Since it’s inception in 1998, the Bowl Championship series has been blasted by sports fans for the way in which it decides the National Champion. Spawned from the depths of the interior of dauntes inferno, this high priced football series implements an incongruous point system, a strange ranking system, and extreme favoritism to the major conferences. Inordinate sums of money are thrown to the teams able to make it to the major games. Millions of viewers tune in, and, like a remote lost in the folds of a couch, January passes and all the indifferences with the system are lost.

During the major Bowls, the Rose, Sugar, Orange, Fiesta, and the BCS title game, complaints pour down like snow. But does anyone really do anything?
Even recently elected President Barack Obama publicized his resentment of the BCS during his November interview with CBS News’ “60 Minutes.”

“I think any sensible person would say that if you’ve got a bunch of teams who play throughout the season and many of them have one loss or two losses [and] there’s no clear decisive winner, that we should be creating a playoff system,” Mr. Obama said.

Though he criticizes the system, I know that the president-elect, along millions of others, will still tune in to watch the bowls.

And that’s just how it is.

Though everyone detests it, they find it near impossible to draw their lips off the teat of a flawed system.
Weeks of hype and commercials provide the bait, while the competing teams are only windfall for those in controlling seats. The games have become masked in greatness, but in reality the “Humanitarian, Las Vegas, and the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia” bowls are only vessels for hyping the Bowl Championship series.

Although these minor bowls may have smaller impact, their financial impact is equally as important as the major bowls. Heisman trophy winner’s battle, against league champions, underdogs take on cross country powerhouses, all on the luck of the draw. Like a wolf in a sheep skin, we as college football fans, have allowed this system to creep in. The only difference is that we were the real danger all along.

Our need for advertisements and other exploitations has fostered the current state of college football. We tune in every December through January and watch the games as though TV was going out of style. We fill rooms with multiple TV’s, stacked two high, in order to catch every second of the action.

The reason the playoff system will never be implemented is simple dollars and cents.

Playoff games could never make a competitive amount to sustain itself. Smaller colleges would not benefit as much as they do in the current system. They would not be able to achieve anywhere near the profits they do when they play bowl games. Fans would not flock in hordes like they currently do if teams like BYU and Utah were playing in a championship game.

Big time teams make big time profits, and there would be no sensible reason to change that equation. Although, a playoff system would garner the most traditional definition of college sports, it may not appeal that way to advertisers.

Recent opposition for the bowl series has come from 43-year head coach Joe Paterno. According to an interview with ESPNmagazine. com, he discussed why there wasn’t a playoff scenario.

“You have a lot of bogus excuses,” said Paterno.

Some of the reasons that have been brought up were that the playoff scenario might take up more time and cause students to miss class. Paterno dismisses this as “You can talk about missing class, yet you see basketball go on forever,” said Paterno (ESPNthemagazine.com). With the television contracts exceeding 130 million dollars, for the FOX network to televise the major games, it does not seem likely that they will forfeit their millions in favor of a playoff.

So where does it end?

By no means am I opposing the intense competition and excitement of college football. I will proudly plant myself in front of the television during the next few weeks and enjoy the games.

Would an end to the BCS, and the installation of a playoff system help college football? Possibly.

Will anything be done about this soon? Probably not.

Until the heads of the Leagues and Universities can find a way to profit from a playoff scenario, the BCS will continue to rein king, and we will follow blindly as peasants.

Bellies filled with food, eyes heavy, the final tradition of the day for many Michiganders is to plop down in front of the TV and settle in for a gridiron battle.The Detroit Lions have been a football tradition for many families since the first Thanksgiving Day games of 1934. This tradition can be considered one of the oldest traditions in sports, considering it is older then 24 NFL franchises. What started out as a traditional High-school and College football day was made into an NFL event. Because of their success and Championships in 1952, 1953 and 1957, Detroit had drawn a major following and led to the first televised Thanksgiving Day game in 1956.

With couches filling up with assorted family members, football stadiums filled up in a similar fashion with the die hard, blue and white collar workers, in order to cheer on the team about to do battle. The Lions can actually claim Thanksgiving Day as a success, with a record of 33-30 on turkey day. Despite the difficulties this season the Lions are hoping to continue this great legacy when they take on the Tennessee Titans (10-1), at Ford Field in Detroit.

Thanksgiving is a time to come together as a family and be thankful for all the blessings that have been given to us through out the year. However, when it comes to football most families find a vast expanse of different feelings. Being forced to watch the Lions this Thanksgiving, I feel there is no better time for families to rally around the television and join together in the upsetting performance that will ensue when Detroit takes the field this Thursday. And when the bloated stomachs ease, the last slice of pie is devoured and the final minutes tick off the clock, I think everyone will be able to take solace in the fact that they were able to spend a day with the people they love, watching a team they love to hate.

A time line of Great Detroit Lions moments in Thanksgiving Day games:

1934- Chicago bears win the First Thanksgiving Day Game 19-16, over Detroit

1951- The highest scoring game in Thanksgiving Day History, Detroit beat the Green Bay Packers by a score of 52-35.

1968- The Lions lost in the Tiger Stadium “Mud bowl,” by the lowest tally for any Thanksgiving Day game, against Philadelphia 12-0.

1997- Lions Running Back Barry Sanders rushed for 167 yards, and three touchdowns, to pass Eric Dickerson into second place on the NFL’s all time rushing list.

2003- Cornerback Dre Bly has two interceptions and a forced fumble in the 22-14 victory over the Green Bay Packers. Bly is awarded the ‘Galloping Gobbler’ award by the FOX network.

Friday evening’s “Fright Night” at CMU’s Rose Arena kicked-off
the college basketball season in the Halloween spirit.
Students, families, spirit groups, and the men’s basketball
team itself came together to get excited for the season,
complete with free pizza and subs and Halloween candy.

The fun-filled night was designed to get CMU basketball fans
together to learn the ropes of being a “Rose Rowdie”-the name
given to the student fan section at basketball games. The
Rowdies learned new cheers and chants for the season and
competed in several fan competitions including the Trick
or Treat Relay and the Dribble Weave.

CMU student Eric Doll was announced as the Rose Rowdie of the
year for last season.

The men’s basketball team is taking the season by storm with
their new motto, “Think tough, be tough.”
They can be caught in action this Saturday November 8, at their first
exhibition game of the season against Marygrove.