Creating Realities: Views of Logan Ladnyk

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It is no secret that I love sports, and as such this space will be for my personal take on some of the greater sports stories happening recently.

The Reality Of...

College Football and Playoffs

Every year around this time, right after the tryptophan has kicked in and lulled Americans into a turkey-induced slumber, the collective being that is college football fans begins to dream. The dream is usually a question of "What if?" as they recount the would've, could've, should've of their favorite team's latest season. "What if Jordan Reed didn't fumble?" "What if Matt Barkley was able to play against Notre Dame?" "What if Collin Klein kept up his performance from earlier in the year?" The list goes on and on and on, as supporters don't stop believing that if a single event had gone the other way then their team would be playing for a national championship.

In previous years, the what ifs lead to blaming the system of deciding who plays for the title, the Bowl Championship Series (BCS).
Bowl Championship Series LogoI don't agree with the hate that the BCS gets. The system of ranking teams throughout the season created excitement on its own. There was no need for artificial drama like Major League Baseball's new second wild-card team in the playoffs, NASCAR's Chase for the Cup or the NFL's restructuring of schedules to cram division games toward the end of the season. The BCS did that on its own. Teams have to run the table (or for Southeastern Conference teams, endure the conference with a single* loss) just to have a case for involvement in the title game.
*LSU played for and won the national championship in 2007 despite losing two SEC games, though both were in triple overtime.

Fans don't want drama, though; they want championships. Never mind the fact that in 2004, which is still in the forefront of some minds eight years later, there were multiple undefeated teams wreaking havoc on the BCS. Never mind the fact that most years there is a clear consensus by the time conference championship games have been played. The decision to switch to a four-team playoff system (even if it is one decided by BCS rankings) will cause some of the weekly excitement from games to peter out.

I understand the arguments for a playoff to decide a champion. NCAA basketball decides their champion in a glorious tournament featuring 8 16 22-25 32 40 48 52 53 64 65 68 teams (just one problem with starting a playoff system: When does a cutoff line get drawn, and will it remain static?). NCAA baseball has the College World Series. Most other sports have a tournament to decide their champion, and even the formerly named Division I-AA held playoffs for their teams.
We're kidding ourselves if we think any of those sports compares with the behemoth that is college football, though. March Madness is only as celebrated as it is because of how large a tournament it has become.

It is a decision that came about as a result of greed. Fans wanted more opportunities for their team to make it to the title game. Conference commissioners wanted to stop the SEC's streak of seven straight national title games, including an all-SEC title game last year (and had Notre Dame lost, would most likely have resulted in a second all-SEC game with the SEC champ facing Florida). Bowl committees wanted better TV deals. TV execs wanted those deals to come with games carrying more weight than a regular bowl game. The BCS itself wanted more money from the playoff bowls extending the "important" postseason games.

Everyone wanted something, and now they've got it. 2014 will be the first FBS college football season with a playoff. Let's just hope artificial drama has to be created in 2015 as an unintended consequence.

Past "Reality Of..." segments:


October 8, 2012
October 16, 2012
November 6, 2012
November 27, 2012