Give Them the Trophy Now

Sports are a fun diversion. They allow us to all feel like experts since we can play a muted version of what we see on TV in our backyards. We can all feel lifted up when our teams do well and outraged when forces conspire to work against our teams.

And we love sports in this country. The next time you are out shopping, look at your watch and see how long it takes you to see ten people wearing some sort of sports endorsement clothing. We get immersed in the ebb and flow of the fortunes of those teams that we have chosen to follow. But why?

I think the largest part of the charm of sports is that there is so much that is black and white. There are winners and losers, catches and interceptions, sacks and great blocks. There are home runs and basket catches, runs batted in and bang, bang plays at first, and earned run averages and suicide squeezes. There is clarity and definition in sports in a way that most of our lives don't have.

Are you a good parent? How do you know? Is the Big Bang Theory accurate? Does it contradict the Bible or clarify it? Where is Jimmy Hoffa buried? Is Jimmy Hoffa even dead? See what I mean?

That is what has become so frustrating this year in college football. Earlier this year we had a game between the two best teams in the country (I think - we don't have a playoff in college football). Louisiana State University beat Alabama in a defensive battle. Okay. So LSU is at least better than Alabama this year based on this game.

Now Alabama nor LSU have lost since and every other team out there has at least one loss. Oklahoma State University has one loss to an inferior opponent (I think - we have no playoff system in college football), but has beaten two top ten teams (I think - we have no playoff in college football) while Alabama has not beaten any top ten teams (I think - we have no playoff in college football).

Now I know all the Bama fans are all too eager to have the rematch and I don't seriously expect them to ever agree to exclude their team from the championship game. But how can you put Bama in at the expense of OSU? Didn't Bama already have a chance to beat LSU (in Alabama, by the way) and failed? It makes no sense to me.

But this rematch is exactly the championship game that we have now. And here is the biggest reason that I don't like it. It will not generate a black and white result if LSU does not win. If Bama wins they will have beaten LSU on a neutral site. LSU will still have beaten Bama on Bama's home turf. That cries out for a third game to settle everything. If you don't have the third game to settle things, isn't LSU's win on Bama's home turf more impressive and deserving of more first place votes? Shouldn't LSU be the National Champion no matter who wins the National Championship game?

I think so but we don't have a playoff in college football so I can't be sure.