Apropos of the SEC’s recent playoff proposal (which was shot down, of course), I have to say that I find it interesting how much ABC clings to the Rose Bowl. Yes, it has great tradition. Yes, it’s in a pretty setting. Yes, the flowers are lovely. But you have an entire generation of fans that frankly don’t give a shit about the tradition of one game… especially one that has factored into the national title race just three times over the past decade (including the least interesting BCS title game ever, Miami-Nebraska). The generation of players today only cares about the crystal football; they don’t give a damn about pageantry and January 1st and the Arroyo Seco.
If you gave the fans playoffs in any format—4 teams, 8, 64, whatever—they would forget the Rose Bowl ever existed. It would be bigger and better than even the 2005 Rose Bowl. So I could see why the Rose Bowl folks cling to it, but not the network. It’s truly astonishing.
That said, there’s a way to have the plus-one and still keep all that garbage for them. Why they won’t budge is mind-boggling to me.
May 8th, 2008 at 10:03 am
ABC clings to the Rose Bowl because the Rose Bowl does not want its public image diminished from being the Granddaddy of them all, to semi-final playoff round. The Rose Bowl does not care about higher ratings or more money because currently, they enjoy the best ratings among non-BCS Championship bowls every single year.
If ABC lobbied for a playoff, that would piss off the Rose Bowl folks, and endanger ABC’s chances of having a renewed contract with the Rose Bowl (it’s the sole BCS Bowl not broadcast by FOX). So, it’s not worth losing the top bowl game so the competition can have a monopoly on the BCS bowls.