Not many people care about the smaller bowls anyway unless your team is involved. I'm sorry; I just don't care to watch the Roady's Humanitarian Bowl or the R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. I care about the four BCS games and the national championship. Even if you have an eight team playoff then that causes seven games to be humongous draws. There's always a shot at an upset and it will make you want to watch any of those seven games. The rest of the bowls can still be around for traditions sake or for Notre Dame fans to be happy that they finally won one after going 6-6. Either way, it will only increase audience viewership and become better for the bowl sponsors.
#4 - Money From Bowls
The bowls are about money; actually everything's about money. Some BCS fans think that having a playoff system would end sponsorship to other bowl games. That's not the case at all. Anytime football is on television, people will watch; when people watch, sponsors will come. Now I'm not sure if rates would stay the same, but until there is a playoff in place then you can't really determine if viewers will drop or not from other games. I do know that viewers will increase for the playoff games, which would allow the NCAA to charge even more money for sponsorship of all the playoff games. Most conferences split the money from bowl games anyways and this would just increase the money coming to the conferences because the further you go along in the bowl games then the more money for your conference. Some proposals for a playoff system were said to increase revenue by at least double of what it currently is. I don't think money is a problem in this debate.
#3 - Fan's Won't Travel
I can't believe people actually think that fans won't travel to the playoff games. They will. The best scenario would be to place the highest ranked seeds and have them play at the closest location. This would be similar to what college basketball does in the first couple rounds of their tournament. A playoff system would be a major event, similar to what college basketball has in respect to hype before the tournament. Many of the tickets would be purchased by corporate sponsorships and the remaining tickets would go to the schools. The stadiums would be filled and people will attend their team's playoff games no matter where they are at. Once again, there are playoffs and tournaments in other collegiate sports and fans travel all around for those events. This would be much of the same.
#2 - Cupcake Schedules
People think having a playoff would make teams more likely to have cupcake schedules just so they could get into the playoffs. I differ greatly with this opinion though. Currently there are cupcake schedules because you can't lose a game. By allowing a team to still have a chance with a loss, teams would be more likely to have better opponents on their schedule because one loss wouldn't be as damaging to them. If there's a playoff system it's still going to ultimately come down to winning your conference first and then there would be some at-large bids so people would boost their out-of conference schedule to help them in their seeding later on if they win their conference.
#1 - Every Game Matters
The #1 argument that I disagree with the most is that every game matters in college football. This is ridiculous on two accounts. In the current state of college football if you lose a game then your chance at a national championship is basically over. This means that after the first week of the season 171 different programs seasons are basically over. You can't tell me that every game matters when if a team loses the game then the season is basically done. There's a reason it's called a season. You need to play through the ups and downs to see who the best at the end is. There is basically no reward for winning your conference if you have a loss other than going to a BCS game that at the end of the season means you still don't have a shot to win the national title. I guess every game matters until you lose one game.
The other part of this is that every game would actually matter during the season. Every in conference game would be more and more important if winning the conference would get you into the playoffs. Big games are still going to be big games at the beginning, middle, or end of the season. There will still be the same amount of drama involved at the end of the season, if not more, because now teams are vying for a playoff spot and more teams will be on the edge to get in and every game will matter instead of only two or three teams really having a shot at the end of the year.
