michaelwjones

chronoLog

Two nights ago I settled in to watch the BCS championship game.  For those of you outside the circle of American college football, I will spare you the detailed lunacy of the BCS system.  Let’s just say that it involves computer models, voting, taro cards, and possibly the Farmer’s Almanac.  However silly the system is, this year it did pick two teams to play for the National Championship that many (at least many outside of Michigan and Idaho) felt were the right two: Ohio State University and the University of Florida. 

It is important to note that the BCS point margin between the University of Florida and the third-place team, the University of Michigan, was one-one hundredth of a point (0.9445 to 0.9344).  That means that if you even breathe on the scales, Florida is out and Michigan is in. 

For the season, Florida and Michigan both had losses while Ohio State was undefeated.  Going into the championship game, Florida was commonly pegged as the big underdog and by many pundits expected to be blown out in an embarrassing fashion. 

On the very first play of the game, the pundits appeared to be correct.  OSU ran back the opening kick-off and converted the extra point to post a 7-0 score in the first 16 seconds of the game.  As the OSU faithful cheered with a smug and taunting confidence that they were about to stroll to another championship, little did they know that this would be their last celebratory moment for the next 3 hours. 

Florida proceeded to completely dismantle the OSU defense; scoring touchdowns on their first three possessions.  OSU could not move the ball and only managed two touchdowns.  At the end of the first half, Florida led 34-14.  OSU with their top rated offense and Heisman graced quarterback were being totally embarrassed by the Florida Gators.  At the halftime break the smug looks on the OSU fans (and coaches) were replaced with total bewilderment. 

The halftime festivities opened with marching band performances from each school.  I for one was glad to see this more traditional halftime entertainment.  Yeah, I know they are not professional musicians and dancers, but they fit the atmosphere and essence of a college competition.  [Rant alert] I much prefer this to the over-produced, over-hyped, lip-synched, pop music idols than often get paraded onto the stage at halftime of big games.  These big productions always seem awkward and forced and almost never work well.  While I am on the subject, another bad idea for a halftime show is run out a couple hundred teenage kids to sing a mind numbing “We are the World”-type jingle.  These are probably even more annoying than the lip-synching, pop idols.  Close-up shots of these kids always show practiced smiles and eyes of wisdom that only MTV and Paris Hilton can bestow. [Returning from the rant now…]

So… the Florida marching band takes the field and plays some upbeat music.  I think it was music from the swing era, but I am not sure.  Anyway, it was entertaining and appropriate for the occasion.  The surprise came when the OSU marching band started up.  As they paraded onto the field, they were playing the despairingly heartbroken theme from Titanic, My Heart Will Go On!  Could there have been a more appropriate musical piece for the occasion?  OSU’s football team was in the process of sinking from glory to gloom and their band was helping set the mood by offering the perfect soundtrack.

There are many published accounts of the game that look at it from different strategic, emotional, political, and even metaphysical perspectives.  Since I am not a sports journalist, I will stick to this simple, non-biased commentary on the game.

The disdain found in the national sports media for the SEC and other southern conferences is hardly a secret anymore.  Most years find the Big-10 as one of the sweetheart conferences for many of the sports experts.  This year was no exception.  The non-stop praise of OSU’s undefeated season in the “toughest football conference” was heard repeatedly.

Now that Florida has publicly humiliated what was touted as the premier team in the premier conference, what does that say about the conference itself?  Is the Big-10 a bigger football powerhouse than the SEC?  More importantly, what would OSU’s record be if they played each Saturday in the SEC?  Undefeated? I doubt it.  I believe they would be lucky to scratch out six or seven wins.

If you agree with the mass media that the SEC is not the toughest football conference let’s take a look at this year’s bowl landscape.  Big-10 carried seven teams into post-season play.  Guess what… only two managed to win a bowl game.  Granted these two wins came at the expense of two SEC teams: Tennessee and Arkansas.

However, look at the overall bowl record for the SEC who was represented with nine teams in bowl games including one for the national championship.  What’s more, they won six of them including the national championship.   Florida, LSU, Auburn, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Georgia all won their bowl games against very good teams.  No other conference recorded this many bowl wins this season.

Finally, I think the University of Florida football team did a remarkable job of representing their school, the SEC, and the sport in general.  When the curtain of hype and propaganda, was pulled back on Monday night to reveal the real substance and heart of two football teams, it was clear who the winner was and who should hold the title.

mwj