Bowling for Controversy

Michigan fans are up in arms about what they feel is their team getting the shaft by the BCS this weekend. While the arguement that the current bowl system is broken is a valid one, the fact that Michigan fans (or the fans of any team) are trying to justify their team's credentials over another is foolish. If your opinion is that the system is broken, it's pointless to try to create a scenario where your favorite team should be chosen over another. You can't say a system is broken and then use it to try to make an arguement for your team. Logical fallacy.

As of this morning, 90% of respondents to an ESPN.com poll were in favor of a playoff for determining the national champion in college football. It's important to point out that the fact that 90% of people believe this will not make it so. The current system is simple economics. Many people have lots of money invested in the current system of bowl games, and unless you provide them with a guarantee that whatever replacement system is adopted would provide the same financial benefits, it ain't going to change.

Despite this obvious fact, proponents of the current system do not make this arguement in public. They claim that a playoff would add too many games to the season. But, my brother-in-law Ringo has a plan that I think is viable. Probably makes too much sense to even think about implementing it, but here's how it goes -

-Eliminate the extra game that was just added to the season this year, along with the conference championship and the bowl game for a given team, and you have compensated for every game that would be added in a 16 team playoff. And only two teams would be playing 3 extra games. 8 teams would only have one extra game, since they would be eliminated in the first round of said playoff.

I think this makes good sense. You like the bowls? Keep the some of the bowl games to include all the teams that don't make the playoff. Have the same corporations sponsor different games throughout the playoffs. This is not difficult to envision how this could actually result in more money than the current system.

Despite the foolishness of the current system, the people in charge of these decisions are not stupid people. They have probably discussed such a proposition before. The fact is that the current system only works if you have two undefeated teams at the end of each season, which has not happened more often than it has happened since the BCS came to pass.

If you like the current system, please just admit it's because of the money.