2008 Woodie Awards
College bowl season bigger than ever
Joshua Charles
Issue date: 1/16/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
With the 2006-2007 bowl season over, the NCAA completed a record 30 bowl games this year.
At one point in history there was only one bowl game (The Rose Bowl) and it had no sponsor when it was originated 93 years ago.
As a matter of fact, the game was played in front of horse-drawn carriages and nothing more. In that game Michigan defeated Stanford 49-0.
People continue to go on and on about how the BCS combined with big business are the worst things to ever happen to college football and that the entire system should be blown up, but that just isn't acting in the true spirit of the bowl season.
The bowl season is supposed to be a time sit back and relax over the holidays and enjoy the country's finest teams battling it out, one final time.
It's the bowl season that introduces the casual fan to the underdogs- teams like Boise State, who defeated Oklahoma in the 2007 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl in a game that is already being called one of the all-time greatest played in any sport, bar none.
It's games like this year's Rose Bowl or BCS National Championship game - games in which the analysts decided the games were over before the ball was even kicked.
For two months, people lobbied for Michigan to get them a rematch with Ohio State in the National Championship game. As it turns out, Michigan would have been better off staying in Ann Arbor for the holidays instead of getting trounced by USC, 32-18.
The National Championship game was much of the same. For months critics stated how Ohio State would demolish the University of Florida, but that as they say is why you play the game.
In a bowl season full of surprises, there was none bigger than the Gators 41-14 whooping of the heavily favored Buckeyes.
It just goes to show nobody knows what's going to happen until the final whistle is blown.
People complain about the amount of games, but it's games like this year's Fiesta Bowl and Rose Bowl that will always allow the bowl season to get bigger and bigger each year.
And while many fans would love to see a playoff instituted, they will just have to be content with 30 games every December and January for now.
At one point in history there was only one bowl game (The Rose Bowl) and it had no sponsor when it was originated 93 years ago.
As a matter of fact, the game was played in front of horse-drawn carriages and nothing more. In that game Michigan defeated Stanford 49-0.
People continue to go on and on about how the BCS combined with big business are the worst things to ever happen to college football and that the entire system should be blown up, but that just isn't acting in the true spirit of the bowl season.
The bowl season is supposed to be a time sit back and relax over the holidays and enjoy the country's finest teams battling it out, one final time.
It's the bowl season that introduces the casual fan to the underdogs- teams like Boise State, who defeated Oklahoma in the 2007 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl in a game that is already being called one of the all-time greatest played in any sport, bar none.
It's games like this year's Rose Bowl or BCS National Championship game - games in which the analysts decided the games were over before the ball was even kicked.
For two months, people lobbied for Michigan to get them a rematch with Ohio State in the National Championship game. As it turns out, Michigan would have been better off staying in Ann Arbor for the holidays instead of getting trounced by USC, 32-18.
The National Championship game was much of the same. For months critics stated how Ohio State would demolish the University of Florida, but that as they say is why you play the game.
In a bowl season full of surprises, there was none bigger than the Gators 41-14 whooping of the heavily favored Buckeyes.
It just goes to show nobody knows what's going to happen until the final whistle is blown.
People complain about the amount of games, but it's games like this year's Fiesta Bowl and Rose Bowl that will always allow the bowl season to get bigger and bigger each year.
And while many fans would love to see a playoff instituted, they will just have to be content with 30 games every December and January for now.
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