The fans had gathered in the pre-dawn hours for the sausage and biscuit tailgate fare
Over strong hot coffee they discuss their teams chances against the opposition with the seventeen-year-old quarterback millionaire
The kickoff was at noon. The early time was scheduled by the true drivers of the sport, the television network
Their game was significant with playoff ramifications but was scheduled at the early time slot to compete against Des, Nick, Coach and Kirk
Big Money is only concerned with ratings and ESPN rules the roost
So the game will be played at noon to hopefully give the other network a boost
Sure, the fans squawked their protests like sheep bleeting in the runway to the slaughterhouse
But eventually they’ll break out the bourbon and quietly fill the stadium without realizing they are being controlled by Micky Mouse
The sleepy-eyed band is trying to work up some school spirit with the school’s fight song
But there wasn’t much of a spark generated as the fans have realized that college football in its greed has done them wrong
The boosters have been taken for granted for so long the sport feels invincible
They’ve quietly watched as football has turned into a giant money grab. Now to be considered for the privilege of buying tickets one has to make a payment to the athletic department but parking and tailgate fees are additional
The game itself has turned into one long butt numbing commercial fest
A 60-minute game has been stretched into a four-hour contest
The commercial breaks now take up 2-1/2 hours of the broadcast. Sportsbooks rule the airwaves with drug and beer commercials close behind As fans in the stands sit on their hands hiding from the weather while waiting for another three minutes of action as designed
Oh, Wait! The referees are huddled around a camera to see if the call they are paid to make was correct so we take another five-minute commercial break
“We’ll delay the action, kill the momentum, and a potential winning drive to see if our incompetent asses made a mistake”
“Let’s add a two-minute warning timeout in addition to the other three because Lord knows we haven’t had enough TV adds”
Toss in a thirty-minute half-time show so five talking heads can delve into the minds of the nineteen- year-old lads
Maybe just maybe this kid wasn’t giving his all because with three losses this team wasn’t making the playoffs anyway
With the Transfer Portal looming large, he’ll be gone at the season’s end to a bigger and better payday
He’ll go to a team that schedules more cupcake games where he can flash his athletic brilliance and not as likely to risk injury before going to the tier one pros
It’s all about the money, follow the dollar sign. No school loyalty, no team spirit and it’s no skin off his nose
If only the NCAA had woken to the fact they had the perfect playoff system already in hand
With the number of bowl games and a 64 team round robin tournament, think of the money TV, the universities, and players could command
Just drop the regular season games to ten and then begin the road to the championship
Suddenly the Bluebonnet Bowl wouldn’t be looked upon as a consolation trip
Much like March Madness this style tournament would give most a shot and advance the “cream” to the top
And all the fans hollering about shoulda’s coulda’s and woulda’s would slow to a stop
An Observer of Life in Bad Poetry 