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By B.J. Bennett
SouthernPigskin.com Senior Editor
After watching Super Bowl XLIV, SouthernPigskin.com Senior Editor B.J. Bennett compares the college football's championship format to that of the NFL's. Follow us on Twitter at Twitter.com/SouthernPigskin. Become a fan of us on Facebook at the SouthernPigskin.com Facebook Page
College football, were you watching the Super Bowl? The rest of the United States of America and the world was and, with the once-lowly New Orleans Saints finishing off a magical run, the result is the exact same as the last two years: fans are at a loss for words.
You can't argue with the NFL's recipe for success. Last season, the Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers set a Super Bowl record as 98.7 million people watched the game. Sunday's contest between the Saints and Colts set a new barometer; over 106 million people tuned in, making Super Bowl XLIV the most watched program in U.S. television history. The storybook run by the Saints captured the hearts of many Americans and a showdown between the two hottest quarterbacks in the league had many arguing back-and-forth all week.
"It was one of those magical moments that you don't often see in sports," said Sean McManus, president of CBS News and Sports.
You have to consider the Super Bowl the standard-setter in sports. Though this past season's BCS National Championship Game was a pretty good one, recent Super Bowls have been simply extraordinary. This past weekend was the culmination of one of the best runs in sports history. Talk shows and newspapers on Monday were filled with pundits ranking their most memorable seasons by a pro sports franchise; the Saints topped most lists. Last season, watching the Steelers and 'Cards, I turned to my buddies and twice told them I had just seen the best play in NFL history. Once with the stunning 100-yard interception return by James Harrison, a rumble which would have made Chris Berman lose his breath. And then again on Santonio Holmes' unbelievable game-winning touchdown snag.
My emotions after Super Bowl XLIV and Super Bowl XLIIV were the exact same as they were after Super Bowl XLII: numb, dizzied and stunned. One year after watching Eli Manning avoid traffic and throw a desperation pass which David Tyree grabbed like a cell phone against his ear, we got to see Warner and Big Ben, Fitzgerald and Holmes, go back in fourth in one of the most breathtaking quarters of football ever. The year after that we got to see New Orleans top seemingly-unbeatable Peyton Manning and the near-perfect Colts.
The moral of the story here is that playoff systems pair the best, hottest teams together and the end result is drama, theater and a real, honest-to-goodness championship. This is why the NFL is front and center even during its offseason. This is why the NFL is top dog in ratings, sales, attendance and fan interest. This is why people talk about the NFL with reverence and reminisce as if they were recalling a heartwarming personal memory. This is why the NFL is America's game.
Four of the last seven Super Bowls have been absolute barnburners with New England beating Carolina by three in 2004, the Patriots beating Philadelphia by three in 2005 and the two gems from 2008 and 2009. Maybe the best football game ever was Super Bowl XXXIV when Kevin Dyson of the Tennessee Titans fell one yard and one second short of defeating Warner and the St. Louis Rams for the world title.
I'm not even an NFL fan, but I watched every single minute of Sunday's game. Why? Because I knew something spectacular was going to happen. In the Super Bowl, it always does.
In BCS Championship Games played this century, Florida State beat Virginia Tech by 17 points, Oklahoma beat Florida State by 11 points, Miami beat Nebraska by 23 points, Ohio State beat Miami by seven points in double OT, LSU beat Oklahoma by seven points, USC beat Oklahoma by 36 points, Texas beat USC by three points, Florida beat Ohio State by 27 points, LSU beat Ohio State by 14 points, Florida beat Oklahoma by 10 points and Alabama beat Texas by 16. A few great games (see Texas/USC and Ohio State/Miami), but mostly yawners and some absolute blowouts. The BCS has worked in the past, but the fact that proponents point to the rare occasions when the system did work and the results were grand (see 2005) as selling points, speak directly to the inefficiency of the arrangement. Congratulations shouldn’t be given to a postseason format when it works; isn’t that what it is supposed to do? Hooray, you didn’t screw up. Hugs and handshakes for all.
The reason is simple. The BCS pairs two teams that an ambigious system selects to play one another. Then these two teams hang out for a month and a half before playing the actual game. The NFL lets a regular season decide who makes the playoffs, then the best teams earn their way to the Super Bowl. You end up with two scorching hot teams fighting their way to the biggest spectacle in sports with hard work, clutch play and an unflappable will to win.
There is some very real appeal to college football's postseason format as it is. And when discussing any future changes, how potential alterations would effect the student-athlete must be taken into accout, but what's happening the NFL isn't an accident. The right college football playoff system would promote parity, fuel competitiveness and create opportunity, all while virtually maintaining the every-week-matters persona that makes college football so great. The setup would be innovative, the pairings would be fresh and the results would be unpredictable. See the NFL.
If college football can get this clue, then somebody is not paying attention. Traits like a pre-season ranking, media pull and national appeal have often become the determining factors when a championship game is being decided in today's college football format -- and that's unfortunate. Computers polls, not games, have become the barometer, college football’s measuring stick. With odd percentage formulas deciding who plays who, decimal points have taken the place of the scoreboard. It’s no longer 30-27 that earns you credibility and stature, it’s .300 to .270, winner take all.
College football has accomplished one thing, the game certainly keeps us talking. BCS debate can carry on for hours in bars, at tailgates and in living rooms across the nation. The NFL can make an entire room of fans speechless, however, and that, as we were just shown yet again, is the difference.
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