The SEC is bad for college football

[Jerry1714]

There, I said it. I think the SEC, and especially Alabama, are killing this sport.

Comments like this are so ridiculously stupid.

Being great is awful, it is just downright terrible, they should start lowering their recruiting and expectations to make it fair for the people who cannot keep up.

The SEC is GREAT for college football, especially Alabama, there I said it.

John, are you American? Did you camp out at occupy wall street to piss and moan about the people who are more accomplished then you?

 

[John]

Comments like this are so ridiculously stupid.

Being great is awful, it is just downright terrible, they should start lowering their recruiting and expectations to make it fair for the people who cannot keep up.

The SEC is GREAT for college football, especially Alabama, there I said it.

John, are you American? Did you camp out at occupy wall street to piss and moan about the people who are more accomplished then you?

Where did I say that the playing field needs to be artifically leveled? I did not - instead I made an observation. What I am saying is that the sport is becoming Balkanized by the Deep South. When a sport becomes regionalized, it becomes eventually marginalized.

 

[Husky25]

Dynasties are good for sports. Any sport. All teams don't deserve to start the season on an equal footing. They should have something for which to strive (beating A#1). All players don't deserve a trophy. You want a trophy? Win the game and earn a spot at the big boy table.

You know what's killing the sport of football played at the FBS college level? Meaningless exhibition games played 4-6 weeks after the regular season.

Make more of the bowls mean something.

 

[John]

Dynasties are good for sports. Any sport. All teams don't deserve to start the season on an equal footing. They should have something for which to strive (beating A#1). All players don't deserve a trophy. You want a trophy? Win the game and earn a spot at the big boy table.

You know what's killing the sport of football played at the FBS college level? Meaningless exhibition games played 4-6 weeks after the regular season.

Make more of the bowls mean something.

I agree - I believe there should be a retraction on the sheer number of bowls, which would hopefully result in teams with ridiculous 6-6 records not getting rewarded for what is, in truth, mediocrity.

 

[mattp]

This is the first time I've heard the term balkanization used to describe what's going on in college athletics and I think it's 180 degrees from what's actually happening. College sports aren't becoming more regionalized, they're becoming less. "Balkanization" is what used to make college sports great. You had people cheering hard because they weren't just watching their school against another school, they were playing against neighboring states and nearby institutions. They were playing against people they knew and you were rooting against people you knew from the other school, and that's what made it interesting and passionate. Now if anything college athletics is becoming more nationally homogenous. That's why BC fans don't get their hackles up for a game against UVA as much as they used to against Cuse. Missouri, WVU, TA&M, and others don't even play their biggest local rival anymore.

 

[John]

This is the first time I've heard the term balkanization used to describe what's going on in college athletics and I think it's 180 degrees from what's actually happening. College sports aren't becoming more regionalized, they're becoming less. "Balkanization" is what used to make college sports great. You had people cheering hard because they weren't just watching their school against another school, they were playing against neighboring states and nearby institutions. They were playing against people they knew and you were rooting against people you knew from the other school, and that's what made it interesting and passionate. Now if anything college athletics is becoming more nationally homogenous. That's why BC fans don't get their hackles up for a game against UVA as much as they used to against Cuse. Missouri, WVU, TA&M, and others don't even play their biggest local rival anymore.

I understand your point Matt - what I'm pointing to is the regionalization of success in the sport. The most geographically homogenous conference is basically running the table every year.

 

[wolfman61]

ESPN and conference realignment are bad for college football. Nuff said!

 

[John]

ESPN and conference realignment are bad for college football. Nuff said!

Is your avatar Ed Roth?

 

[Woof 101]

I'm sure the fans of other women's basketball programs would make the same arguement - it hurts the sport when there's no parity and results are highly concentrated in one program or conference.

I get the feeling you do not have the stomach for D-1 sports. As a player, a coach or a fan, what Alabama is doing is not a hindrance to the sport at all but actually a goal for other teams to reach for.
Other teams and fans have to stop whining and simply work harder. This is doable...

 

[Sky ball]

I get the feeling you do not have the stomach for D-1 sports. As a player, a coach or a fan, what Alabama is doing is not a hindrance to the sport at all but actually a goal for other teams to reach for.
Other teams and fans have to stop whining and simply work harder. This is doable...

The goal being paying players, cheating on exams, fake classes, fake jobs, here do my SAT's, $100,000 gets my son etc etc etc. Yes if you go that route it's doable. Prediction: One day something is coming out about Bama, Saban and recruiting - mark it down.

 

[whaler11]

This is the first time I've heard the term balkanization used to describe what's going on in college athletics and I think it's 180 degrees from what's actually happening. College sports aren't becoming more regionalized, they're becoming less. "Balkanization" is what used to make college sports great. You had people cheering hard because they weren't just watching their school against another school, they were playing against neighboring states and nearby institutions. They were playing against people they knew and you were rooting against people you knew from the other school, and that's what made it interesting and passionate. Now if anything college athletics is becoming more nationally homogenous. That's why BC fans don't get their hackles up for a game against UVA as much as they used to against Cuse. Missouri, WVU, TA&M, and others don't even play their biggest local rival anymore.

A lot of good points here. College sports are killing the golden goose because they don't understand it's rivalries that drive interest.

Just watching the score scroll tonight - Nebraska playing Michigan and West Virginia playing Texas in conference is ridiculous.

UMass playing Rhode Island makes sense. Why would either side care when the Minutemen play Eastern Michigan? Missouri playing South Carolina but not Kansas? Utah at Arizona State instead of BYU?

Everyone watches Michigan/Ohio State or the Iron Bowl or even the frigging Egg Bowl because rivalries are interesting. Maryland playing North Carolina or Duke is interesting. Nobody will give a damn when Maryland goes to Michigan State or Wisconsin.

 

[whaler11]

I get the feeling you do not have the stomach for D-1 sports. As a player, a coach or a fan, what Alabama is doing is not a hindrance to the sport at all but actually a goal for other teams to reach for.
Other teams and fans have to stop whining and simply work harder. This is doable...

Not sure that is the case.

Dynasties have proven to drive ratings - the Jordan Bulls are the easiest example. That doesn't mean there aren't people turned off by the same teams dominating - look at baseball ratings at some point people get sick of the same teams winning.

Yes, we'd all love our team to be Alabama but when there is no chance to get to that level, which is the case for all but 10-15 schools some people just stop caring.

 

[Woof 101]

The goal being paying players, cheating on exams, fake classes, fake jobs, here do my SAT's, $100,000 gets my son etc etc etc. Yes if you go that route it's doable. Prediction: One day something is coming out about Bama, Saban and recruiting - mark it down.

I could not agree with you more. I simply can't type fast enough to put down all my thoughts on a blog. The bigger they are the harder they fall.
I wish we could schedule them for a home & home. With our conference situation it would be good for recruiting! ...........

 

[Woof 101]

Not sure that is the case.

Dynasties have proven to drive ratings - the Jordan Bulls are the easiest example. That doesn't mean there aren't people turned off by the same teams dominating - look at baseball ratings at some point people get sick of the same teams winning.

Yes, we'd all love our team to be Alabama but when there is no chance to get to that level, which is the case for all but 10-15 schools some people just stop caring.

You are obviously not old enough to remember people calling for UConn men's basketball to drop out of the Big East...NO CHANCE TO GET TO THAT LEVEL?
I guess I just am a little more of a hard core fan than some here....

 

[whaler11]

You are obviously not old enough to remember people calling for UConn men's basketball to drop out of the Big East...NO CHANCE TO GET TO THAT LEVEL?
I guess I just am a little more of a hard core fan than some here....

I actually am. College football is a different beast than college basketball. You can't compare the two.

Even just the baseline level of cheating needed to keep up with Alabama won't happen here.

 

[BlueDogs]

I vote Miss Alabama...sorry, what was the topic?

 

[TouchdownHusky]

This is the first time I've heard the term balkanization used to describe what's going on in college athletics and I think it's 180 degrees from what's actually happening. College sports aren't becoming more regionalized, they're becoming less. "Balkanization" is what used to make college sports great. You had people cheering hard because they weren't just watching their school against another school, they were playing against neighboring states and nearby institutions. They were playing against people they knew and you were rooting against people you knew from the other school, and that's what made it interesting and passionate. Now if anything college athletics is becoming more nationally homogenous. That's why BC fans don't get their hackles up for a game against UVA as much as they used to against Cuse. Missouri, WVU, TA&M, and others don't even play their biggest local rival anymore.

Matt, you and I often see things from different perspectives but on this point we are "pure Balkan". Couldn't agree more. That has been part of the problem with BCU whose nearest conference rival (think not just football, but field hockey, soccer, etc) is parked just outside of D.C. The ACC never really embraced BCU because they are an outlier and definitely not "southern". Too bad they didn't help UConn into the ACC. Imagine a division of UConn, BCU, SU, Pitt, Virginia, Maryland and VT. Run that opposite FSU, Miami, GT, UNC, Duke, NC State, Clemson and Wake. That'd make for a nice all sports conference. Oh and tell ND to go join some other conference, that it was always going to have to be either "all in or all out".

 

[Jerry1714]

The goal being paying players, cheating on exams, fake classes, fake jobs, here do my SAT's, $100,000 gets my son etc etc etc. Yes if you go that route it's doable. Prediction: One day something is coming out about Bama, Saban and recruiting - mark it down.

God I feel bad for people like you, just going through life assuming the people who are more successful then you most have cheated or somehow reached their success unfairly. I know it helps you feel better about your lot in life, but God you sound so pathetic.

 

[wolfman61]

Is your avatar Ed Roth?

Yeah, I'm a fan of the Big Daddy.

 

[Jax Husky]

I actually am. College football is a different beast than college basketball. You can't compare the two.

Even just the baseline level of cheating needed to keep up with Alabama won't happen here.

What a cop out. "They have a dominant program; therefore, they are cheating". That is such a lazy conclusion.

And if you think college football is even in the realm of sliminess seen in college basketball, you are crazy. CBB is as dirty as it gets. Much more involvement with street agents and shady AAu coaches. Football is not nearly as bad, and is much more regulated. That is fact.

 

[whaler11]

What a cop out. "They have a dominant program; therefore, they are cheating". That is such a lazy conclusion.

And if you think college football is even in the realm of sliminess seen in college basketball, you are crazy. CBB is as dirty as it gets. Much more involvement with street agents and shady AAu coaches. Football is not nearly as bad, and is much more regulated. That is fact.

Plenty of schools not winning are cheating too. Everyone but probably Vanderbilt in the league is cheating. A school like UConn is not catching up with the SEC playing it on the level.

Of course college basketball is disgusting and plenty of teams are cheating, but not in realm of sliminess? Auburn bought the QB that led them to a title. What is beyond just handing cash to players on the cheating spectrum.

 

[Jax Husky]

Plenty of schools not winning are cheating too. Everyone but probably Vanderbilt in the league is cheating. A school like UConn is not catching up with the SEC playing it on the level.

Of course college basketball is disgusting and plenty of teams are cheating, but not in realm of sliminess? Auburn bought the QB that led them to a title. What is beyond just handing cash to players on the cheating spectrum.

You have no proof of this. Could it be happening? Perhaps, but it is a cop out and comes off as just being bitter at their success. Did Auburn cheat? Most likely. We have evidence of that. Did Florida or Georgia cheat? What evidence (proven or unproven even) do we have? The fact that they win?

To me, paying an AAU coach is actually worse than paying a player, and there is a ton of that going on all over college bball.. That is likely a discussion for another day though.

 

[whaler11]

You have no proof of this. Could it be happening? Perhaps, but it is a cop out and comes off as just being bitter at their success. Did Auburn cheat? Most likely. We have evidence of that. Did Florida or Georgia cheat? What evidence (proven or unproven even) do we have? The fact that they win?

To me, paying an AAU coach is actually worse than paying a player, and there is a ton of that going on all over college bball.. That is likely a discussion for another day though.

No we know Auburn cheated. We USC cheated. Can I proved school 'x' cheated in any given year in a court of law? No. Do most reasonable people have an idea of what is going on and understand Auburn and USC are hardly isolated cases? Yes.

I guess the football system is a bit better than the college basketball system - at least the players end up with a higher % of the money.

If you believe cheating is rampant in basketball... Football is more popular, has more money at stake, and has more well-heeled boosters - how would you not conclude the cheating is as bad or worse?