Super Bowl or Superior Bowl?

When it comes to popularity and financial gain in the
world of athletics, there’s only one thing that could
rival football in this country: football. The status of
the sport has never been stronger and seems to be
impervious to economics, natural disasters and dynastic
collapses. People love football in this country and they
back it up with their pocketbooks.

The National Football League is king. The reasons for this
are vast and varied but nobody disputes this truth. The
ratings and revenues this league generates belie the
economic realities of the day. Although they have suffered
many more blackouts in NFL cities due to attendance being
down, revenues have never been higher. This league
steamrolled the biggest recession this country has seen
since the great depression with nary a blip on its bank
deposits.

The NFL has had a tenuous but symbiotic relationship with
college football and for good reason: they both feed off
and with the other. The pack is stronger when they work
together. What has made this pack relationship amicable is
the understanding of the pecking order and how things
work: the NFL is the alpha male and college football is
the beta male.

Uh, oh…

According to the Chicago tribune, something astonishing
happened amongst stoic Big Ten Athletic Directors this
week: they are exploring the idea of a 4-team playoff to
decide our national champion. Moreover, the former
pettifogger to a playoff format, Big Ten Commissioner Jim
Delaney, suddenly has had a change of heart and is willing
to listen to what this playoff would look like.

Well, every man has his price, doesn’t he Jim?

Apparently, Mr. Delaney may be willing to kill his sacred
cows for the betterment of college football and stop
trying to prevent a playoff from happening. Maybe he knows
a playoff is going to happen and he better get out in
front of it if he is to be remembered as a pioneer instead
of an obstructionist? Or maybe it’s something more
primeval?

Maybe it’s about money? More specifically, maybe it’s
about how MUCH money and how those monies would be
distributed. DING!

The Chicago Tribune reported that one idea before the Big
Ten and Jim Delaney calls for playing the two semifinal
games on the campuses of the higher seeded teams, with the
national championship held in a city awarded hosting
rights — like the Super Bowl.

Like the what? Like the Super Bowl?

Yes, like the Super Bowl.

Can you imagine the buzz, ratings, and hype a four team
college playoff would have on this country? Can you
imagine the revenue that would be generated and the
television contracts that would be signed and the money
that would come pouring into conferences and campuses
across this great, capitalistic country of ours?

The revenue, ratings and popularity would rival the Super
Bowl.

{Gasp}

Jim Delaney was probably sitting around a big rectangle
with a cadre of other suit wearing decision makers and
some stat-geek with a laser who was pointing out the
billions of dollars a four team playoff would bring into
power conferences like the Big Ten.

{Gasp}

I can almost see Mr. Delaney kicking Ohio State AD Gene
Smith under the table when stat-geek with the laser
adjusted his glasses, turned to the table, cleared his
throat and said, “The only thing better, bigger and more
lucrative than a four team playoff is an eight team
playoff. Double your bounty, double your pleasure…”

{Gasp}

Stat-geek lowered his head, licked his chapped lips and
sheepishly said, “We could call it the Superior Bowl.”

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