If you stop and think, it’s really not too hard to remember. There were once four bowl games and that was it. In no particular order, we’re talking the Rose, Orange, Cotton, and Sugar Bowls, and America could look forward to what was generally some really great competitive football.
My how things have changed since corporate America took things over and calls the shots.
Over the course of time, the gargantuan sums of money have won out and fresh off a $1.75 billion broadcast rights deal with their official television partner that adds an additional 340 million annually on top of their existing 7.8 billion dollar deal that runs through 2031, College Football now has enough guaranteed money to buy every U.S. citizen a large pizza and a six pack of soda, provided of course that they both come from their “official junk food partners.”
Changes in the name of the legal tender have driven power brokers disguised as Conference Commissioners to expand the College Football Championship Playoff Field in 2027 to a ridiculous number of 24 teams, thereby diminishing the quality of play you will see in the new format with a product as weak as two day old dish water, one so diluted that it just may be light years short of even being a reasonable facsimile of competitive football, with early round blowouts disguised as “must see television” resulting from the biggest money grab since the inception of televised college sports.
I don’t know about you, but yours truly can’t wait to watch opening round games that will pale in comparison to real legitimate division one football and pretend that these teams belong there and are actually championship caliber programs.
Let’s do the math here and be honest. The current 12 team format is too big, as there might be just six truly legit contenders for those coveted National Championship bragging rights, and the millions and millions of dollars associated with all that overpriced merchandise bearing the name of the school that wins the financially coveted title.
In an era when we’ve probably seen the last of a repeat champion due to the current system of transfer portals and N.I.L. money, from a football fan perspective, you need to buckle up and get ready for some rather lackluster games, all brought to you by your favorite insurance company along with a wonderful cell phone company, as they’re all gambling you’ll watch a watered down product and see their lame commercials as well.
Before you write my rant off as a curmudgeon reaction, please note that I support players who produce on the field getting paid and also feel a quarterback receiving millions shouldn’t have to go to class because he’s an employee and not a student. That’s just my take and I will never apologize one bit for maintaining my position. I also don’t believe the additional amounts of money coming down the proverbial pike are totally necessary to keep the game more viable.
I am all for the great competition we have been accustomed to and even greatly entertained by. I’m just sad that this soon to be even more diluted product will indeed become a new form of reality television as opposed to the great sport it once was and never will be again.
Danny Bridges, who loathes what the SEC and Big Ten Conferences have done to College Football, can be reached at (317) 370-8447 or at Bridgeshd@aol.com.
Danny Bridges is an award-winning journalist and a longtime sports columnist for the Indianapolis Recorder. He covers college, professional sports and especially all things IndyCar racing. He can be reached at 317-370-8447 or at bridgeshd@aol.com.
