Friday, December 02, 2005

Make it Charged With Controversy

Congress to look into BCS mess?
Ok, I don't mind Congress getting involved into sports when things such as...um...steroids and performance enhancing drugs are being abused. But getting into the whole BCS debate. C'mon folks, don't you have better things to do like figuring out Health Care or Tax Reform.

I've been thinking about weighing in on the whole BCS debate for awhile. Up until this year I was a firm anti-BCS critic and felt that a playoff would be the best way to decide the national champ. I am now sold on the BCS. With the BCS you get two things. First, the whole season acts as a de facto playoff. In order to guarantee a spot in the BCS title game, a team has to run the table. This means each week is essentially a win-or-go-home scenario. If you are to lose, you want to lose early and then hope for help along the way. In a playoff scenario, a loss (or even two, see Ohio State, Notre Dame this year) does not hurt you as much. Secondly, the BCS has people talking about the pros and cons of the system. Every week it seems there is talk about if the BCS should stay or if it should go. You know that phrase "any publicity is good publicity" -- thats what I'm talking about. Also, since this year it is pretty much guaranteed that the Rose Bowl will be USC vs Texas, if there was a playoff, how many analysts would be chiming in about who shold play in the Fiesta Bowl? Side note, if either of these two teams lose this weekend, I would still support USC/Texas Rose Bowl -- these teams are that good. Even with a playoff -- 4 teams or 8 teams, there will be teams saying "we should be in there," so what point does it serve? If there is a change to be made, I would support a selection committe, much akin to one the NCAA uses for March Madness, to decide who plays in each of the 4 BCS Bowls. A selection committee is much more valid then using an ultra-complicated equation that is constantly being changed each year.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congress also has some pension reform legislation that they should be getting to.

Personally, I think that Congress should stay out of sports completely. That includes removing any allowable collusion clauses (ala baseball).

Anonymous said...

Add to Congress' to-do list (dare I say, Afghanistan and Iraq), the remaining FY2006 appropriations bills, renewing (or not renewing) USA Patriot Act, immigration issues, research issues, etc, etc, etc...

As to the BCS v playoff preference, I am in support of retaining the "mythical national collegiate football champion" as an ongoing water cooler discussion. That must mean keeping the current system.