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BCS and MONEY ruined Bowl Games


Number9

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The nature of college athletics used to be about fun.  Every year colleges had great games.  Homecoming.  Rivalry game.  Beat the Top Dog game.  Bowl Game.  Every college didn't get all these big games, but most of the top colleges did.  The season ended with 6-10 teams running wildly around a football field holding up their fingers proclaiming they were number 1.  A lot of these were great games.  

Then came money.

The Bowl games used to be great contests, hard fought games between the nations top football teams.  TV Money.  People tuned in to see the games.  So money decided we need more money.  Not better games, just more money.

In 1971 there were 12 Bowl games. Most of them were games well worth watching.   http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/1971-bowls.html  In 2015, there were over 40.  http://www.ncaa.com/sports/football/bowls  Reruns of Law and Order probably beat out some of these bowl games.  The whole concept has gone out the window.  The only thing these bowl game do is make money for somebody.  Now, top players are saying they are not playing to make more money for somebody.  The BCS has taken away the meaning of all but three of these bowl games.  Only one team will get to run around proclaiming to be #1.

Now many people want to blame players who don't go.  Always blame those without a voice, makes your argument easy to win.  People say they owe it to the team to play the meaning less bowl game and risk injury.  They should not start training for the combine to earn money for themselves.  They should have school pride and risk injury for somebody.  Of course for years coaches have left the team and not coached the bowl game.  He got a better job.  He got more money.

So now, here we are.  In eight days ONE team gets to hold the finger up proclaiming we are #1.  All the other teams get the finger, thanks for coming.  

Is it really better?

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Many of the bowl games have always been meaningless.  It's just one last game as one bowl game was always dubbed the national championship.  The playoff only helps further cement that national champion.  I personally would like to see it expanded to six teams with the top two having a rest week, just to open the field up a little more.

Sitting out like Fournette and McCaffery did has always been an option for players.  I just think now with all of the attention injuries get that players are becoming more educated on the risk factor of playing in a meaningless game and have reasonable concerns for their own future.

The playoff is lightyears better than no playoff.

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34 minutes ago, Stan17 said:

The playoff is lightyears better than no playoff

No.  In the past, we have reasonably known who the best team was at season's end.  The playoff assures that to be correct, but it has weakened the Bowls in general.  So, it is slightly better, but not lightyears.  

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Perspective is everything.  Sometimes we didn't know who the best was, like when Auburn got snubbed one year.  I don't think it has weakened the bowls necessarily more than it has shifted the focus to the playoffs more.  Could be one in the same.  

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The sports-viewing public has become much more sophisticated.  In the past, the mere pageantry and spectacle of the bowl games was enough, but now the public takes the national championship much more seriously.  The concept of bowl games has become quaint. 

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  • 5 months later...

There are too many bowls, thus too many low-rent sponsors.  Dollar General bowl?  Really, who wants to play in that?  Have a .500 record, you're in.  It's like the participation trophy.

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I completely agree. When you have players deciding to sit out of Bowl games it really shows you how meaningless the games are. Players used to strive to get to a bowl game. It was something special...Now it's pretty much expected. 

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  • 2 months later...
On 9/3/2017 at 7:41 AM, Rolltide said:

How can anybody complain about the state of bowl games when the playoff incorporates them? This is the exact system I wanted them to have. 

 

As far as smaller bowls are concerned they would not exist if it was not economically feasible to have them. If the bowl game is between an SEC team and a big ten team I'm watching. 

New Years Day week.  Great game after great game is what it used to be.  I get that the bowls did it to themselves when they started having the Weed Eater Bowl.    It was downhill after that.  Now, all the not worth watching bowls are dragging down interest in the games,  The players going pro have started refusing to play in them.  That will get worse until they make some bs rule to force them to play.  Who wants to see Florida State play without their star Heisman candidate.  He'd play in the BCS.

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