Why do you root for them?

I was thinking about the teams that I root for.  Kansas Jayhawks, St. Louis Blues, St. Louis Cadinals, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Bears (kind of).  Why do I root for these teams and not others?  I remember when I was young, I hated KU and I wanted Mizzou to beat them everytime in any sport no matter what.  Based on the recommendation of a friend, I looked at Kansas for a college choice.  He talked so highly of it and I took his opinion very seriously.  There were also other factors.  It was a school that was close to home, but not too close.  It was not Mizzou. Not being Mizzou had become a positive.  So many of the usual bro's went to Mizzou from my school, I knew I could not follow that path.  It was not only not Mizzou, it was the rival of Mizzou.  So I could actually root against those people I grew to despise.  Kansas was, from what I gathered on a visit, a great place.  The campus was and still is beautiful.  The town was great and the people were very supportive of the school and its sports.  I was blown away seeing everyone wearing Kansas shirts, hoodies, and hats.  I knew I wanted to stay.  Kansas was perfect.  It's weird because at one point in my life, I felt the exact opposite.  I had this passion for seeing Kansas lose.  Now I have this passion for seeing Kansas.  My connection to Kansas is now so great, I would never waver from my love for it.

The same goes for the St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Blues, although to a smaller degree.  I witnessed the Cardinals win the World Series and I witnessed the Jayhawks win the National Championship.   I feel even now that it was better seeing the Jayhawks win than it was seeing the Cardinals win.  But why?  Throughout my time at Kansas, I became a part of something.  I was in the crowd when Dickie V gave Nick Collison a standing ovation.  I was standing at Potter Lake when the goal posts were carried from the field to the water.  I was on Mass St. when we beat UNC and when we beat Memphis.  For all of these reason and even more, I love Kansas and will forever.

What about the other teams?  It seems like I don't have the connection to these teams like I do to Kansas.  Why not?  I have never had the experiences around these other teams like I have at KU.  Pro sports come and go.  Life on a college campus is year round.  Basketball might not be playing but you walk by the Fieldhouse everyday and see the players walking campus.  Same for football.  I remember waiting for Todd Reesing to get cash so he could pay for his beer while I was bartending.  He thought he could get his beer for free because of who he is but I waited for him and sure enough he came back with a twenty dollar bill.  These things don't happen with other sports teams.  Players play for money and usually don't give a shit about fans.  Well, that's a bit harsh but they are there to collect a check.  That is a fact.  It's different.  There is an emptiness involved in cheering for a professional sports team that does not exist in college sports.

While I know that I'll never stop cheering a rooting for Kansas, I cannot say the same about the other teams.  I like to think that I'll root for the Cardinals and Blues forever but I can't be certain.  I really do not care about the Rams.  Every once in a while I check on how they are doing but beyond that, I don't really care.  I used to love the Rams.  Could the same happen for my love of Cardinal baseball and Blues hockey?  Unlikely.  But, still I know it will never happen to my love for the Kansas Jayhawks.

Does anyone know what I mean?  Anyone have that connection to a team that is unwavering?

The BCS is a JOKE

Is there a bigger joke in all of sports than the BCS? I really don't think there is. And here is why...

BCS stands for Bowl Championship Series. Series? How can there be a series of championships in one sport? There is no Series of Championships in baseball. There is on series, the World Series. There are no multiple championships in the NFL. There is one, the Super Bowl. In hockey, there is one winner, they hoist the Stanley Cup. By now, you should be firmly grasping my point. If not, stop reading and go watch a replay of your favorite magicJack St. Petersbug Bowl, San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl, or the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.

So, the current system, the BCS, creates a Series of Championships in which the best teams play. None of the bowls listed above are in the BCS. They are other, less important bowls created to raise money for a university (not such a bad thing) and make bad teams feel like they aren't bad (not such a good thing). Within the BCS, you normally find teams like Texas, Oklahoma, USC, Ohio State, Penn State, Florida and an ACC team that certainly has no business being there. Why not have these 8 BCS teams play a small tournament to decide the winner of the season? What, with all the controversy that ensues after the BCS ends, it only makes sense. Until there is a way to decide the champion on the field, I will never fully enjoy watching college football.

Researching this post, I found a Wikipedia article named "BCS Controversies". It lists all the controversies by year. Here is the funny part...Under the heading 'controversies by season', it lists the following years: 1998-99, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09. Almost every season is included dating back to 1998!! What a joke! How much more do the people need? Literally, the BCS creates controversy every year. When was the last time there was controversy over any other sports championship? The other systems seem to be much more sound. I will not say they are perfect but I will say most of the controversy that seems to surround any other sport is over a call by a referee. This is human error. It is not an error in the system. An error in system is what we have with the BCS.

So what about those controversies? Remember the Big XII from last season? The log jam of Texas, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech. What a joke that was. How about Kansas getting a BCS bid over Missouri after Missouri beat Kansas? Another joke. Or in 2006-07, with Boise St. undefeated and not getting a chance to play for the Championship? The classic argument is that they did not have the strength of schedule. My response? Boise St. went on the beat Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl in one of the most exciting games ever. And was it in primetime during a tournament for the world to see? No! It goes on and on and on and on and on. There are too many to discuss. The point is this: A system that relies on computers and formulas to determine who the best two teams are, cannot be sustained. It must be replaced now. Here is an idea. The top 8 teams would play a bracket style tourney. 1v8 2v7 3v6 4v5 This would be the first week of the tournament. It could occur 2 weeks after the season ends and then every week until a champion is crowned. This year the tournament would start December 19 and end January 2. It's that easy.

Until something like this is put in place, I cannot respect college football. It's a joke of a sport.