The BCS is The Equivalent of Figure Skating
Posted by
Kevin
Figure skating is not a sport. It is athletic and involves amazing displays of skill, but it is not a sport. The winners and losers are decided by the subjective opinion of judges. Often, skaters have to “pay their dues” over a few competitions, even years, before they are given the highest marks by the judges. In other words, it is just like college football’s “championship”.
Who gets to play in the “championship” game is largely decided by the polls, which are nothing more than the badly formed opinions of people who cannot possibly have watched all the teams they are voting on each week. since the polls start in the preseason, position is determined by everything BUT how well the teams perform on the field. This year, Rutgers could go undefeated in the Big East conference, a team with three top ten teams and the second highest rated conference in college football, but has no chance to play in the national title game. Why? Because they hadn’t “paid their dues” — they were not a big time program, and so they were not ranked in the pre-season polls. College football has adopted, for all intents and purposes, the figure skating method of determining a champion. Just more proof that college football isn’t a real sport.
There has got to be some sort of play-off system enacted!
Comment 11/13/2006
The new democrat congress should pass a law.
Comment 11/14/2006
Figure skating is a sport. One can argue that it is a sport that does not lend itself to competitive evaluation, but that is a different matter. Note that gymnastics, freestyle skiing, most “X games”, and boxing are all structured around subjective evaluation.
As for college football, which teams play in the “championship” game is determined by the BCS ratings. BCS rating includes two polls and six computer programs that evaluate team performance and strength of competition. Thus, Kevin’s statement that the participants in the championship game are largely determined by polls is not correct. 25% polls, 75% quant.
Also, it is worth noting that winning a National Championship is not the only measure of accomplishment in College Football. Each League and Conference has a champion each year. Sometimes individual rivalries trump all else (Army/Navy).
One could argue that college football is not an amateur sport, but it is silly to argue it is not a sport.
Comment 11/15/2006
Ted
Those things aren’t sports, they are artistic competitions
And I thought that the polls weighted to 75% of the BCS standing?
Comment 11/15/2006
Kevin,
I was wrong. Polls count 67%, computer rankings count 33%. So it’s not a sport after all
Comment 11/15/2006