Posted on 06/16/2003 3:42:10 AM PDT by putupon
Pickin' and Grinnin': College football goes to the courts
June 12, 2003
The unthinkable has happened. College football is now mirroring society. Let's all officially welcome the group entering through the back door, with their shiny suits and plastic hair and their arguments for the sake of argument. Ladies and gentlemen, lawyers and politicians have their slithery sights set on our sacred game.
The problem: They were invited by five jilted and jaded girlfriends from the Big East, who can't understand why The Bachelor didn't pick them.
Officials from Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Connecticut and Rutgers have filed suit against the ACC, charging that the league and Miami and Boston College conspired to leave the Big East more than a year ago, despite Miami's assurances that it wasn't going anywhere. Yeah, so?
It's as comical as it is pathetic. The ACC decides to expand and invites Miami, Boston College and Syracuse. Those who don't get invites revert to a cycle that any freshmen psychology major could explain. First you kiss, then you beg, then you file suit.
And if all else fails, call your governor for help.
Someone please tell the honorable Gov. Mark Warner that his state has a $535 million shortfall of support for basic education. Let's see, the Hokies in the BCS (which is what this is all about), or the educational welfare of children in Virginia?
A quick aside to the honorable West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise: Don't even think about it. You've got a school there in Huntington that, along with the other 50-plus teams not in the Big Six confernces, has been getting screwed by the BCS since its inception. Can't back one state school and not the other; let WVU take this frivolous fight alone.
The Futile Five started out by joining hands and pleading for unity at the Big East meetings last month. This was the kissing stage. We still love you, we can make it work, we'll pay more attention (give you more money) to you. Then comes the begging stage. For this, we look to Virginia Tech.
First, the Hokies tried to get Warner to politically pressure Virginia into agreeing to expansion only if Tech was involved. Didn't work. The Hokies also tried a fancy double reverse, having a group of university bigwigs travel to the ACC offices and beg for admission. Once that failed, the next stage was inevitable: litigation.
Since when did entitlement become the right of every American? The Futile Five weren't too concerned about the rest of the Division I teams getting hosed by the BCS's monopoly not so long ago. So now, when it suits their needs, they're high and mighty.
What we have here is a group of schools getting booted from an exclusive club they helped form in the 1990s, and now their noses are suddenly pressed against the windows looking in. Does anyone else see the irony?
Instead wasting time and effort and money with pointless litigation, perhaps the Futile Five and Big East commish Mike Tranghese should focus their efforts on landing Notre Dame and keeping their automatic BCS bid. There's a solid base with the Futile Five; Pitt and Tech are among the nation's top 25, and West Virginia is on its way back. Then there's Connecticut, which could be a major player, given time.
And if all else fails, simply adhere to the last stage of denial: acceptance
(you weren't supposed to see me over here!)
Because all the local livestock kept getting the clap.
They weren't that local. They all lived in sorority houses in cHARLOTsville
Michigan, Colorado, and USC have a long history of such, just to name 3.
The experts were saying a possibility was an early season game every year. If the loser finishes the season without another loss, they could still have a shot for a BCS game.
Do you know ANY OTHER TEAM that uses two of it's patsy non-conference slots to play teams that consistently rank in the top ten?Michigan, Colorado, and USC have a long history of such, just to name 3
For 2003
Michigan - Four non-conference games - Central Michigan, Houston, Notre Dame, Oregon
Colorado - Four non-conference games - Colorado State, UCLA, Washington State, Florida State (color me IMPRESSED!)
USC - Four non-conference games - Auburn, BYU, Hawaii, Notre Dame
FSU - Four non-conference games - Colorado, Miami, Florida, Notre Dame (ah-hem)
I think that, all things considered, you can't accuse FSU of padding their schedule to help them get into the BCS. If anything, it looks like they are playing the hardest out-of-conference teams they could.
Face it, when FSU gets to the BCS, they have EARNED it!
Go 'Noles!
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