Thinking about the next couple of weeks for our Bayou Bengals could give anyone a headache, so since it is about eight o'clock out here and it looks like I won't be going out tonight, I thought that I would spell out my defense of the BCS.  It'll give everyone something else to think about, and hopefully spawn a good discussion.

Here it goes.  Full disclosure first.  My grandfather (who passed recently) was a past president of the Sugar Bowl, and so is my uncle (who is alive and kicking).  That said, I approached my uncle at the game a couple of years ago and was trying to get him to explain why we should not have a playoff.  He looked at me like I was nuts (he's kind of good at that), but did not engage me in conversation on the topic except to say "That's exactly what we don't want to happen," or something to that effect.

I still was of the opinion that a playoff system is best, and most fair, etc.  After considering the subject at length and listening to several coach's interviews on the subject, I now realize that I was dead wrong.  I will try to list the reasons why I believe that the BCS is VERY GOOD for college football, and VERY GOOD for the fans of college football.

First, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.  College football ratings on television and revenues are SOARING.  I am in favor of the players receiving more of that money (but that's a different topic).  Why is college football doing so well?  One word: Controversy.  It made Rush Limbaugh a gazillionaire and Howard Stern, too.  We can't stop talking about the rankings, and upsets, and who gets into a major bowl and who's left out.  We love it.  We can't get enough, and it has made college football ALMOST as big as the NFL.  For those of you who don't know, a regular season NFL game crushes the MLB playoff games in terms of ratings.  It's a fact.  To quote someone "You can't buy that kind of publicity."  College football is bigger than it has EVER BEEN, and it's because of the BCS.

Second, ask any coach in any month besides December and they will tell you that they do not want to turn College football into Professional football.  These kids work as hard during their time in College football programs as they will in their entire lives.  The vast majority of them will never play a down in the NFL.  At the end of the season, no matter what bowl game that their program ends up in, they have a chance to be a winner... a champion.  With a playoff, there would only be one winner.  Everyone else would go home with no salary (which they aren't getting anyway) and only the memory of defeat to carry for the rest of their lives.  That may sound like a wussy argument, but put yourself in the place of those kids and remember how you felt when LSU won the Peach Bowl at the end of the 2008 season.  Now imagine how the team felt.  There's a lot of value to the bowl system based on those memories alone.

Third:  Money.  The programs going to bowl games get money that goes toward their football programs and the athletic departments.  Women and Men's fencing is a great sport.  So are track, lacrosse, gymnastics, tennis, etc.  The big chunk of cash that the bowl sponsers put up supports athletic departments all over the nation.  That's not nothing.  It would be nearly impossible for the schools to do that kind of fund raising on their own.

Fourth:  Fans.  It's extremely hard to fill up a stadium.  Years when the Sugar Bowl hasn't had a good matchup it is damned hard to fill the Superdome.  My family has discussions each year about which teams 'travel well'.  Will fans from Illinois come down to the big easy over the holidays?  Now imagine that those fans have to travel TWICE or THREE times to different locations around the country as their team moves through the playoff system.  Oh, yeah, don't forget that this travel is all around the holidays when little expenses like going to see grandparents, Christmas presents for the kids, and big turkey dinners usually come up.

So, let's recap:  If there were a playoff system fans wouldn't be able to afford to go see the games, athletic departments wouldn't get infusions of cash that they need, hard working college athletes wouldn't have memories to treasure for the rest of their lives, and it's very likely that ratings and revenues for college football would fall off dramatically.  Looks like the BCS isn't so bad after all.  Don't worry, I had to admit that I was wrong, too.