“The OG No.1 Ranking 2008 College Football”
 
Its not how you start, its how you finish while along the way you strive for respect. Respect becomes paradox in a world without parity. Parity becomes impossible when the wrong people are in charge of equality. Equality becomes a convoluted thought when equality is really always clear. A fair shot becomes too much, unrealistic. Not saying things have to be equal but when you don’t try for the best result, there lies the problem. So is the question, would you rather have respect or be liked? Is the newly crowned BCS National Champion Florida Gators legitimate or just the team picked by a bunch of sportswriters and coaches trying to act like they are not biased. Is the new BCS National Champion respected or liked? Are the Gators respected as a National Champion or are other teams saying they are No.1? Teams like Utah, Texas and USC. Wouldn’t it be awesome to see Utah play USC? How about Texas and Florida? The way Utah beat Alabama, the Utes sent a message. Seeing Utah play is also impressive they are legitimate in every facet of the game. Its not how you start, its how you finish. The myth that conference strength matters is overrated, as we see in the end. The top five PAC-10 teams finished 5-0 in BCS bowls. The top four teams have three losses with USC at 12-1, Florida at 13-1 and Texas at 12-1. Utah has zero losses standing a mighty 13-0. Would you rather them say, “there goes the champs” or “there goes the BCS champs.” Modern era gridiron change requires revolutionary thinking. In this modern era going undefeated has to mean something, beating the team that held down the No.1 BCS Ranking for several weeks has to mean something. There is only one type of revolution, the type where the people stand up and say, “fix this now,” and then follow it up with action. Revolution is not fashion design or an ad campaign with a bunch of ipods being bought or a “boot & jean sale.” This revolution is brewing and in this revolution the paperwork and requests to make things better are not getting lost along the way or pushed to the bottom of the pile. This revolution is in college football and the people along with the sportswriters and NCAA administrators and university presidents are dissenting. Seeing the light and finally agreeing that what is happening now in college football is wrong.  It’s such a debacle nor is it the best we can do in this modern era on the gridiron. PAC-10 Commissioner Tom Hansen spoke a year ago in a ESPN radio interview openly stating that the relationship between the PAC-10 and the Big TEN is, “a historical thing, dating back to 1946.” “Personally, yes, I’m against it,” Hansen said when asked about a college football playoff system. “Historical Thing?” That’s the problem as we try to bring the old into the new. Old timers are being pressured to be more progressive and come into the 21st century and let Division I college football have playoff. No more hand picked champions, let them play. PAC-10 players and coaches are not opposed to a playoff ask any team of competitors how they would like to finish the season. The time has come to be progressive, step out of the dark ages and enter this century. It took over one hundred years but we’re getting there. A year ago on January 14, 2008 at the NCAA convention in Nashville the pressure would be presented to the people that make the decisions in college football. ESPN.com reports that Michael Adams, chairman of the NCAA executive committee. Cites the current system as undercutting the sportsmanship and integrity of the game. Adams has proposed a new system and presented it to NCAA president Myles Brand. On that day Brand was supposed to present the playoff system proposal to the Division I Board of Directors, with whom the decision rests.  The BCS has not changed yet done a stellar job with these universities presenting these gala events. The BCS also has a choice to play and do the right thing or they could go the other way. Now that the BCS future is in the hands of ESPN where will it lead us all. To the big green gridiron of truth or will it let us down. Oh, big ESPN in the sky, where does thou cast our fate? This is where the fear of change comes in along with lack of creativity. These old guys don’t want to think any more than they have to, new creative solutions are muffled. The BCS titles can still remain, only every playoff game should have a bowl title. For example round one can seed 12 teams and utilize six BCS titles. That’s smarter than having a four week break between games. Who says the first round has to be one weekend. NCAA already plays on thursday, friday and saturday. They’re doing it anyway. College games on thursday, friday and saturday. Making college football teams sit throughout the holidays and practice for five and six weeks before playing the most important game of the season is not intelligent. We can scratch that four week break teams have between bowl games and play some college football. Better to argue over what bowl gets what round than rip off the college football player in the end. College football politicians have nothing to fear, we’re Americans, we’ll watch football without gimmicks. No need for tricks with us, we love our football, we’re watching the game sprite or no sprite.  The revolution has begun, it is time to do right by these young men. Student athletes who raise hundreds of millions for these universities. The least we can do is give them a real champion at the end of the season. Just because one can exploit another, doesn’t mean you do. The end of season manipulation by sportswriters, sponsors, administrators and NCAA officials is shocking, revolting and embarrassing. USC did not finish the season with a loss, look at how they finished the season, dishing wrath. Look at how the PAC-10 finished the season, dishing wrath. College football politicians and special interests on the gridiron? None of you stood up and did the right thing. When you could have just kept it real. The Football Gods had to intervene. It was the Football Gods, they had to intervene with all the wrath being dished out to the people.  Parity is attainable if you let all compete. The conservative conferences and their conservative college football politicians clearly don’t like all of the “outside of the south,” competition. The college football politicians can still have their bowl titles and still allow a new standard of establishing a true college football National Champion. Everybody can still be happy, advertisers get their ads, the universities get their money, coaches and players will get the truth. The powers that be must relinquish their stranglehold on the college football gridiron. No more dictatorship, in a civilized society, this is why we entertain higher education, isn’t it? PAC-10 football teams do not want to be represented by a group that defies a true National Champion, this contradicts the entire basis of being a student athlete. The final call must be in the interest of college football not college football teams. Choosers must able to separate themselves from boosters, alumni, advertisers, networks, special interests, college football politicians and let the show go on.  Choosers can also be eliminated by creating a fair system, a playoff system. The inability to overachieve in the modern era is foul. Let the players settle it on the gridiron. Respect is earned, being liked is easy. Do the right thing.  E-mail me at og@ogsportsshow.com Sources- ESPN.com, ESPN Radio mailto:og@ogsportsshow.comshapeimage_1_link_0
“OG GRIDIRON ROUND-UP ‘08” By Leopold Geans 9/2009