The BCS and "Real Sports"
The
2009 NBA Eastern Conference Finals featured the Cleveland Cavaliers, led by
Lebron James, against the Orlando Magic.
The NBA was hoping to have an NBA Finals that would showcase Lebron
James vs. Kobe Bryant, the two most dominant players in the league. There was a lot of talk about it. Most experts believed it was a done deal, and
the Magic had no chance at ousting the Cavs.
Even Nike had released their Kobe-Lebron puppet commercials. But when the Magic actually started to pull
away in the series, Coach Stan Van Gundy decided to let everyone know how he
felt about the whole Lebron-Kobe Finals thing.
“This
isn’t the BCS, you know. People don’t get to vote for who they want to
play. We’re not in that ridiculous system, this is real sports here
where you get to decide it on the court.”
The Magic went on to beat the Cavs and play the Lakers in the
Finals. That’s the greatest thing about
sports. There’s so much hoopla, trash
talking, opinions about who’s better, more athletic, has more momentum,
etc. But when the clock reads 0:00 none
of those things matter. Only the numbers
on the scoreboard matter.
Enter the BCS. Instead of the scoreboard being the only
factor of who’s the best, they add computer boards and human opinions into the
equation of who plays in the college national championship. And, many times, we are all left scratching
our heads wondering how one team beat out another obvious choice for the
National Championship Game. The latest
example: Alabama. Last weekend #2
Alabama lost to #1 LSU in a 9-6 OT game that was fraught with good defense,
really bad offense, and poor coaching decisions. And, to top it off, the game was played on
Alabama’s home field in Tuscaloosa. With
Boise St., Oklahoma St., and Stanford all still undefeated, the Tide should
fall to at least 5th in the polls right? WRONG!
When it comes to the BCS nothing is ever that simple. Alabama only dropped one spot to #3 and are
still in contention to play for the national title, and it looks like they won’t
even reach the SEC title game. If the
season were really a playoff, like the BCS would like us to believe, there
would be no talk of the Crimson Tide rolling their way into another national
championship, and a rematch against LSU.
Like any other playoff, they would be eliminated. Gone.
Sent home packing. When the clock
read 0:00 they had the lower score. That
should mean, no matter who thinks they are better than all the other contenders,
that they do not get to advance to the title game. That’s assuming the regular season really is
treated like a playoff.
Imagine that the 2009
Magic were told by the NBA that, though they won on the court, they all feel
that Cleveland was a better team. Then
they tell the Magic that the computer algorithm they devised backs them
up. So, based on this evidence, they are
going to send Cleveland to the Finals instead of Orlando. Of course you would say that’s ridiculous,
and if it ever happened fans would absolutely revolt. Well isn’t that what the BCS is telling fans
about Alabama compared to the other three undefeated teams below them? Imagine that the MLB told Texas and St. Louis
they weren’t #1 or #2 in the minds of MLB management so Philadelphia and
Detroit would be playing in the World Series.
We would have been deprived of one of the greatest Cinderella stories in
the history of baseball. What if the NFL
told Green Bay after the NFC Championship that Chicago would be going to the
Super Bowl because Chicago won the division, not the Packers? What if the NCAA said Pitt advances to the
Sweet 16 because Butler wasn’t “as talented” or “as good” as Pitt – even though
Butler beat them? Or, imagine they tell
UConn they can’t go to the title game cause they weren’t #1 or #2 in the polls
to end the season. I know all of these
situations sound absolutely ridiculous, but that’s exactly what the BCS does in
college football. This situation with
Alabama is just the most recent example.
This is why people hate the system so much. In the BCS, scores are only second to
computer algorithms and human polls.
Cinderella’s are non-existant!
You may say that I’m wrong and
that Cinderellas are allowed to dance in college football, but tell me the last
time there was a legitimate Cinderella in the National Championship Game. Tell me the last time they were even given a
legitimate chance to compete for it. While
you’re thinking about it, let me tell you how many times they’ve been
snuffed. In the ’04-’05 season Utah was
one of three undefeated teams, but was never thought of as a true contender,
though their record equaled that of the teams in the title game. ’06-’07 Boise St. is undefeated and they don’t
make it over 1-loss Florida. And the ’07-’08
Utah team was the only undefeated team in the nation, yet wasn’t invited to
dance either. Now you may say none of
these teams had a chance if they had been in the title game, but you have no
proof. Only your opinion. The fact that I may share that opinion is
irrelevant. How often does the “not as
good” team beat the “better” team in the playoffs of any sport? It happens quite often. That’s the point I’m trying to make. The foundation of the college football post-season
is based solely on opinion.
As I said before, this situation
with Alabama is only the most recent example.
In 2010 there were 5 undefeated teams.
In 2011 there were 3. The 2008
title game featured 2-loss LSU. Two
losses and they still were “good enough” in the opinion of the pollsters to be
in the title game. To make matters even
worse, the 2002 and 2004 title games featured at least one team that didn’t
even win its conference title game. And
now, in the 2011-12 season we have Alabama that may make the national title
game, when they won’t even be attending their conference title game. That this is even a possibility is
ridiculous. If there were a playoff, I
would give Alabama a great chance to win it.
They are a very good team. But,
if the BCS really wants us to believe that the regular season IS the playoff,
then Alabama should be gone (unless all other undefeateds lose as well).
In no other sport, where playoffs
are concerned, is any loss considered a “good” loss and the losing team still
has the opportunity to contend for the title.
The very notion of that happening in any other sport is laughable. Are any of the #1 seeds from last year’s NCAA
tourney in an uproar, contending that they deserved a chance to play in the
title game? No, because they had their
chance and they lost.
Van Gundy’s statement might not
actually be too far from the truth.
Americans apparently feel the same way.
Just look at the TV ratings for the NCAA Basketball National
Championship Game compared to the BCS Championship Game since its inaugural season
in 1999. The basketball title has consistently
higher ratings than the football title game.
Since the first BCS title game it has averaged a 16.7 rating with a highof 21.7 (its only 20+ rating). In that
same time, the NCAA Basketball title game has averaged a 21.01 rating and ahigh of 26.3. And, comparing college
football to pro football, the Super Bowl averages a 40 rating every year. Maybe the BCS should look at those numbers
and realize that their system is not even close to the ratings it should be
getting. Maybe that is why it was
relegated to Cable TV last year (ESPN) instead of on ABC or Fox like it always
has been. And it’s not going to get any
better if Alabama actually makes it to the championship game leaving other
undefeated teams left out again.
We’ll see how it
plays out during the last few weeks of the season. But right now, since this week’s rankings
were released, we find ourselves again scratching our heads in bewilderment. It’s time for college football to join the
ranks of “real sports” and decide its title on the field, not with a computer
or on a ballot.
