From: jecorbett4@gmail.com   
      
   Bowl games are a relic of the past. They began as post season exhibitions.   
   Until the mid 1960s, they had no bearing on the national championship.   
   When #1 Texas played #2 Navy in the 1964 Cotton Bowl, it had no bearing on the   
   mythical national championship. That had already been decided. The AP   
   started taking their final poll after the bowl games in 1965 but the   
   UPI(coaches   
   poll) didn't follow suit until 9 years later. Because of conference/bowl game   
   matchups, it was rare to have #1 play #2 in a bowl game and when it did it   
   was purely by happenstance. The national championship was still determined at   
   the ballot box.   
      
   In the late 1980s, the Bowl Alliance was formed to get the highest ranked   
   teams to play each other within the framework of the bowl contracts with   
   the various conferences. The Big 10 and Pac 10 were not part of the BA.   
   When conference/bowl contracts ran out, the Bowl Coalition was formed to   
   ensure the two highest ranked teams in the coalition would play each other,   
   but the Big 10 and Pac 10 were still not part of it. That not happen until    
   1998   
   with the formation of the BCS which selected two teams to play in a national   
   championship game. In 2014, a four team playoff was created.   
      
   One would think that with the expansion of the playoff, there would be less   
   importance in bowl games. It used to be an accomplishment for a team to   
   be selected to play in any bowl game. Now, there are so many you can get in   
   one with a losing record. The bowl system rewards mediocrity. Players don't   
   even care about them as evidenced by opt outs by the best players on the   
   teams. Many of the coaches have also moved on to other teams or been   
   fired. I know the sole reason for the survival of bowl system is money.   
   Sponsors think it is good business to sponsor games which are played in   
   half filled stadiums by mediocre teams with pitiful TV ratings. It amazes me   
   that most of these bowls can make money for anybody. The bowl system   
   has become the NIT of college football. Nobody watches most of them.   
   Nobody cares.   
      
   I'm sure some people are thinking, if you don't like them, don't watch. I   
   don't.   
   I only watch the 3 CFP games. Next year that will expand to 11. I wouldn't   
   care one bit if every non-playoff bowl game disappeared. In fact I wish they   
   would. Keeping the bowl system postpones the playoff. The 12 team playoff   
   is scheduled to begin the third weekend of December with the final being the   
   third Monday of January. I would like to see that moved up a week. That   
   would create even less interest in the minor (crappy) bowl games which is   
   probably why they aren't doing it. Those meaningless bowl games are   
   apparently still bringing in money to the participating programs and college   
   football is all about the money, nothing else.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)