Rep. Joe Barton, who considers the BCS part of the axis of evil, is incandescent, and prepared. Last January, this 13-term Republican, whose district includes Cowboys Stadium and nearly nuzzles TCU in Fort Worth, introduced the College Football Playoff Act of 2009, which says: It shall be unlawful to "promote, market, or advertise" a postseason Division I football game as a national championship game unless it is "the final game of a single elimination postseason playoff system" for which all Division I teams are, at the beginning of the season, equally eligible. Barton believes in limited government, but not so limited that it cannot right outrageous wrongs, such as the absence of a playoff.... "They keep trying to tinker with the current system," Barton says, "and to me it's like -- and I don't mean this directly -- it's like communism. You can't fix it." He would toss the BCS into the ashcan of history where, arguably, it belongs. "It is," he says, "simply a cartel, much like OPEC." It uses an "arbitrary computer system" and "complicated algorithms" to determine who gets to play in the "mythical championship game."
This might sound like one of those "only when Hell freezes over" moments, and perhaps it is. I happen to agree with Joe Barton about the Bowl Championship Series (BCS)...but only to a point. Yes, the BCS may only be only letter removed from BS, and it may represent the triumph of money and entrenched interests over fairness and competition...but is this debate REALLY something that Congress needs to insert itself into? Sure, we're in the midst of two wars, a debate over our Third World health care system, AND the worst recession in generations...but we're talking 'bout football here, right?
Of course, when you figure the amount of money, collusion, and self-interest involved, I suppose one could make an argument for regulation. Division I college football is inarguably a cash cow for the NCAA, the BCS bowl games, and the conferences that compromise the BCS. The schools left on the outside looking in do have a valid argument regarding the inequity of the system. The BCS is clearly a meritocracy designed to be exclusionary and self-perpetuating...and as such is reprehensible, anti-competitive, and patently unfair. In a different time and place, perhaps a convincing argument could be made for breaking up the BCS...or at least forcing it to open itself up, share the wealth, and provide a fair and equitable playoff system that could produce an undisputed national champion.
Sadly, this is neither the time nor the place for this sort of debate. Congress currently has too much on their plate as it is. Fix health care, restore sanity to our economy, and stop shipping our sons and daughter home in wooden boxes...perhaps then we can talk about how to fix college football. Don't get me wrong; I hate the rampant greed, self-interest, and unfairness that defines the BCS...but involving the federal government in the debate only demonstrates how truly clueless maroons like Joe Barton are. We live in an age rife with crushing priorities truly worthy of the collective attention and efforts of our elected representatives. No reasonable person (even if you live in Boise, CIncinnati, or Ft. Worth) could possibly argue that Congressional involvement in "fixing" the BCS is a good and sensible thing.
Fix health care. End the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Put Americans back to work. Put a lid on corporate greed, predation, and excess. Bring New Orleans back to life. Repair our crumbling infrastructure. THEN perhaps we can talk about college football. It's a game, a diversion...cheap entertainment that should (and must) be WAY down the list of public priorities. Even Barack Obama, who supports a playoff system, recognizes this.
Memo to Joe Barton: WE DESERVE BETTER.
