Much has been said about the glut of bowl games rendering most of them meaningless.

I submit that the reason bowl games have become meaningless is the BCS. This is similar to the NCAA basketball tournament making the regular season meaningless in that sport.

Before the BCS, nearly everyone looked forward to the traditional matchups the bowls provided. And New Year's Day used to be a great day to watch ALL of the bigger games. Now they are strung out until January 8th.

Maybe I'm too old fashioned to accept the BCS, but I wish it would go back to the old way. I know it won't happen, and very soon there will be some sort of a playoff. It's all about the $$$ now.

The old way was worse than the BCS. I'd rather go to a playoff, not go backwards.

mlb Wrote:The old way was worse than the BCS. I'd rather go to a playoff, not go backwards.

Yes it was--power teams with traveling fans were lining up bids 3 weeks before the season ended.

Meaningless? Never.

From the extra 3-4 week of practice...to the 31-32 (how many bowl games are there now?) Coaches this Spring that when they go on their Booster/Publicity/Golf Tour...they can talk about being BOWL CHAMPIONS!

Bowls are never meaningless to the 2 teams playing in said games.

A "fan" doesn't have to enjoy any or all the bowl games...but coaches/players/school Presidents, etc...LOVE THEM!

That's why they will never go away.

KnightLight Wrote:Meaningless? Never.

From the extra 3-4 week of practice...to the 31-32 (how many bowl games are there now?) Coaches this Spring that when they go on their Booster/Publicity/Golf Tour...they can talk about being BOWL CHAMPIONS!

Bowls are never meaningless to the 2 teams playing in said games.

A "fan" doesn't have to enjoy any or all the bowl games...but coaches/players/school Presidents, etc...LOVE THEM!

That's why they will never go away.

I do like them. I personally do not think they are meaningless. I think the overall perception of the media is that they are. I think bowl games are a nice reward for a good season (and in some cases a not too good season).

One major mistake the BCS made, in my opinion, is dragging the season out for a full extra week. January 1 is a Monday, January 2 is a Tuesday, and January 3 is a Wednesday.

There is no need to wait until January 8 to play the title game. They could do it on Friday, January 5, and call it a season. They can certainly turn the field around in four days time.

Doing this also ensures no conflict or crossover with the NFL playoffs that weekend. There is no reason the International Bowl and GMAC Bowl should be played that late either.

Krocker Krapp Wrote:One major mistake the BCS made, in my opinion, is dragging the season out for a full extra week. January 1 is a Monday, January 2 is a Tuesday, and January 3 is a Wednesday.

There is no need to wait until January 8 to play the title game. They could do it on Friday, January 5, and call it a season. They can certainly turn the field around in four days time.

Doing this also ensures no conflict or crossover with the NFL playoffs that weekend. There is no reason the International Bowl and GMAC Bowl should be played that late either.

You do realize that Glendale/PHX area is also hosting the Fiesta Bowl Game on Jan 1.

To maximize the benefit for the host city...they want to spread out the games for 1 week...so the visiting fans from the Fiesta Bowl can get out of town by Jan 3....so that the Champ Game fans can come...fill their hotels...and spend $$$$$$$$$$$$.

Its a HUGE bonanza for the Host City to enjoy basically 2 full weeks of Bowl Games Guests/Visitors/Events/Promotions, etc...

Plus...BCS/Fox knows that a game on Monday night (obviously no NFL game going on by then) will draw a larger TV audience then say a game played on Friday or Saturday night (less watched TV night).

It's SMART for said host city/bowl to spread out their 2 HUGE BCS Bowl Games 1 week apart.

bearcatfan Wrote:Much has been said about the glut of bowl games rendering most of them meaningless.

I submit that the reason bowl games have become meaningless is the BCS. This is similar to the NCAA basketball tournament making the regular season meaningless in that sport.

Before the BCS, nearly everyone looked forward to the traditional matchups the bowls provided. And New Year's Day used to be a great day to watch ALL of the bigger games. Now they are strung out until January 8th.

Maybe I'm too old fashioned to accept the BCS, but I wish it would go back to the old way. I know it won't happen, and very soon there will be some sort of a playoff. It's all about the $$$ now.

I'm for the Cotton, Rose, Fiesta, Sugar, and Orange Bowl on NY Day. I remeber watching the Sugar on NY Eve too. Made for a great day growing up with enough food to stuff a pig and enough booze to keep an alcoholic in heaven all day long. The day started at 11 AM with the Cotton Bowl and ended at 11 PM with the Orange Bowl. Its never been the same since they started dragging them out over a week and putting the other bowls on of less interest to me. Now I go sking and usually pass on watching the major bowl games all the way through when they put them on week nights. They call it progress I guess. I call it greed and a down right DOWNER for TRADITION. :bcs: :bcs: :bcs:

KnightLight Wrote:

Krocker Krapp Wrote:One major mistake the BCS made, in my opinion, is dragging the season out for a full extra week. January 1 is a Monday, January 2 is a Tuesday, and January 3 is a Wednesday.

There is no need to wait until January 8 to play the title game. They could do it on Friday, January 5, and call it a season. They can certainly turn the field around in four days time.

Doing this also ensures no conflict or crossover with the NFL playoffs that weekend. There is no reason the International Bowl and GMAC Bowl should be played that late either.

You do realize that Glendale/PHX area is also hosting the Fiesta Bowl Game on Jan 1.

To maximize the benefit for the host city...they want to spread out the games for 1 week...so the visiting fans from the Fiesta Bowl can get out of town by Jan 3....so that the Champ Game fans can come...fill their hotels...and spend $$$$$$$$$$$$.

Its a HUGE bonanza for the Host City to enjoy basically 2 full weeks of Bowl Games Guests/Visitors/Events/Promotions, etc...

Plus...BCS/Fox knows that a game on Monday night (obviously no NFL game going on by then) will draw a larger TV audience then say a game played on Friday or Saturday night (less watched TV night).

It's SMART for said host city/bowl to spread out their 2 HUGE BCS Bowl Games 1 week apart.

The bolded and colored sentence shows that I, quite obviously, realize that Glendale is hosting the both the Fiesta Bowl and the Title Game. I know how the Big Money Old Boys operate. That does not mean I have to agree with it.

Your post perfectly illustrates the main problem with college football these days. It is too much about money and not enough about doing the right thing. What is good for the host cities is not necessarily what is good for the game.

panite Wrote:

bearcatfan Wrote:Much has been said about the glut of bowl games rendering most of them meaningless.

I submit that the reason bowl games have become meaningless is the BCS. This is similar to the NCAA basketball tournament making the regular season meaningless in that sport.

Before the BCS, nearly everyone looked forward to the traditional matchups the bowls provided. And New Year's Day used to be a great day to watch ALL of the bigger games. Now they are strung out until January 8th.

Maybe I'm too old fashioned to accept the BCS, but I wish it would go back to the old way. I know it won't happen, and very soon there will be some sort of a playoff. It's all about the $$$ now.

I'm for the Cotton, Rose, Fiesta, Sugar, and Orange Bowl on NY Day. I remeber watching the Sugar on NY Eve too. Made for a great day growing up with enough food to stuff a pig and enough booze to keep an alcoholic in heaven all day long. The day started at 11 AM with the Cotton Bowl and ended at 11 PM with the Orange Bowl. Its never been the same since they started dragging them out over a week and putting the other bowls on of less interest to me. Now I go sking and usually pass on watching the major bowl games all the way through when they put them on week nights. They call it progress I guess. I call it greed and a down right DOWNER for TRADITION. :bcs: :bcs: :bcs:

Some of us don't ski.

I never understood the notion that the regular season for basketball is meaningless. I'm sure you could ask the UofL team or the UC team if the regular season was meaningless. I bet they'd say it was very meaningful. It meant that if they had won a couple more games they would have been in the NCAA tournament. In my opinion the regular season is very meaningful. You have to be successful to even play in the NCAA tournament, and you have to be very successful (with the only exception being last year) to earn a nice seed and get an edge. To me, the regular season is very meaningful.