From: jecorbett4@gmail.com   
      
   On Saturday, December 30, 2023 at 12:06:24 AM UTC-5, Eric Ramon wrote:   
   > The transfer portal, NIL, and opting out have destroyed the bowl games, as   
   evidenced by the Missouri/OSU game and the upcoming Georgia blowout of FSU.    
   >    
   > Too bad. I liked college football.   
      
   Bowl games should be broken and thrown into the scrap heap. They are an   
   anachronism from a bygone era. They started   
   out as post season exhibitions with no real meaning and were a reward for   
   teams that had outstanding season. They have   
   become college football's version of participation trophies. You used to have   
   to win 8 or 9 games in 10 or 11 game seasons   
   to get invited to one. Now, in some years, teams with 7 losses have gotten   
   invites.    
      
   There was a time bowl games had no bearing on what used to be called a   
   MYTHICAL national championship. The final polls   
   were take prior to the bowl games. When #1 Texas played #2 Navy in the 1964   
   Cotton Bowl, the national championship had   
   been decided in both polls. A Navy upset win wouldn't have changed that. Over   
   the years, bowl games became de facto   
   playoff games. We went through the Bowl Alliance, to the Bowl Coalition, to   
   the BCS in an attempt to get the #1 an #2 teams   
   to play each other in a bowl game for the national championship. Meanwhile the   
   minor bowls proliferated to the point now   
   that they are no longer significant. Players opt out of them. Coaches opt out   
   if they have taken a new job. Stadiums are half   
   filled and most are only watched by fans of the two participating teams. As   
   far as I'm concerned, now that we are going to   
   a 12 team playoff, they ought to scrap the rest of these worthless bowl games.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)