Friday, June 11, 2010

Hope I'm Wrong...

The wheels of commerce are greased with greed.  The latest fat cats to belly up to the bar are the athletic directors of the Big XII, Pac 10 and Big 10.  In their respective quests to chase the almighty dollar they're willing to spit on the traditions which make college football what it is.  Best as I can explain here is:

Domino #1 (has fallen):  Colorado packed up their VW van with their bongo drums, hash pipes, and peace signs and are moving west to the Pac 10.
Domino #2:  The death blow to the Big XII may come today if Nebraska pulls up their plow and heads to the Big 10.
Domino #3:  If Nebraska leaves, signs point to a big hole in the Big XII, particularly in the North both from a competition standpoint and from pure $$, so it's speculated that Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State will all say bye bye and pack up heading West in search of gold, reuniting with Colorado in the Pac 10.  You don't need to be a math wiz to figure out that if all this happens the Big XII is dead and KU, MU, KSU, ISU and Baylor are all left homeless on the side of the road with their thumbs outstreatched.  KU stands the best chance of survival with their pure basketball tradition and a fresh TV market for the Big 10 to sink their vampire teeth into.
Domino #4:  Things get a bit less certain from this point on.  Essentially, the Pac 10 has now formed what they are calling a 16 team "Power/Super Conference" so the Big 10 will naturally follow suit and need to find 4 more teams that love money more than tradition which, shouldn't be hard in today's environment.  Most likely candidates: Notre Dame, Missouri, Rutgers, KU, Iowa State... couple more I don't recall.  The remains from the carcass that was the Big XII will likely go to the Mountian West...
Domino #5:  There are other scenarios involving the SEC, ACC, and Big East, but I am tired of typing and am getting sadder by the second.

K-State could end up getting the proverbial shaft in this whole deal and it is highly likely that if all this comes to fruition they could end up in the Mountain West, which would be a devastating blow to their rebuilding efforts on the Football field.  Since Martin has had success with "off the radar" hardwood recruits I remain hopeful that it won't hurt him as much - but leaving a major conference will still be a blow.  And I haven't even begun to get into the impact on say Kansas City, with the departure of the Big XII basketball tournament which was a major annual event.

Perhaps the saddest and most frustrating part is the hypocrisy of the situation.  These greedy bastards are the same greedy individuals that said they did not want a play off because the college football bowl games were part of the college football tradition, its legacy.  It is clear now with the movements that are being made that they care little for either legacy or tradition, cash is king and if there is money to be made then legacy and tradition do not stand a chance.

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