Real Kato Blog: Sports: We Don't Need No Stinkin' Playoff

People hate the BCS system for Division I-A college football. Some people keep clamoring for a playoff. I, for one, would hate to see that happen.

The Bowl Championship Series was an attempt by NCAA Football to pacify all the complaints that college football had no way of determining a true national champion. "What we need", people said, "is a way to make sure the top two teams can play each other for the championship".

This year, the consensus top two teams in both the coaches poll and the media poll are playing for the championship. But people are still unhappy. That goes to show you, people will always find something to complain about.

What happened this year is that there are five undefeated teams in Division I-A. That's something the BCS folks didn't seem to account for. The loudest complaints are coming from Auburn, a team that went undefeated through one of the toughest conferences, though folks seem to gloss over their cupcake non-conference schedule that included the likes of Louisiana-Monroe and The Citadel.

We also hear complaints from undefeated Utah and Boise State; teams from weaker conferences, but undefeated teams nonetheless.

Here's the thing about a playoff system... yes, it would give Auburn a shot at the title this year, but it would also give a chance to Virginia Tech (with two losses), Pittsburgh (with three losses), and Michigan (with two losses). I'm a Michigan fan, but Michigan is not a championship team this year, and neither are those other schools. They had the chance to prove themselves on the field, and they lost. The really great thing about the current system is that it ensures that EVERY GAME COUNTS. The whole season is a single-elimination tournament. A playoff would reduce the significance of early-season games, particularly non-conference games.

And I don't know why people think a playoff would be such a good thing for the fans or the players. As things are today, half the teams that play in the post-season end their year on a positive note, with a win. In a playoff, there would be one team that ends with a win, and many more teams that end with a loss. Would people really feel better about that?

The true beneficiaries of a playoff system are the television networks that get to hype it. The players won't see a dime of the TV revenue of a playoff. The universities will have to pay to send hundreds of players, coaches, and staff from one site to another across the country. Non-playoff bowl games would wither away, reducing TV exposure for the majority of players, especially those from smaller conferences. This is not like NCAA basketball, where a 64-team tournament is logistically possible. We're probably talking about eight teams at the most, and so all the other teams would be left out in the cold.

So I hope the BCS just keeps tweaking and finding a way to keep most people happy, because I think a playoff would absolutely ruin one of the greatest spectator sports we have today.

Footnote: 80% of my readers will find this article exceedingly uninteresting. But contrary to what you may have heard, I'm not a cross-dressing, musical-watching, relationship-discussing girly-man all of the time. I do like football and cars and beer and naked women sometimes too. Oh, and chicken wings. DON'T FORGET THE CHICKEN WINGS.

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