Please…PLEASE…make it stop. The absolute IDIOCY of people posting on social media calling Notre Dame “elitists” and “cowards” and “crybabies” for withdrawing from participating in any post season bowl games is absurd.
Are you people serious? First of all…as of last count…the following schools have decided that they will not partake in the post-season farce: Iowa State, Kansas State, Florida State, Auburn, Central Florida, Baylor, Kansas, Rutgers, Temple, and, of course, good ole Notre Dame. Are they ALL “elitists” and “cowards” and “crybabies”? I think not.
Some years ago when I was a young reporter, then University of Miami Athletic Director Dr. Harry Mallios took a meeting with me because I was told that the UM Board of Trustees was about to cut the football program. When I asked Dr. Mallios about the huge “athletic deficit” he recoiled and said, “Son, I would rather call it ‘the University’s commitment to athletics.” I was thinking that he can call it whatever he wants but the old man will soon be out of a job.
But along came Howard Schnellenberger and he brought in with him a host of Miami Dolphins coaches. The team became known as Howie’s Hurricanes and the rallying cry was “The goal is a bowl.” And that WAS the goal. Miami went 9-3 and beat Virginia Tech in the Peach Bowl led by Jim Kelly and Jim Burt. The rest is history as they say.
The goal is no longer a bowl
But, again, the goal was a bowl. Not anymore. Bowl games mean absolutely nothing. It used to be that there were a few bowl games and only the best of the best made it to the games that were the big events of the holiday season.
It meant something. Those bowl games determined outcomes of the end of year polls, it garnered much needed monies for the programs, and the television exposure was a huge part of the recruiting process.
The Rose Bowl, the Cotton Bowl, the Orange Bowl, the Sugar Bowl – those were the big ones usually reserved for New Year’s Day. Then you had the second tier games like the Peach Bowl, the Tangerine Bowl, the Liberty Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl, the Bluebonnet Bowl, the Sun Bowl.
Eventually, like everything else in sports today, naming rights, sponsorships became a huge part of bowl picture. And then came the expansion and addition of bowls because it gave the schools an opportunity to garner revenue. And the people in charge were able to sell the concept.
The loyal fans would travel to the host cities so not only was the school making money but so would the economy of that host city. Everyone had their hands in the cookie jar.
It used to be that there were two polls that people relied on – the Associated Press (AP) poll and United Press International (UPI) poll.
The AP poll was, and still remains, the writers’ poll where 60 writers who cover the sport, and are supposedly the experts, cast their votes.
The UPI poll was the poll that gathered input from the nation’s coaches. That poll has given way to the American Football Coaches Association (ACFA) as UPI is no longer in existence. The ACFA poll consists of the coaches of NCAA Division I FBS member programs.
For years, decades, the main arguments would be the differences between the AP and UPI polls. But, back in the day, there were traditionally annual powerhouse college football programs and it kind of made things a bit easier for the pollsters. Penn State, Alabama, USC, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Ohio State – perennial powerhouses that made bowl games a must watch.
Now every team makes a bowl game. Even teams with losing records. And because of the modern playoff system, most teams travel and play for nothing and many players end up sitting out what has become post-season exhibition games. So why even play?
I don’t blame Notre Dame for being upset at their snub. Heck, they deserve to be in it before ANY 3-loss team whether it’s Alabama or any other team. It makes no sense.
“Miami was deserving over Notre Dame because of the head to head,” said Joe Lisi, college football analyst at GOFORTHE2 . “But Alabama (losing to 3rd ranked Georgia and getting in) didn’t get hurt playing a conference championship game like BYU (losing to 4th ranked Texas Tech and not getting in). It’s all a scam for ratings and viewership. The Committee does not have any clear cut format that they follow and that’s why the ratings change significantly from week to week.”
I don’t blame Notre Dame for foregoing a meaningless exhibition game. Notre Dame is not playing because there is nothing to play for and the money spent won’t provide enough of a return, especially if anyone gets significantly hurt. And that is the exact reason why a player of any worth will not participate because they cannot risk jeopardizing their future.
Notre Dame is not playing “the entitled card.” But Cam Ward DID play the entitled card when HE CHOSE to, after much debate, suit up, play half-heartedly in a first half that looked more like a touch football game, and then sit out the rest of the Pop Tarts Bowl last year. Are Miami fans forgetting that?
If anyone exerted efforts that exuded “entitlement” it’s the UM fan base. The Miami contingency campaigned hard and fast and that “push” worked and changed the minds of this brain trust who make the selections. Now it’s time to see if the Canes prove they deserved the selection and the snub of the Irish was warranted.
