Can Playoffs & Bowl Games Really Co-exist?

[LaFlavor]

To me the biggest advantage of watching on TV is that if it all goes bad and your team has a bad day, looks bad or loses you can cut the thing off and do something else. You can’t do that if you are there.

Plus, I can get a 1.75L bottle of whiskey, that'll likely get me through half time, from Costco for less than $40.

 

[JJacket]

A big contributor to this was affordable, 4K, 75-inch TVs. When you see old video of football TV broadcasts from 25 years ago, it's easy to remember why everyone preferred to attend the games in person. I love the experience of game day tailgating and being in the stadium, but I'm not going to lie: the home experience offers some real benefits.

Watching at home will never approach the void in your life from missing in person awesomeness

 

[stinger78]

It’s been this way for a long time. The majority of fans are just finally waking up to it. Remember when NBC and the Orange Bowl hand picked Notre Dame in 1990 before November‘s games were finished? That was when I woke up and saw reality as a 20 year old, although I woke up about teams buying players when I was 10 regarding Herschel. The system has been rigged and the stupid programs like GT who didn’t do the back door deals have paid a huge price for being relegated.

As to the specific question, no this model won’t last. Right now we are still in the hybrid years of bowls/playoffs. Give it time and the bowls will be gone - as they should. The bowl system was as corrupt as you could get. I’m glad that finally a bigger/tougher/smarter group (TV execs) moved into their turf and have made the bowls a historical footnote.

I can't disagree, however, with some concerns.
First, we've traded minor league corruption for big-time corruption going from bowl committees to TV executives. If we don't believe that the playoff teams are chosen and seeded for their TV appeal, we're a little naive. There is absolutely no guarantee that GA Tech will fare any better with an infusion of mega-dollars.
Second, injecting money into CFB is no guarantee of program success. NB all the programs that do and rarely get to major bowls much less to the CFP. The CFP is completely captivated by factories that offer S-As all the fun of college with none of the classroom sweating we all know and love. That simply will not fly at GA Tech.
Third, Tech caught lightning in a bottle back in 1990, finishing 11-0-1. We were 7-4 in 1989 and 8-5 in 1991 with almost the exact same team and coaches. That may never happen again in our lifetimes the way CFB is now set up.
Finally, on that 1990 bowl. IIRC, the Sugar Bowl wanted us to play UT badly, but the Citrus would not let the ACC out of the contract and the ACC runner-up, UVA, went to play UT instead of us, losing a close game to them. So, the corrupt bowls wanted to do us a "favor" that year.

 

[OptionJacket]

I can't disagree, however, with some concerns.
First, we've traded minor league corruption for big-time corruption going from bowl committees to TV executives. If we don't believe that the playoff teams are chosen and seeded for their TV appeal, we're a little naive. There is absolutely no guarantee that GA Tech will fare any better with an infusion of mega-dollars.
Second, injecting money into CFB is no guarantee of program success. NB all the programs that do and rarely get to major bowls much less to the CFP. The CFP is completely captivated by factories that offer S-As all the fun of college with none of the classroom sweating we all know and love. That simply will not fly at GA Tech.
Third, Tech caught lightning in a bottle back in 1990, finishing 11-0-1. We were 7-4 in 1989 and 8-5 in 1991 with almost the exact same team and coaches. That may never happen again in our lifetimes the way CFB is now set up.
Finally, on that 1990 bowl. IIRC, the Sugar Bowl wanted us to play UT badly, but the Citrus would not let the ACC out of the contract and the ACC runner-up, UVA, went to play UT instead of us, losing a close game to them. So, the corrupt bowls wanted to do us a "favor" that year.

We agree. I‘m just extremely frustrated that I spent 50 years of my favorite sport being totally and completely corrupt. I recognized it at a very young age (daddy, why is #1 playing #8 and #2 playing #5 on New Years Day). Yet, fans ALWAYS had an excuse to let the corruption continue and the leaders of the sport off the hook - this conference is tied to that bowl, this team wouldn’t draw well at this bowl, etc. And the fans did nothing. At least it now appears since NIL and the portal started that fans are FINALLY waking up to how corrupt it all has been. That’s why I laugh when folks go on tirades about NIL and the portal. These are just the latest iterations of the criminals running the sport. Where was the outcry when Bowl execs were being wined, dined, and vacationed by the Bama’s and ND’s of the sport? That’s why I love NIL and the portal. It has finally shown to those who have been naive for decades that it has never been about the “student athlete” or education. MIT has always been about the almighty dollar.

 

[Dirty Jacket]

So we’re going to have a game at BDS then two at MBS in 2025? I’m down. I’m logging into my group’s calendar and and marking myself as unavailable those weekends. Lfg

 

[madRazor]

So we’re going to have a game at BDS then two at MBS in 2025? I’m down. I’m logging into my group’s calendar and and marking myself as unavailable those weekends. Lfg

Gonna need to get the weekdays too if that öööö happens.

 

[clapper]

We agree. I‘m just extremely frustrated that I spent 50 years of my favorite sport being totally and completely corrupt. I recognized it at a very young age (daddy, why is #1 playing #8 and #2 playing #5 on New Years Day). Yet, fans ALWAYS had an excuse to let the corruption continue and the leaders of the sport off the hook - this conference is tied to that bowl, this team wouldn’t draw well at this bowl, etc. And the fans did nothing. At least it now appears since NIL and the portal started that fans are FINALLY waking up to how corrupt it all has been. That’s why I laugh when folks go on tirades about NIL and the portal. These are just the latest iterations of the criminals running the sport. Where was the outcry when Bowl execs were being wined, dined, and vacationed by the Bama’s and ND’s of the sport? That’s why I love NIL and the portal. It has finally shown to those who have been naive for decades that it has never been about the “student athlete” or education. MIT has always been about the almighty dollar.

Strange take. What you described is capitalism, not corruption. The bowls and the teams are always trying to align themselves for the best payout. Who exactly do you think is naive enough to not know that the fans, particularly students, student athletes, and education (even at Tech) are secondary? And why does that piss you off? The game hasn't changed, only the rules of engagement, just as they've done since the beginning of college football. Why was it okay for you to accept it and enjoy it, while crying about it before?