Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Non-Aggie Football

This article really annoys me. The guy thinks that no one cares about a West Virginia-Missouri national championship, and that Ohio State-USC would be better. He bases this on: making fun of WVU & MU's mascots, that tOSU & USC are "the best teams in the country" (based on what? Record? Strength of schedule?), and that tOSU & USC have "better stories" (Once upon a time, there were two teams that everyone decided in advance were really good. Then everyone ignored their actual seasons and they got to play in the national championship. The end).

He alleges that his argument is not based on the fact that West Virginia and Missouri aren't traditional national powers, writing, "No, my argument for disliking this potential game is not elitist." I think that's the reason I got so mad about his article--because that's just a lie.

Ohio State and USC have done nothing this season to prove that they're better than the other teams out there. OSU played cupcakes and are in the Big T(elev)en, so they only lost once. I'll tell you, with my authority as A Person Who Lives in Wisconsin, that the Big T(elev)en is just bad. (Do you like boring football? Do you like teams that get lambasted by the Pac 10 and Div 1-AA competing for the conference title? Then this is the conference for you!) And then tOSU lost to Illinois, who--guess what?--aren't all that good. [Edited to add: here's a good article on tOSU from ESPN. Despite my friend Lindsay being a Buckeye fan, the more I think about it, the more I seriously don't want them in the big game.]

As for USC, they're a two-loss team. And one of those losses is to Stanford. Notre Dame beat Stanford. Give me a break. The only reason to root for tOSU and USC in the title game is if you are a fan of either of those teams, or if you just don't like seeings teams you don't happen to follow in the championship. Of course he's being elitist. Of course he's being unfair.

The only good thing about this article is that it is paired with a much better written and better argued piece for the opposite viewpoint. At least CBS Sports as an organization isn't totally endorsing a lame, boring, snoozefest national championship. Because that would make me a little more annoyed.

2 comments:

Craig said...

The author of that article suggested that he wants to see Missouri-WV because it would draw no ratings and thus begin the demise of the BCS. That makes no sense. Look how often the NBA, MLB, and NFL playoffs result in boring, mismatched, small-market championship series (see 2007 World Series).

I agree with you. Tradition should not play a role in determining who plays in the championship. We're talking about 2007, not the last 20 years.

AVH said...

I enjoy the underdog, and I love that the Rockies were in the World Series this year and the Astros were 2 years ago. But I am also an Ohio State fan. That is the team I grew up watching...Ohio State and Michigan actually. We would usually cheer for OSU during the big game, but I like both teams, and both marching bands. Technically, based on family, those are the schools I should have been trying to go to, but here I am in Texas. I'm all for Ohio State going to the championship, but only if Missouri or WV loses.