College football has come under attack for many things in recent years: From its poor postseason system to the involvement of agents. But one issue generally thrown under the rug is the gradual loss of competitive spirit in major college football programs. As the BCS system continues to put money ahead of competition, we risk losing that spirit which has, over the years, made college football the spectacle it is today.
While many of the so-called ""little sisters of the poor"" do indeed remain as last bastions of this spirit, our beloved TCU Horned Frogs are certainly not among them. Despite using the majority of their post-Rose Bowl spotlight to claim victorious leadership over a group of underappreciated non-BCS programs, TCU is not the ""Cinderella story"" it would like everyone to believe it is.
And while I personally felt there was little doubt about this matter when the Texas school decided to ditch the growing Mountain West conference for greener (pun fully intended) pastures in the Big East, its recent rejection of an offer to visit Camp Randall should sway those who remain unconvinced.
As I steamed from head to toe reading this sudden ""mini-controversy,"" all I could think was:
What would Boise do?
TCU is all that is wrong with college football. It's a program that shuns the notion of pitting itself against the best—keep in mind that the Big East is a weaker conference than a Mountain West which was to feature Boise State, Nevada, Hawaii, and the Horned Frogs themselves— and uses its recent fortunes for no other purpose than to cash in and cash in big.
On the other hand, poor old Boise goes out of its way to play big-time programs in their non-conference slate, all on ""neutral fields"" thousands of miles closer to their opponents' campus than to their own. Better yet, Boise wins those games more often than not.
If TCU really wants to make the argument that it deserved a shot at the national title last season, then it cannot reject an offer for a big time non-conference game. I realize that TCU opposed the concept of a one-time deal rather than a home-and-home, but that smacks of arrogance completely uncharacteristic of the type of ""Cinderella"" program that TCU wants to bill itself as.
Money has corrupted the college football world and the newest member (or future member) of the Big East conference is certainly no exception. If the goal of an athletic program is to be the best, then you have to be willing to play the best. You may be a Rose Bowl champion, but as long as you have a Mountain West patch on your jersey, you have to accept whatever terms necessary to build the type of non-conference schedule required to get yourself into the national title conversation.
To answer my earlier question: Yes, Boise wouldn't have hesitated to play the Badgers at Camp Randall. In fact, I would venture to say that Chris Petersen's program would have accepted an offer to play next week if given the opportunity.
Fair or not, these up and coming programs still need to play on the terms of the BCS schools. It's no doubt wrong and no doubt in need of significant change, but that is the way it is.
I have no problem with TCU's refusal to participate in a rematch, but I do have a problem with it doing so while still maintaining their eligibility for a BCS title.
On the other hand, at least TCU is the mantra of a successful BCS program: When money and competition collide, cash is king.
Is Boise State just desperate for attention? Does anyone know yet what a Horned Frog is? E-mail Max at max.sternberg@yahoo.com.
