Happy New Year! The Holiday schedule has left me precious little time for idle chit-chat, so it's straight to the action this afternoon.
Today in the bag, I'm talking a trio of disappointing losses to close the book on 2016: a rough collapse in Salt Lake City for Men's Hoops, a forgettable Alamo Bowl in football, and an awkward stumble from the Women's Basketball Team.
Bowl games are stupid. I know that's probably not the message you wanted to receive, here on the eve of Colorado's first bowl game in nearly a decade, but it's true. Bowls are, in all but a few cases, pointless, corporate money grabs of the lowest order, and sporting culture is all the worse for having to put up with them over the final weeks of the year.
Sure, there is some value to having marquee events, like the Rose Bowl or the Orange Bowl, at the end of the calendar. Occasional exhibitions between champions, like these, held out of tradition and as a showcase of football at its finest, are be fine. I could do without it, but to each their own. The system as is currently in place, however, blows past them to instill an 'everyone gets a trophy` mentality to the sport, where even teams that go 5-7 are rewarded. There is simply no excuse for the 8th-best team from one conference to be playing the 7th-best team from another with absolutely nothing on the line. It's pure filler -- a desperate attempt to grab some of your hard-earned cash, either through your eyes on a tire commercial or you actually traveling to the event. I actually feel bad for the handful of fans who would allow themselves to be duped into something as foolish as the 'Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.' (I use this example for no particular reason)
"But, it's more football!' you might be saying. My response to that is simple:
The lure of 'more football,' such as it is, is wasted here. I can get myself to care about Colorado football, and I can even trick myself into paying attention to truly meaningful games with inherent history, but detritus like the 'Motel 6 Cactus Bowl' or the 'Dollar General Bowl' can't even come close to drawing my eye.
My appeal, then, is simple: end the bowl system. Expand the playoffs, turn the worthwhile remainder into some kind of NIT or 'champions league,' and punt the rest into the sun. ESPN will just have to go through life without the sunk costs of 20-or-so backwater bowls no one will miss anyway.
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Hype Music for the Week: 'China Grove' by the Doobie Brothers
My first thought for this game was to go with a country track, but that just ain't me. Thankfully, the Doobie Brothers wrote this iconic 70s rock anthem about a tiny suburb east of San Antonio. It features one of the best guitar riffs of all time, built around some jumbled lyrics about preachers and sheriffs with samurai swords. Enjoy!
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So, after all that ranting and raving about how awful bowl games are, you'd think I'd be avoiding this one like the plague. Well, you'd be wrong. I actually am going to the Alamo Bowl, at great personal expense, but do not consider my trip hypocritical. Colorado appearing in a bowl, a semi-worthwhile one, at that, is like seeing a unicorn. You can't expect me to miss an opportunity to see a unicorn. When the draw is the Sun Bowl next winter, that's when I'll stay home.
For what it's worth, much of BuffNation seems to agree with me that a trip down to southern Texas is a good idea. Based on ticket sales through the Athletic Department alone, at least 6,000 CU fans will be hitting the highways and airports en route to San Antonio this week, with even more expected who source their tickets through non-traditional methods. Should be a big group of Buffs down on the Riverwalk tonight and tomorrow.
For the game itself, kickoff from the Alamodome is set for 7pm MT on Thursday. Those not headed to San Antonio can catch the action on ESPN prime. Mark Johnson and the radio call will be on 850 KOA.
Pressed for time, it's straight to the action this morning. Today in the bag, I'm talking the result in Santa Clara, the Bowl Selection process, and the BasketBuffs responding in Portland.
