Tea and Soda

As you know, we're big fans of the Tuesday Morning Quarterback hereabouts- heck, our weekly wrap up is what it is due to the homage that we're paying. So, when Gregg Easterbrook outlines what we've been saying about the BCS, it's a feeling of quiet vindication and satisfaction.

See, cause the BCS is about money. Period. Not about championships. Money. From earlier-

This has never been about having a "champion"- only about having great games that sell tickets and advertising.

It's about money for corporate sponsors and athletic departments, who have become too used to the revenue to ever change. That's the reason why football is the only NCAA sport where the NCAA does not recognize a champion. You read that right... the football 'champion' is crowned by either the AP or coaches' poll and not the NCAA. And there's nothing wrong with that, as long as you don't expect anything else.

Easterbrook addresses this as follows:

Here is the key thing to consider about the BCS: the system is not designed to choose a final victor! The BCS is designed to maximize revenue and exposure for the major conferences. And the BCS does that very well, thank you.

It starts with the name. The organization is called the Bowl Championship Series, not the Football Championship Series. The winner of the Ohio State-LSU game will be the champion of the BCS, an artificial five-game theatrical event. Names matter, and based on its name, the BCS does not even pretend to be about choosing college football's best team. The BCS asserts that it is choosing the best possible set of five bowl games -- and usually achieves that goal.

Then think about the name the NCAA increasingly insists be used for Division I-A, the Football Bowl Subdivision. This name has been derided for Orwellian silliness; "Division I-A" is a perfectly fine label. But at least the name Football Bowl Subdivision is honest. It says, "At the football-factory level, we're not even attempting to determine a champion. What we're attempting to do is stage bowls that make money." Division I-AA is now officially the Football Championship Subdivision. At the Division I-AA level, there are playoffs and a champion is crowned; the new formal name reflects that. At the Division I-A level, the NCAA and BCS (technically separate, but in effect operating jointly) put it right on the table: selling bowls, not crowning a champion, is the goal.

Mr. Easterbrook (whose book I can't recommend highly enough) goes on to talk about the finances involved in these matters, and even explains why Mizzou got hosed, and how their conference sanctioned this matter. Frustrated about the BCS? Blame your conference- the SEC, Big 12, Big T1e1n, Pac 10, ACC, and Big East created the monster and prosper from it. And there's no likelihood it will change.

Which brings us to the title of this post- On summer days as a child, I would reach for a cool glass of dark liquid at dinner, and often "guess" wrong. If you drink iced tea (sweetened, as it should be)expecting it to be soda, you'll be shocked no matter how good the tea is.. Same with the BCS- (minus the sugar... wait, there's a Sugar Bowl? Nevermind.). Realize what it is, and enjoy.

May not be root beer, but sweet tea is still really good.