Where Does it End?
Where does it end?
While perusing ESPN’s web site earlier this week I came across what should wrap up the award for the most ludicrous piece of legislation for this legislative calendar.
Now, many of you are probably rummaging through the remnants of news blips you have heard while flipping back and forth between sporting events trying to remember anything you can about the political process. Most of you probably can only conjure up the lyrics of School House Rock’ “Bill on Capitol Hill.” Anyway, the article referred to a bill sponsored by some of our seemingly bored Congressmen in the House of Representatives.
Representatives Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii), Lynn Westmoreland (R-Georgia) and Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) have introduced a resolution that would force the Justice Department’s Anti-Trust Division to investigate the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) as an illegitimate enterprise because of restrictions on free trade.
I could get into the issues of trade embargoes, cartels, and ask why there is a movement to break up the BCS and with record gas prices there has not been a peep on busting OPEC. However, this is a sports blog and I will try not to bore you anymore than usual.
I can understand that there are probably not many pressing issues in Hawaii and Idaho that can be brought up in the world’s most powerful legislative body, and the Congressmen from those respective states need to look like they serve a purpose other than receiving gifts from lobbyists and receiving a salary from our pockets.
However, Georgia does have one seemingly small issue to address. The state is running out of water! The state of Georgia has become so desperate for water; they are trying to redraw original borders in order to gain control of the Tennessee River.
I know Georgia fans tend to be on the whiny side of fanhood, but this is really going too far. Not only are there many more important issues Congressman Westmoreland should dedicate his time and efforts toward, but there is no credence in Georgia’s pining about being left out of the marquee BCS games this past year.
First, Georgia got drilled by a very mediocre Tennessee team (35-14) who, in turn, was drilled by a worse Alabama team (41-17). Second, the Bulldogs also lost to a South Carolina team (16-12) who, even with the hallowed name of Spurrier attached to the program, can be grouped in the bottom half of the conference. Finally, because of the losses to Tennessee and South Carolina, Georgia did not even have a chance to play for a conference championship.
The government intrudes into our everyday lives as it is. Does it have to include our sports’ lives as well? With everything from The Mitchell Report, to Spygate, to this silliness, I am beginning to think there is no end in sight. If these representatives cannot find anything better to do with their time in Washington D.C., maybe they could go back to their districts and get something done that matters (like finding some water for your dehydrated constituents).
Heisman
| 2.5 |
April 24th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
Heisman, you are an idiot!!!! First off, GA should be allowed to redraw her borders any way she wants. Without GA there would be no south. Secondly, UGA had just as much right as LSU to play in the mythical national championship game. Yes UGA did loose to 2 medicore teams, but that was early and they righted the ship. Plus, LSU lost to Kentucky, who lost to UGA. LSU also lost to Arkansas in their last regular season game. Both of LSU’s loses were to medicore teams. At least UGA lost to a team that played in the conference championship game. By your reasoning, LSU did not deserve to play in the BCS championship. Also, UGA was ranked ahead of LSU going into the last game of the season. How could UGA get jumped by LSU? It makes no sense. Your final point of UGA not playing in the conference championship game does not hold water. There have been 2 other teams who did not play in their conference’s championship game, but still got to play in the BCS championship game. UGA earned the right to play in that game.
But, I should have known that a guy from a school that does not even have a football team would not be able to understand how real football works.
April 30th, 2008 at 7:48 am
The issue here is consistency. “daddy” is correct - by the precedent that had been set with Nebraska in 2001 and Oklahoma in 2003, UGA should have been playing in the BCS title game. Neither of those two teams won their conference championship (Nebraska, like UGA, did not even earn a spot in the conference title game), yet played for a national title. Both were defeated in the national title game as well.
Consistency. Many of us struggle to maintain it. It can lead to people being replaced. The real issue here is when do all of the BCS conference become willing to change and include a conference championship game on their menu? When will there be a set protocol for how to choose the national championship contenders? The BCS’s aim is to take the final say out of the ink of the press’s pen, mix up some logic with their own blotting concoction and throw it into a computer printer that spits out who plays for a national title. However, the press now exercises its power to not only choose the champion, but choose the runner-up (man they must like Ohio State) as well. Why did Ohio State play for the national title? Becuase they had the best season - the best “body of work,” to steal a line from the NCAA Basketball tournament selection committee. Why did LSU play for the national title? Becuase they had the mot talent. Becuase the writers and coaches “felt like” they were the second best team. That’s funny - a week before the final vote they thought they were the seventh best team. And losing to an underachieving-Arkansas team and having to have “Easy Erik Ainge” hand you the SEC championship convinced them that Les’s Tigers were the best?
LSU was undoubtedly the most talented team in the country. And in the end, they were the best team. But what is college football trying to do - hand out hardware to the progams that bring in the most talent? Ohio State did have the best year - if you consider winning the Ohio Division I state championship a success (3 of their non-conference wins were Youngstown St (1AA), Akron, and Kent St). LSU lost to one middle-of-the-row SEC team and another SEC team that got dominated by the Big 12 runner-up in its bowl game. Maybe LSU and Ohio St were the two best teams, or most talented, or most respected. But until college football and the BCS change part of their plan, they will continue to create a selfish limit of truly how far the game can go.