It seems like Wyoming should have a nice easy warm-up game against Weber State this weekend before the likes of Colt McCoy and company come to town next weekend. However, coming off arguably its best season in the Big Sky conference ever, the Wildcats return its quarterback, who threw for over 4,400 yards and 36 touchdowns last year, and two star defensive players. So, I will just hold my breath until Saturday afternoon and think positive thoughts.
College football season, personally my favorite sports season of the year, is upon us. Its only weakness would be the BCS; the biggest problem in the sports world other than maybe lack of drug testing in baseball or Favre playing for the Vikings.
However, after years of complaining about the BCS, it’s obvious that there is nothing a fan can do right now. It’s all about the money and the sponsors for the bowls, and there is no feasible solution right now. So, I realized that college football has something that other sports don’t: absolute mayhem. Yes, other sports may have it, too, but college football’s mayhem is flawless.
A team can have a near-perfect season, stained by one squirmy Texas player’s missed tackle in the last minute that results in a loss to Texas Tech, and still not have a chance to play for the national title. Or just ask Utah. They know what it feels like to be perfect, but just not perfect enough.
It’s not fair of course, but we aren’t talking about fair. We’re talking about beating Alabama soundly, so-called SEC powerhouse, having no losses to your name and still finishing out of the top spot. It’s not about fair; it’s about money.
Don’t mistake good mayhem for bad mayhem, because it’s just plain old mayhem. It’s the old cliché of watching a train wreck. It is fun watching teams try to be perfect, and at the same time even more fun watching them fail.
Watching USC get first choice out of the top 100 recruits in the nation every year and then be dominated up and down the field by Stanford or Oregon State one week out of the year so they fall just short of the title game is just good television. Sure, if you are a USC fan it is not fun, but that’s what it’s all about. Pain and anguish and then the small hope that a team can still rebound by the end of the year and be rewarded by those brilliant computers of the BCS.
Everyone, or at least real fans, love to see the juggernaut go down. I felt no sadness when Tom Brady tore up his knee last year and was out for the season; I was happy. Plus, he had more time to go practice his best Abercrombie pose and model for cologne ads. I’m not sad when the Yankees miss the playoffs, and what they are doing this year with their half-a-billion-dollar offseason is just downright frustrating.
Yes, it is hard to argue that Florida was the best team last year. Their defense was so fast that the Big 12 spread offense was no match, and their offense was so well executed and run by so many talented future NFL players that they were probably the real No. 1. And, until proven otherwise, they are probably the real No. 1 this year, all the way to their third BCS title in four years.
That prediction is pretty easy to make, but they could lose to Ole Miss or LSU this year. Also, Texas will be carrying their hate for the BCS’s actions last year all around the country this year as they try to make their way back to the top. That’s the beauty of the broken system: watching the giants fall and try to get back up.
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