From: james.m.gibson@gmail.com   
      
   On Wednesday, January 3, 2024 at 11:21:09 AM UTC-5, JGibson wrote:   
   > On Wednesday, January 3, 2024 at 8:28:15 AM UTC-5, JGibson wrote:    
   > > On Tuesday, January 2, 2024 at 7:59:38 PM UTC-5, JE Corbett wrote:    
   > > > 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.    
   > > Say what you will about the games outside the top, they are still the   
   highest rated sports viewing option for the week between Christmas and New   
   Year's Day. On 12/27, the top four sporting events for viewing were the Duke's   
   Mayo Bowl, the Holiday    
   Bowl, the Texas Bowl, and the Military Bowl with far higher audiences than   
   NHL, NBA, or soccer games, or anything else ESPN put on (Holiday Bowl was on   
   Fox). ESPN is still going to like this programming, as it brings in higher   
   ratings than anything else    
   they are going to show.    
   > >    
   > > And if there's a 100 participation trophies for going 6-6, so what? I'd   
   rather have that than what I had in 1982 as a fan of a team that went 10-1 and   
   was shut out of the postseason completely. If you don't want to watch these   
   meaningless games, you    
   don't have to, but enough people do that I don't think they are going anywhere.   
   > Follow up:    
   >    
   > https://www.outkick.com/college-football-bowl-games-rating-col   
   ege-basketball/    
   >    
   > When the Cure Bowl between Miami (OH) and Appalachian State draws more than   
   college basketball game between Kansas and Indiana, then you know that ESPN   
   does not want to give up its bowl programming.   
      
   Further follow up.  Here's the whole list for that day, led by NFL games but   
   then followed by mediocre bowls and the Kentucky / UNC basketball game:   
      
   https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2023/12/saturday-12-16-sports-r   
   tings-nfl-tripleheader-college-basketball-bowl-games-fcs/   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)