I've been remarkably consistent on this issue since I've been here. My position hasn't changed or evolved, the points I've made haven't been proven wrong (I never made the claim like some did that a playoff would never let a second SEC team in for example), and some of my concerns have come to pass. I'm supposed to change my mind because it's gone a lot like I said it would? Furthermore, this topic is actually about some of the stuff I warned would happen with a playoff. This is what happens when we get a never ending playoff crusade I suppose. Every time something comes up the solution is more playoff. It's like the government and money. Oh that didn't work, spend more money. Oh that didn't go like we wanted? Well we just need more playoff. It's ludicrous.
That aside, deserving isn't based on criteria, if it was, if we all accepted that we'd never be here. The reason they did away with the BCS is because they felt some teams got in that didn't deserve to be, that was the whole problem. If we all agreed that every team that deserved to be in the BCS got into the BCS, then why did anything have to change? This is arguing semantics but not sure if you're just trying to disagree with me for the sake of it or what. This isn't really the core discussion though, it's what would happen if they expand it further, and the answer to that is nothing good.
Sure, what ever you say, I'll provide you with a list of stuff because you said so...
Bowl games are not what they once were, and yes in particular the addition of the BCS Championship game (rather than just using a bowl game) was part of that, but it's been nothing like what we saw once the playoffs started. The interest has waned significantly, player interest is tepid, and that isn't just about Alabama and Alabama fan's expectations but the health of the sport as a whole.
The first football game I ever watched was on the first. My dad dug up an old black and white TV, despite his church's prohibition on television and put on the bowl games. I remember asking my dad if I should cheer for the team in dark or light. Bowl games on the first were a cultural phenomena. It was like a buffet of bowl games. And yeah, there's a lot to blame for the current state, but I'm not here to just try to score points in another poster like it's some bizarre competition, so yeah the BCS didn't help, but it didn't put bowl games on their death bed either. What we're facing now is a playoff that already dealt a major blow to the bowls, and any further expansion will only serve to move the bowls closer and closer to NIT level irrelevance. That in the long run would be very bad for the sport. It's destroying something that made college football what it is. The focus should be on saving it, not doing further harm.
I've been fine with almost everything they've done (save putting a two loss Auburn team in their top 4, that was wrong), but one major issue I still have with the committee is this secret ballot type stuff. Until their votes are made public, we'll always wonder how much guys like this are working behind the scenes to pull some shenanigans. The problem is we won't really know until they succeed...
