B.C.S. = Beyond.Crazy.Season. Confessions of a FORMER B.C.S. Hater
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by Editoratlegendofcecilioguante
"Let's Celebrate. It's Alright"
Check out this article and others in its original form at The Legend of Cecilio Guante.
Like so many irrationally twisted college football fans, I was rooting for it. My loyalties did not reside with one particular team, or even a conference. My fanaticism rode on one thing...hoping "it" would happen...and fervently cheering for all the pieces to fall in place that would enable it.
My girlfriend, who is a very educated sports fan, was perplexed. "What's with the emotion for Pitt?" She then added: "Kari went to West Virginia, why can't you root for them?" Followed by..."I thought you said you hate Oklahoma and thought it would be good to see a school like Missouri get a shot." And with a look that bespoke a mixure of frsutration, confusion and anger: "Didn't you say that, like, two minutes ago?"
"Yes, dear," I replied to all of the above in the tone of a parent responding to a perfectly legitimate question like "why is the sky blue" with a nervous laugh that acknowledges its simultaneous simplicity and complexity..."but...but"...and then I had to try to explain it.
I had to try to explain how that was before it realistically appeared that both #1 and #2 could go down...before it appeared that the sick mad scientist who'd been concocting this exquisite recipe all season long might just have perfected the potion....before the miracle we'd all been clamoring for somehow took a turn towards reality. I had to explain to her why the cumulative result of Pitt's jaw-dropping upset in Morgantown and the Sooners demolition was so much larger than the sum of its individual parts. I had to explain that it had all come together better than anyone could have dreamed. "Honey, this will throw the B.C.S. into complete chaos!" I exclaimed with a disproportionate amount of glee. And then came the stare. The stare of someone who stills looks at the world through rational, logical eyes. The stare of someone who has listened to the ramblings of a crazed college football fan and come away no less dumfounded. The stare that seems to say without saying. "So? And? Then who should be playing in the title game?" At which point, it hit me. I'm done. That's right, I'm finished bitching about the B.C.S. This is college sports. Sure, there are millions of dollars in play between universities, coaches, TV revenues and the like, but this isn't professional football. Can't we just enjoy it for what it is? Is the B.C.S. perfect? No. But no solution would be. In a society fueled by P.T.I., Around the Horn, sports talk radio and any other forum that allows us to argue, rant and pontificate (yes, I realize this blog is exactly one of those outlets), we've maybe gone a bit overboard? As I watched SportsCenter last night, I almost giggled at Scott Van Pelt incredulously declaring how the regular season just concluded and "we don't know who's in the title game! We don't even know who's in the title game??!!" "And???" Guess what, Scott? We'll know tonight. Relax. And whether it's L.S.U., Ohio St., Georgia, Virginia Tech...can you not make an argument that everyone one of them "deserves" it? This was a season where there was no dominant team from start to finish. Maybe it was LSU at one point...Oklahoma at another...SC at another...but the rankings and bowls are supposed to look at a team's entire season. So who are we to complain who gets to face one another in the title game? It's a matter of opinion. No one knows how good any of these teams really are. If there were two teams head and shoulders above the pack, there would be no discussion...posts with titles like this would been non-existent...or maybe even then they wouldn't be...and that's kind of the point. Playoffs, "plus one" or otherwise, we'd still find countless reasons to bitch and teams to argue about. But maybe it's time to just accept that this season was one of the greatest in recent memory. A season where Cindarella got to don her slipper, previous doormats stole moments in the sun and every weekend reminded us why we love college football. So perhaps we can sit back and enjoy the rest of the ride and embrace the uncertainty of its conclusion in the form of the final polls of the year come mid-January. Let's stop hating on the B.C.S. for a moment. Maybe? Because while some pundits may use this season of unforgettable high, lows and surprises to claim how broken the system is, I, for one, think this year in college football couldn't be more perfect.
