Traditions

With all the craziness that has been surrounding college football in the past year, I can't help but think about all the traditions that so many of us are accustomed to just vanishing.  A tradition like the Oklahoma/Nebraska game that even if they played it, the game would never mean as much as it did when they were in the same conference. A tradition that must be started between Colorado and Utah rather than the bitter rivalry of mascots between Ralphie from Colorado and Bevo from Texas.  As much as I don't really care about either of those teams, the tradition of both those animals was so fun to watch every year and now we only see it every now and then.  And to think, now Syracuse and Pitt will have to form new rivalries on the football field against foes such as Florida State and Wake Forest?  I think the thing that bothers me most in a conference like the Big East where they lose Syracuse and Pitt, it's not the football programs that take the hit of traditions, but it's basketball.  The passion of basketball in the Big East is one of the best and to see football cause those rivalries to mean less is just sad.  I guess it's hard to watch new rivalries attempting to be formed in football, old rivalries lost in football, and all the other sports having to deal with this just for money.

The irony of all of this is that for the past few years I have been complaining about the BCS system and how they will never go to the playoff system, one of their biggest arguments is the "tradition" of the bowl games.  I absolutely LOVE bowl season.  January 1st is like Christmas to me when football is on from 11am until midnight.  But I also realize that it IS UNFAIR to teams like Boise State who go undefeated even if their schedule is weaker that they don't even get a chance.  I can tell you coming from someone who played in a playoff system, it isn't always the best team all year that wins the tournament, it's the best team playing at that point in the season that wins.  It just annoys me that because of traditions and money, the BCS system won't change, yet all the conferences will realign and take away what little tradition was left in the eyes of the students and alumni of that particular school.

What I don't understand is that I come from a generation where we are constantly changing.  Social media is the best outlet for breaking news and the news feed on your home page is completely different 20 minutes later.  I come from a generation where tradition is something we frown upon because we think it keeps us from ever being innovators and creating a better country to live in; so we keep moving forward.  Mark Zuckerberg the founder of Facebook is from my generation.  Food trucks are run by 20 and 30 somethings and are the new rage for a restaurant because as soon as a neighborhood is "so five minutes ago," you just pack up and move to the next trendy place.  We don't like to stay in one place and I truly believe that my generation along with a few others will truly change the world(and that goes way beyond college football).  It's just interesting that we want to change college football to a playoff system to seem progressive, yet all this conference realignment just makes us cringe.  We see it all as a play on money and taking more steps backward rather than forward because the people who run these conferences just want the money.  It's plain and simple to me and my generation, yet everyone is afraid to talk about it(ironically probably because they get more money not to say anything...). 

I just love college football tradition.  That's why I love college football so much.  You play with an added passion for the sake of your school and the rivalry that has been formed for decades.  Alumni go back to school to look at pictures of them playing their arch rival while cheering on the new generation to beat the same school they played 45 years ago.  Where has that passion gone? Will it return? I sure hope so.  I can adjust, I don't particularly like to change, but I can.  I just hope college football(and all the other sports affected by this) will do the same.

OK, enough venting.  Hopefully I didn't overstep any boundaries ;)  I made up for the last time I picked with an 11-2 record.  Let's hope I keep that up!  It's gonna be a fun Saturday

UNC vs GT-UNC
ND at Pitt-ND
Ark vs Alabama-Bama
Ok State vs TAM-TAM
Florida St vs Clemson-Clemson(without EJ I just dont think FSU can do it, maybe he will play?)
Vandy vs S. Carolina-Vandy
UF vs UK-UF
Florida Atlantic vs Auburn-Auburn
Missouri vs Oklahoma-Oklahoma
LSU vs W.VA-LSU
USC vs Arizona St-Arizona St
UGA vs Ole Miss-UGA
San Diego St vs Mich-Mich