I honestly had no interest in the college football playoff games on Monday. I caught one drive in each game, just flipping through channels at one point and after a movie at another. I watched a total of about 8 minutes across their seven hours.
I really cannot explain why I hardly watch football anymore. After all, I watched a couple of college games every Saturday and two or three or even four NFL games every Sunday (and Monday) for the better part of 45 to 50 years.
Now a kid who grew up never having played any soccer … actually making fun of the sport … never having any remote interest in ever watching it … and finding it as boring as watching grass grow … is addicted to the English Premier League. I have no idea why. I just fell for it. They really do make you work to enjoy it but when you tunnel past our American need for action at every moment, instead finding enjoyment in the nuances, maybe even falling for the announcer accents, there is a world of enjoyment found. Heck, just going 45 minutes each half commercial free is a lovely benefit.
If I were interested in football, our football, why would I watch a tournament that left out probably the best team, or certainly one of the top four teams?
Think about it. If an NFL team were to start a season 12-0, beating other top teams by scores of 52-14 and 38-10, just whipping up on all competition, then lost a heartbreaker by a field goal in Week 13, we would all still view them as the best team in the NFL and they would still be the prohibitive favorite to win the Super Bowl.
Think of the 1985 Bears! They were 12-0, went down to Miami on a Monday night and lost to a good team in a thrilling upset. We all knew they were still the best team in the NFL. We all still favored them to win the Super Bowl. We did not move them from the best team in the NFL down to the 6th best after dominating the season but losing on that one night.
Yet, that is what the College Football Playoff committee did with Georgia. They took a mostly dominant Bulldogs team (go look at the scores against the ranked teams they played) and moved them from the top spot to 6th. That is utterly ridiculous. It just confounds and outrages me.
Again, I don’t watch all the games. I watch very little. I am certainly no authority. I do, however, look up the rankings and look over the scores each week. I need to at least be aware of the world when talking around the water cooler on Mondays. I watch a drive here or a play there. I am not Paul Finebaum but I am not Paul Lynde either. You just cannot convince me that an undefeated and mostly dominant team all season needs to be dropped out of everything for losing a heartbreaker by a FG, against a very good team.