Imagine that there is a state in the Union where the residents of a particular county are precluded from holding that state's highest office solely due to their residence. It doesn't matter how well the scorned residents perform their civic duties — in fact, they could perform them perfectly — they will not be allowed to hold the highest office. I imagine at least some of you would call such a practice un-American.
Well, when the Utah Utes college football team, which went 13-0 with victories over four Associated Press top-25 teams and was the champion of a conference that went 6-1 in the regular season against the Pac-10, is forced to watch one-loss teams Oklahoma and Florida play in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) "National Championship" game tonight, they are basically being told: "You are a citizen, but you cannot hold the highest office."
For those of you not familiar with how college football determines its national champion, here is a quick primer (this primer also discusses possible antitrust challenges to the current system, making this a perfectly legitimate business law post):
Under BCS rules, the nation's two top-ranked teams–as determined by human polls and computer rankings that take into account strength of schedule, margin of victory, and other factors–play each other in one of those bowls, with the winner named national champion. While teams such as Utah can theoretically qualify for the national championship game, for various reasons the odds are stacked against them. . . . [R]eporters who vote in the Associated Press poll can still award Utah the AP's national championship if they want.
I'm not the first one to say this is un-American (see here and here). And to be precise, it is the BCS — and not the game of college football itself — that is arguably un-American (but that is not nearly as catchy of a headline).
But this is still Thursday, and the A.P. writers could vote contrary to what appears to be conventional wisdom and make the American dream a reality again for teams like Utah. Or, even more impressively, the college football coaches who are obligated to cast their vote for the winner of the Oklahoma-Florida game could engage in a fully justified act of "civil disobedience" and send an even more powerful message.
We can certainly hope. This is, after all, America.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Prof. Padfield – you make a nice argument, but I have to take issue with a few points:
1. A system such as the BCS that, admittedly, is designed to mostly exclude "weaker" conferences such as the Mountain West is very American. Think about why, in politics, third parties hardly survive two election cycles… the American political system is well-deisgned for two major parties. Does anyone care about the Green Party anymore? The Reform Party? What about "free" markets that entrench powerful companies to the exclusion of smaller ones? Powerful interests setting up systems that keep them in power, for better or worse, is a hallmark of American reality.
2. It seems that implicit in your comments is the college football playoff bandwagon. Personally, I think that what makes college football great is that every game matters, and a top-8-team playoff system would destroy what makes the game so unique and exciting. Remember UCLA beating USC a few years ago when USC was supposed to meet Ohio State in the title game? I watched that game, riveted to the TV. Lots of drama. An 8-team playoff would have made that game meaningless.
That's not to say that a playoff wouldn't be exciting – sure, it may be, and maybe it's a better way of determining a national champion. At the end of the day, though, why is it that big of a deal? National titles are great, they're a source of pride, sure, but there are other things at the college level that are important that go beyond the game.
Ultimately, the BCS system is intended to increase interest and to pit top teams against each other (which the old bowl system didn't always do). It has made the game more exciting, but it's also led to over-hype, tabloid journalism, and win-first, win-now, win-all-the-time mentalities that have taken away from the game (which are also very American). A playoff would only add to that. Leave that stuff for professionals.
Thanks for your article, I hope it provokes a little thought (instead of emotional knee-jerk reactions and name-calling, as I see so often in other sports discussions) for others.
How droll…some folk seem to think that a football game played between the likes of The OSU and any MAC team should have any significance at all. Most definitely not a "public use".
Or see…THE NFL REPORTING PROJECT
How Much Do Teams Give to Colleges and Universities?
About this Project
Karl Idsvoog | Assistant Professor | kidsvoog@kent.edu
…at
Hmmmm, what about dem Purple Raiders? They DID go through the playoffs, and I believe they are as much or more an "American" team than any you have mentioned. Or is this just another case of the little guy (literally) getting ignored again because his parents were not huge or he refused to take size and performance enhancing substances while he was 'growing up'?
My blog headline was clearly overinclusive:
Mount Union Wins 10th NCAA Division III National Championship
http://www2.muc.edu/athletics/athletics_archive/men_s_teams/football/2008_Season/08fbgm15.aspx
Now that might make for a good intra-state rivalry…Mt. Union against the rest of the MAC! Oops! Sorry, I forgot about the monetary value required of such grandoise "valliant struggles", eh?
Much better that the likes of the U. of A. get their butts stomped by Nebraska or K.S.U. or Youngstown State be devastated by the likes of THE Ohio State University! Wow! Is OSU ever #1…gawd!