BCS = Communism

[GTD]

Lead story on ESPN CFB Friday (remains today) says swafford and company better change the system, or congress is going to do it for them.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4122741

"It's in my mind a little bit like communism. You can't fix it. It will not be fixable. Sooner or later, you're going to have to try a new model.”
-- Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, on the BCS

Barton suggested that after Friday's hearing, Swofford and his counterparts in the BCS should rename it the Bowl Exhibition System, "or just drop the C, and call it the BS system."

Communism, and obama's against it... ??? ;)

 

[GT_LUVER]

I dnt really like the BCS but doesnt congress have more important issues to worry about right now like the economy.

 

[gth816f]

I dnt really like the BCS but doesnt congress have more important issues to worry about right now like the economy.

I don't think that an hour long meeting about the BCS is stopping anyone from fixing the economy.

 

[MeatWrench]

I heard that they spent something in the neighborhood of two hours discussing the BCS... I guess that could have its merit though... if just to put a break in the monotony of the recession legislation, but it just doesnt come across as time well spent no matter how you label it.... The US gov't shouldnt have to intervene to fix an f-ing game

 

[TechSBP]

"It's in my mind a little bit like communism. You can't fix it. It will not be fixable. Sooner or later, you're going to have to try a new model.”
-- Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, on the BCS

Communism, and obama's against it... ??? ;)

What is most ironic, is that people think an agreement between private parties and the government's decision to bust that private agreement, at gun point if necessary, means that the private agreement is communist. Because it is not like the BCS is designed to make money or anything . . .

Barton and anyone who defends him are worse than idiots. They are brain dead. Too bad Barton hates the liberty to enter into private agreements.

 

[gth816f]

What is most ironic, is that people think an agreement between private parties and the government's decision to bust that private agreement, at gun point if necessary, means that the private agreement is communist.

That's not the definition of an idiot. That's the definition of brain dead.

Are public universities really private parties?

 

[TechSBP]

Are public universities really private parties?

Yes.

Construed in a manner most favorable to your position, they are state agencies, but the athletic associations and conferences are usually private.

At best, there might be an antitrust argument.

 

[GTBandit22]

Does this idiot know what Communism is?
It has become a "buzz" word among politicians and people talking about politics, as has socialism and fascism, but these words are rarely used correctly.
The BCS most resembles corporatism. The few football factories are promoted to play in a "championship series" of games, with a rotating BCS boss from a member conference to run the series every few years.
I personally want a playoff, because it is GT's only chance(just my opinion) of going to the MNC game without going undefeated. A one loss Tech team would get passed over for a 1 loss factory, every time.

 

[gth816f]

Does this idiot know what Communism is?

This is ironic. He said that is like communism in that you can't fix it. He said nothing about it being like communism in spirit or method. You didn't even have to click the article and make the effort of reading it...the quote is right there in the OP.

 

[Yellow Fever]

thank you gth816f, you beat me to it.

 

[stinger78]

Does this idiot know what Communism is?
It has become a "buzz" word among politicians and people talking about politics, as has socialism and fascism, but these words are rarely used correctly.
The BCS most resembles corporatism. The few football factories are promoted to play in a "championship series" of games, with a rotating BCS boss from a member conference to run the series every few years.
I personally want a playoff, because it is GT's only chance(just my opinion) of going to the MNC game without going undefeated. A one loss Tech team would get passed over for a 1 loss factory, every time.

The BCS is an oligarchy. Rule by the few. Or perhaps a plutocracy. Rule by the wealthy. Or perhaps a plutoligacracy.

 

[GTBandit22]

This is ironic. He said that is like communism in that you can't fix it. He said nothing about it being like communism in spirit or method. You didn't even have to click the article and make the effort of reading it...the quote is right there in the OP.

Reading it over again, you are correct, but it is still a horrible analogy. There are still communist countries in the world. Just because the USSR folded, doesn't mean communism isn't still utilized as a political system. You can argue that communism will eventually fail, but I would argue that the Chinese are probably looking at capitalism and thinking the same thing.

 

[gth816f]

Reading it over again, you are correct, but it is still a horrible analogy. There are still communist countries in the world. Just because the USSR folded, doesn't mean communism isn't still utilized as a political system. You can argue that communism will eventually fail, but I would argue that the Chinese are probably looking at capitalism and thinking the same thing.

Haven't the Chinese been moving towards capitalism for decades now?

 

[gtGreg768b]

Barton is a complete moron, and this monumental waste of congress' time is far worse to me than that Corinne Brown fiasco. Barton is trying to have congress break up a private agreement, and that sets a very dangerous precedent. Orson Swindle, from edsbs.com laid this out quite nicely, and I quote:

"Barton then went on to criticize the BCS for acting based solely on greed, solidifying Barton’s status as one of American’s boldest leaders in fighting the brave fight against both coherence and any elemental understanding of economics whatsoever."​

Let me just lay this out for anyone that hasn't figured out the whole BCS thing:
-The BCS is designed to make money.
-The BCS is not designed to give the most teams a fair shake at getting into the national title game.
-The head honchos at the BCS really don't care if a one loss GT team will be passed over for the MNC game in favor of a team that will theoretically sell more tickets and draw more attention/generate more money.
-The head honchos at the BCS really don't care if Barton (Republican, Texas) feels that Texas was jobbed and were left out of the title game last year.

The amount of time that was wasted by this pissing and moaning is really inconsequential... the fact that this was ever brought to the floor is the important point here. Make no mistake, this isn't Richard Nixon going to an Arkansas game, or Obama making a plug for a playoff in a candid interview... this is grown men in very important positions failing to understand where to draw the line between their scholastic affiliation and their responsibility to represent their constituents. Of course, it is probably just a shrewd move to drum up votes from his constituents, which is a different ball of wax. This is truly a sad state of affairs.

 

[TechSBP]

This is ironic. He said that is like communism in that you can't fix it. He said nothing about it being like communism in spirit or method. You didn't even have to click the article and make the effort of reading it...the quote is right there in the OP.

Despite what someone else said, earlier, you are still wrong.

No matter how you slice it, the comparison to "communism" is inapt. Read charitably he is saying "the BCS is flawed" and also, quite correctly, "communism is flawed." He then says, because communism is so flawed that it cannot be fixed, you must move to a new system/government. He says the BCS is just like that. We are left to wonder "why?" What characteristics does the BCS share with communism. Ergo, by his own statement, the BCS shares some characteristics with communism, beyond merely being irreparably flawed.

He could have said, the BCS system is so fundamentally flawed that it must be replaced by a new system. Instead, he chose to argue by analogy. Here, his analogy plainly suggests some connection between the two, otherwise it is merely just demagoguery and an empty analogy, designed to call upon the American opposition to communism rather than make a rational argument. If something is irreparably flawed, just say it. To say that something else is irreparably flawed means nothing, unless it is irreparably flawed for similar reasons.

And you are still defending this statement?

This is why Congress is full of idiots or, alternatively, why Tech should include courses in logic and rhetoric.

 

[gth816f]

otherwise it is merely just demagoguery and an empty analogy, designed to call upon the American opposition to communism rather than make a rational argument.

This is exactly what he is doing. It is a great American pasttime to do this, take it from someone usually labeled a liberal.

And you are still defending this statement?

I don't know that I'm defending it...I don't think it needs to be defended. It's just ironic that someone was ripping him for his comparison of the BCS to communism when he never really did that. You are reading way too much into a childish insult that many people make.

EDIT: It's like saying that watching Obama try to run a country is like watching Georgia defenders try to tackle Roddy Jones. It just ain't gonna work. There's no connection between the two. It's just to appeal to a demographic, like you said.

 

[TechSBP]

This is exactly what he is doing. It is a great American pasttime to do this, take it from someone usually labeled a liberal.

Okay, that is exactly what I criticized him for in my first point before you tried to say the comparison was okay.

He compares things he doesn't like to communism without understanding communism. At least he doesn't like communism. I'm afraid he may like too many of the ideas behind it.

p.s. I too have been called a liberal. Usually by conservatives. Liberals call me conservative.

 

[gth816f]

Okay, that is exactly what I criticized him for in my first point before you tried to say the comparison was okay.

No I didn't. I said that public universities weren't private parties, and you proceeded to say that athletic apartments are private, etc., and while I think it's still a bit more complicated than that, I see your point.

My comment about the non-comparison was directed at GTBandit, who very clearly thought that Barton was saying the BCS was like communism in its method.

 

[GTBandit22]

At best, there might be an antitrust argument.

What would be the implications of an antitrust arguement be(where is lawbee when you need him?)? As I understand it, aren't the major pro sports exempt from antitrust laws?

 

[beej67]

"It's in my mind a little bit like communism. You can't fix it. It will not be fixable. Sooner or later, you're going to have to try a new model.”
-- Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, on the BCS

Makes me wonder if he knows what communism is.