12.31.2009

BCS v. playoffs v. my opinion

I listen to a lot of sports radio. I listen to it almost every morning on the way to the gym and work as well as on the way back from both of those places. So during the last couple of weeks I have been subjected to the popular dish that sports radio personalities love to serve up- the NCAA football postseason format. There is a huge split between proponents of the current BCS, bowl and computer ranking-based system and the establishment of some sort of playoff system. However, this afternoon's debate really got me fired up.


The hosts argued amongst each other and with callers about two distinct points- 1) how meaningful or meaningless the bowl games were because they have nothing to do with winning a championship and 2) that a playoff system needs to be put in place to determine a "true" champion. The commentators kept going on and on about how playoffs are used to determine champions "everywhere in the world of sport"...yadda, yadda, yadda. This was the statement that really grinded my gears.

After much thought, I have made peace with the BCS system. Sure, it has its flaws. Boise State, TCU and Cincinnati all won all of their games during the regular season and will not have the chance to play for the national championship. They were determined by the BCS rankings to not have an impressive enough resume to be deemed worthy of such renowned consideration. However, they all are playing in other BCS bowl games and the schools are raking in millions of dollars in revenue to improve their programs. I sincerely doubt that any of the three schools' athletic directors are unhappy about that fact. Furthermore, the two teams playing in the national championship, Texas and Alabama hail from two of the most challenging conferences in college football. Say what you will about the other undefeated teams, but strength of schedule should mean everything when it comes to determining who gets what in the world of college football- as it should.

As I continued further down the rabbit hole while internally debating the systems flaws and merits, something dawned on me. When Brock Huard noted that "everywhere in the world of sport" championships are determined via the playoff system, I said to myself, “Brock did not check his facts.”

The most popular sport in the world is soccer. It’s commonly known as the “world’s game”. The vast majority of its leagues have ZERO playoff system that determines its league championship. Leagues base their championship off a single table format which puts extreme relevance and importance on each and every game during the actual season. If you lose and the frontrunner wins, your team is that much further behind in the standings. Sucks to be you. Unlike the NBA, NFL, MLB or NHL where teams can barely make it to the playoffs, get hot at the right time and claim the right to be champions of their league despite probably not being the best overall team during that campaign.

When I first started following European soccer, I wasn't sure if I liked this single table idea. However, I noticed something as the season continued on...I was hanging on each week's results with tremendous interest. Why? Because every single match MATTERED.

As sports fans in America, we grow up knowing the playoffs are when games "matter the most". This works great for the casual sports fan. Essentially, no one really has to pay any attention to any sport's regular season. Because all a team has to do is get to the playoffs and be hot at the right time to raise silverware or claim the league championship. Take the New England Patriots of two years ago. They were undoubtedly the best team in the NFL that season. After the regular season, they stood unblemished at 16-0. They even won their first two playoff games to push their record to 18-0. However, the upstart NY Giants pulled out a last minute win in the Super Bowl to deny the Patriots from winning the overall NFL Championship. Did the Giants deserve to win Super Bowl XLII? Of course, they were the better team during that game. But did the Giants deserve to be the CHAMPIONS of the NFL that season? That is tremendously debatable.

Now take the example of last season's English Premier League champions, Manchester United. My beloved Liverpool only lost TWO matches during their 38 match campaign- only to finish second to United by four points. The Red Devils lost twice as many matches. So how could this be true? Liverpool didn't seize the opportunity to win enough games during the season while instead settling for a draw. That result certainly stings for Liverpool supporters, like myself, but Manchester United won when it mattered the most for the championship- during their actual season. This works so well for actual sports fans and if commonplace here, would draw more passion from the casual fan as well.

Naturally, European soccer league structure is far different than NCAA FBS football. However, the BCS is the closest thing that we have to a single table format in America. It pits all the teams against each other and whoever wins when it matters the most (considering the strength of opponent) is crowned champion. Sounds good to me.

Sure, there are plenty of holes that you can poke in my argument. Most leagues here have far too many teams to make a single table format relevant. Or the Patriots were the best team in the NFL that season they would have found a way to win during the Super Bowl. (Believe me, I despise defending the Patriots. Despite the fact that I cannot stand them, doesn't keep me from giving them their just respect for that season.) However, the phrase "any team can win on any given Sunday" bothers me a great deal. It definitely backs up the legitimacy of the Giants championship, George Mason's 2006 Final Four run and the Cardinals Super Bowl run last year. But doesn't it also mean that even the worst team could beat the best team to win any game? Those stories make great headlines. However, it doesn't necessarily mean that the right team won the game or in some cases....the championship.

End of an era.

Today marks the end of another decade. To think, ten years ago, I was a freshman in college, is amazing to me. Simply put, it does not seem that long ago. And yet, I am now in a middle management job with my hair pondering the notion of thinning more and more with each passing day. There have been and will be countless articles focusing on how far we have come as a race in terms of technology, human rights, and as a race. I am not going to focus on that. I want to focus on personal memory. Nay, I want to focus on selective memory and why I have selected said memories.

On this day ten years ago, I had little to no idea that I was about 24 hours away from the worst hangover of my life thanks to Captain Morgan. To this day, I can barely watch a commercial advertising that devil rum without getting a little “green about the gills”.

I remember getting in a one of the only physical altercations of my relatively peaceful life nearly a year later. My opponent was a dude dubbed “Slasher” and apparently I offended him while parading around my college dorm with another buddy. It ended with his own friend punching him for being so out of line. Hilarious.

In the fall of 2003, I drove from Chicago to Tacoma, WA to Los Angeles, CA to Bison, SD to Newport News, VA and back to Tacoma, WA in a matter of eight months due to Army assignments.

I deployed for the first time in the summer of 2004 to Iraq. I liked watching “The O.C.” with my roommate in between convoys.

I deployed for the second time in the summer of 2006 to Kuwait. During which, I became the lead singer of the second band I have ever been a part of - Bobby and the Blowers. As the graffiti so boldly stated on a random bathroom wall, “Even the Pope has BATB on his iPod.”

Probably the second best highlight of the decade for me was my Euro-backpacking trip that my buddy Fred and I took in the fall of 2007. Nostrovia!

I started civilian life shortly thereafter.

I met the love of my life in January of 2008 and proceeded to travel to Mexico and Vancouver in the first several months with her. With her, each day is better than the previous.

I moved into my first house as an adult (a rental) in fall 2008 as well. We moved into another one almost exactly a year later.

All of these memories are imbedded into my mind because of the impact each one had on my life during the past ten years. These events shaped my life much like the events of the next ten years will influence and shape my life another ten years from today. On that note, I would like to propose a toast…here is to the next ten years- may they be filled with even more defining moments than I have experienced in the past ten. May the happy moments severely outnumber the sad and may I give back at least as much as I receive.

Happy New Decade to you and yours.

12.29.2009

12.29.09 - Home for the holidays.

My girlfriend and I returned to the Pac NW last night after a tremendous 11-day vacation in my home state of South Dakota.  I come from a very, very, very small town (less than 400 people live there).  It was the first time my girlfriend had ever been to the residence of my youth and I am really glad we were afforded the opportunity.

I have lived away from home for almost ten and a half years now.  I have had addresses in Chicago, Virginia, and now Tacoma (multiple) during this time.  Regardless, I have not been a stranger to my hometown of Bison.  I have visited at least once a year during this timeframe and luckily am very close with each member of my family (who all still reside near there).  I always relish the opportunity to go "home" again and visit old friends and places of my teenage years- most people do.  However, this latest trip back "home" was quite different (in a way).  The laughs and great times spent with my family and friends (new and old) were very much intact.  My brother, Billy (http://drownbilly.blogspot.com), made us a pot roast and we were treated to countless meals and treats by my saint of a mother.  Delish.  We also saw "Avatar".  Maybe I will write about that soon...quite the "experience".  Beyond all that though, the new feeling resided in how I felt being back in the old hometown and state.  

Some may chuckle, but I place tremendous value on growing up in western South Dakota.  I learned so much about myself and people.  I appreciate what it was and what it now means to me.  It will always be the home of my youth and my family.  However, this was the first time I went back and honestly felt like somewhat of a "visitor".  I do not mean that in a bad way, but in a very new and comfortable way.  What I take away from this feeling is that I am actually carving out a new home in the Pacific Northwest.  I am making a new life- independent from my youth.  I guess that means that I'm getting older, but it means more than that to me.  It feels really, really good.  After ten years of college, moving, deployments and other adventures, I feel like I have my own home...again.