U of M thread (in the Lions Forum) :)

[LightninBoy]

That's ridiculous LB. Why is there some underlying psychological link that only applies to college football?

Who said it only applies to college football?

Truth is, in the vast majority of other sports, in any other contest in general, there is a multi-team playoff tourney, and the winner is decided by direct competition. That is the norm. DivI college football is the aberation.

It is. But that has no impact on the underlying motives of folks like kstat who want to change it. They want to be entertained by college boys.

[mason reese]

It is. But that has no impact on the underlying motives of folks like kstat who want to change it. They want to be entertained by college boys.

Doesn't that "motivation" apply to anyone who watches college sports?

[Kstat]

Vince Lombardi once said if you're in America and you don't want to compete to be the best, you're in the wrong country.

[gjdodger]

And look where it got him. He died.

[LightninBoy]

Doesn't that "motivation" apply to anyone who watches college sports?

Yep. But there are some that demand more simply because they want more without a moments thought for those that are actually competing.

[LightninBoy]

Vince Lombardi once said if you're in America and you don't want to compete to be the best, you're in the wrong country.

You are not competing when you watch college football. You realize that, don't you?

[Kstat]

The players on the field are. You think they don't want a chance to be the best? I can relate to that. Anybody that's played spots on any level can relate to that.

[Kstat]

Yep. But there are some that demand more simply because they want more without a moments thought for those that are actually competing.

...yeah, think of the poor football players. No doubt they hate competing!

[LightninBoy]

The players on the field are. You think they don't want a chance to be the best? I can relate to that. Anybody that's played spots on any level can relate to that.

They had that chance before the BCS, and they have it now with the BCS. A playoff would not change that.

[Kstat]

Tell that to TCU, or Boise state last year, or any of the other 367123 teams that went undefeated and were still told they weren't the best by what amounted to a panel of figure skating judges.

That's all the BCS is. Glorified figure skating.

Any sport that allows for multiple undefeated teams is fraudulent by definition. When people who don't participate get to decide who the best is, that's a joke.

[Topweasel]

They had that chance before the BCS, and they have it now with the BCS. A playoff would not change that.

Your right an undefeated TCU shouldn't have the opportunity to win the championship.

[LightninBoy]

That's all the BCS is. Glorified figure skating.

So do figure skaters not have chance to be the best? Do figure skaters not compete? Is every figure skating gold medal fraudulent?

The formula for winning the championship pre-BCS and current BCS is simple: put good teams on your schedule and win. To whatever extent TCU or the like can't get good teams to play them, that's unfair and should be fixed. But you don't need a playoff to do that.

But regardless - there is plenty of competition (and corresponding commitment) available for the student athlete simply by winning their division and going to a bowl. That is a tremendous accomplishment. If its not enough, then let it come from the schools and the student athletes themselves. Us middle aged overweight guys don't have a say in this no matter how much we want a playoff and should stop pretending that we do.

[LionsWolverines]

I think we should all just vote preseason on who is the best team, give that team the title, and then just figure out who would win every regular season game on paper.

That way, no one has to worry about anyone getting hurt at all.

[froot loops]

LB bringing it strong today

Must be posting from the Shop

[LightninBoy]

Because at some point roughly 25 years ago, people started making a big fucking deal about those polls. It came to a head in 1997 when Michigan and Nebraska "shared" the "national title", two teams that never even played each other.

Never mind that scenario had occured multiple times before, now it was suddenly unacceptable.

Yeah, that certainly seemed like the turning point for Michigan fans at least. I wonder if had the same effect nationally though? Or was it simply the fact that is was Michigan - a very popular national program - getting the shaft that finally pushed it over the edge?

Another factor - I don't believe its a coincidence that the escalating demands for a playoff determined national champion coincides with the arrival of ESPN, the 24 hour sports news cycle, and the need to fill all those advertising funded hours with compelling sports drama.