BCS Commentary

Ladies and Gentlemen –

Before we get to the much anticipated 2012 CFB Wizard College Football Preseason Extravaganza there is something that needs a little light shined on it and that is the “College Football BCS Championship Playoffs”

The “professional” sports media talking heads have been talking the “playoff” concept up heavily for almost a year now, primarily because two teams (LSU and Alabama) from one conference (The Southeastern Conference) played each other last year for the second time in the same season for the National Championship.

Let me cover just a couple of things before we get to the subject at hand.

The fact that LSU and Alabama played each other for the second time in a season for the National Championship seemed to irk a lot and I do mean “a lot” of the national sports media.

They said “it wasn’t fair”

They said the television ratings would be down

They said “nobody wants to see a defensive game”

Some even went as far as to say that LSU and Alabama “weren’t the two best teams in the country”

The only reason I mention this is…..

Because the very same people spouting the quotes I used above also said in November 2006…

“It shouldn’t make ANY difference WHO wins between Michigan and Ohio State; they need to play again because they are the two best teams in the country!”
– ESPN /ABC Sports

Some also said….

“I think everybody in college football wants to see Michigan – Ohio State Part II for the Championship!”
– Sports Illustrated

Of course the “very” same writers also said that the Florida Gators didn’t “belong” in the Championship game that year and many “national” sports writers went as far as to suggest that Florida didn’t stand a chance in the National Championship game on January 8th of 2007.

Remember that?

Maybe the sports writers can remember the ass whipping the Mighty Gators gave the Buckeyes?

EDITORS COMMENT: Gosh 2006 was a long time ago……
That must be the reason why the national sports writers and media talking bobble head dolls can’t remember their own stupid diatribes.

The reason I mention all of this is very simple…..

We have become a nation that believes whatever in the hell comes out of the television set or spews forth from the internet is the truth.

Too many American’s have completely lost the ability to think for themselves.

And the national media outlets know it, cultivate it and use it.

You think I’m wrong?

They decry a Company CEO making a million dollars a year as greedy but applaud a basketball player that makes 100 million dollars a year and couldn’t spell DOG if you spotted him the “D” and the “G”.

President George Bush was stupid because he mispronounced “nuclear” but the current President is a genius even though he thinks there are 57 states in the Union and he can’t pronounce CORPSMAN.

Are you following me so far?

Nobody and I do mean NOBODY stayed on the reported Reggie Bush scandal at Southern California except Your Favorite College Football Prognosticator, right?

Many of you said to me…..

“Let it go, if it was that important don’t you think the national sports media would be reporting it?”

Remember that?

Do you remember when I told you all that the NCAA “investigation” into the Reggie Bush scandal at Southern California would be released when the ESPN and PAC 10 television contract ended?

You might remember when the last ESPN television contract ended with the then PAC 10, it was a week after Coach “Saint” Pete Carroll of the Southern California Trojans ran out of Los Angeles in the middle of the night for Seattle.

One national sports media source said “Coach Carroll leaving the Trojans didn’t have anything to do with potential NCAA violations impacting the Southern California football program”

That quote was from USA Today…..

I guess we are all suppose to believe that the scandal at Penn State just happen to come to light the week “after” Joe Pa broke the record for having the most wins in all of college football.

I’m sure that was just a coincidence too, right?

So what am I leading up to and what does any of this have to do with the BCS College Football Playoff?

Because once again we have the national sports media touting another “great idea”…..

Telling us all what we should believe

The “new and improved” BCS College Football Playoff format doesn’t have anything to do with fairness or having a definitive champion or anything else, despite what the national media is telling you.

It does however have everything to do with money and greed.

I know some of you are rolling your eyes, so let me make this so you can understand it.

College Football isn’t like College Basketball.

There is no “One and Done” in college football like there is in college basketball, which I personally think is a travesty and a joke. The basketball “student athlete” doesn’t have to take anything other than a few gimme classes to stay eligible to play, because after all he is going to be leaving in 9 months anyway.

College Football is physically and emotionally taxing

It requires more preparation than any other sport

It has more injuries than all other college sports combined

In short, it’s damn hard

The College Football “regular’ Season is now 12 games long…..

In the case of the Southeastern Conference and all the other major conferences we also have a Conference Championship game then we are at 13 games, right?

Then add the “new” SEC- BIG 12 Game between the two Conference Champions and we are at 14 games, am I right so far?

Then add the “playoffs” and that is potentially two more games, which takes us to a 16 game college football season for at least two or more teams and we haven’t even discussed the Bowl games have we?

A 16 game college football season, July to late January or early February and for what?

I will tell you….

More games mean more money but we are forgetting something very important here

The Student Athlete

The what?

Yeah, the Student Athlete, you know the ones that are out there doing all the sweating and working

You know the ones you cheer for every single Saturday?

What about them?

I know what some of you are saying….

“Well they are getting a “free” education out of the deal!”

I haven’t seen anything in this life that’s free yet, have you?

And I can promise you that a college athletic scholarship isn’t “free” either

Most of these “kids”, because that is what they are kids; will be the very first persons in their entire family tree to ever get the opportunity to attend college and receive a college degree and to achieve those things their parents and grandparents only dreamed of….

It will be the first time most have them have ever really been away from home.

The Student Athlete participating in Division I football cannot take a full case load during the Fall Semester and certainly can’t take any core classes pertaining to a degree because of the immense and intense amount of preparation required for college football.

Now we have the Wednesday and Thursday night ESPN game(s) which of course requires travelling which equates to missing classes.

And just so you don’t forget, the student athlete is required to “make-up” those missed assignments.

You can’t take any labs for core classes, which are taken in conjunction with the class

You can’t take any classes that require additional work and study and preparation

The student athlete in college football traditionally takes those core classes in the Spring semester

This allows them to stay on course for graduation.

Because that’s what we want them to do, right?

Graduate with a degree and become productive and successful citizens

I mean, if you “really” care about your college or school you want those student athletes to do well

Right?

I say this because

Everyone is not like Alabama’s All American Offensive Lineman Barrett Jones who maintains a 4.0 grade average and has throughout his college career at the University of Alabama.

Everyone isn’t going to play professional football

In fact, less than one percent of college football players will ever see the National Football League

And those that do will, on the average, only play for 3 years or less

Most if not all student athletes in college football struggle academically, not because they aren’t smart

Because the demands of being a student athlete are so damn demanding

Now with the extra games running through January and into February the student athlete is faced with the dilemma of how to enroll in those classes in Spring and maintain grades during the first two months of the semester.

And I haven’t even broached on the subject of Spring Football.

Those two or three weeks are difficult and they are time consuming

It’s difficult to maintain focus on academics while performing on the field.

Have I mentioned “Voluntary Workouts” and “Conditioning”?

You may think I have grown soft or am becoming touchy feely over this subject

I’m not, far from it

It’s that I have done it and most of the talking bobbing heads and national sports media idiots haven’t

Because I know what it’s like

And I also know that when the news media tells me something is “wonderful” and “great” and that I should “embrace the change”, that what I should really be doing is checking it out for myself and make my own decision.

I have and that’s why I am sharing it with you here

But there is one voice that has been silent in this discussion and that silence has been deafening to me

The NCAA who professes to care so damn much about the student athlete, where have they been?

They don’t care because they are getting paid too

You can disagree with me if you like, but you wait….

Until the NCAA comes to your favorite university and screams that your football team’s graduation rate has fallen below the accepted line and sanctions and forfeitures will be taking place.

Recently I was in my Great State of Alabama and I heard former University of Alabama Football Coach Gene Stallings say this…..

“There is a place where they play football from July to February, it’s called the NFL, and if that’s what they want to do then they need to go there. We need to be concerned and concentrate about the kid getting an education and leaving the University with a degree”

Amen Coach

RTR

THE CFB WIZARD

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