Spring Break
President-elect should focus on work, not play
Ronnie Woodward, Asst. Sports Editor
Issue date: 11/20/08 Section: Opinion
You would think that Barack Obama would have learned something from the current administration: Don't get involved in things you don't need to be involved in. Evidently not.
The president-elect, who will become the most powerful man in the world in less than two months, has recently spent a significant amount of time talking about his plan for a playoff system in college football. Are you serious? Does he not have better things to worry about? The war? The economy? Government spending?
First was the ESPN interview the night before the election. When asked what he would change in sports, the senator from Illinois said he would change college football's current BCS bowl system to a playoff system.
Then there was Sunday night's 60 Minutes interview on CBS. In his first interview since being elected our 44th president, Obama lobbied for a playoff once again. This time, he even proposed a system of his own-which is unrealistic and has no chance of application. His plan is an eight-team playoff, which would foolishly trim the regular season and add three weeks to the postseason.
"I don't know any serious fan of college football who has disagreed with me on this," Obama claimed in the interview. "I'm going to throw my weight around a little bit. I think it's the right thing to do."
He can throw his weight around all he wants to, but he will be wasting his time. The BCS commissioners shot down a proposed playoff system last spring and agreed to a new deal with ESPN this week, which will last until the conclusion of the 2013 season. So that means Obama will need to be re-elected and in his second term by the time the possibility of a playoff system can even be discussed.
Obama's recent uneducated remarks even compelled BCS coordinator John Swofford to issue a statement. Swofford's basic message to Obama: Thanks, but no thanks.
"For now, our constituencies-and I know he [Obama] understands constituencies-have settled on the current BCS system," Swafford said in the statement, according to ESPN.com. "The majority believes [it] is the best system yet to determine a national champion, while maintaining the college football regular season as the best and most meaningful in sports."
The reality is, college football isn't going to have a playoff system anytime soon. Not many people can change that-even Obama. The only thing his comments have done is stir up more un-needed controversy about the current system, which will be in place for at least the next five years and is the best system for crowning a national champion anyway.
A lot of people who push for a playoff system are unaware of the logistics and ramifications of such a system. You can add our president-elect to that list.
If Obama is so concerned about college football, what he should do is sit back and watch the rest of the regular season. The finale will determine which two teams deserve to be in the national championship game. What a great concept.
This writer can be contacted at opinion@theeastcarolinian.com.
The president-elect, who will become the most powerful man in the world in less than two months, has recently spent a significant amount of time talking about his plan for a playoff system in college football. Are you serious? Does he not have better things to worry about? The war? The economy? Government spending?
First was the ESPN interview the night before the election. When asked what he would change in sports, the senator from Illinois said he would change college football's current BCS bowl system to a playoff system.
Then there was Sunday night's 60 Minutes interview on CBS. In his first interview since being elected our 44th president, Obama lobbied for a playoff once again. This time, he even proposed a system of his own-which is unrealistic and has no chance of application. His plan is an eight-team playoff, which would foolishly trim the regular season and add three weeks to the postseason.
"I don't know any serious fan of college football who has disagreed with me on this," Obama claimed in the interview. "I'm going to throw my weight around a little bit. I think it's the right thing to do."
He can throw his weight around all he wants to, but he will be wasting his time. The BCS commissioners shot down a proposed playoff system last spring and agreed to a new deal with ESPN this week, which will last until the conclusion of the 2013 season. So that means Obama will need to be re-elected and in his second term by the time the possibility of a playoff system can even be discussed.
Obama's recent uneducated remarks even compelled BCS coordinator John Swofford to issue a statement. Swofford's basic message to Obama: Thanks, but no thanks.
"For now, our constituencies-and I know he [Obama] understands constituencies-have settled on the current BCS system," Swafford said in the statement, according to ESPN.com. "The majority believes [it] is the best system yet to determine a national champion, while maintaining the college football regular season as the best and most meaningful in sports."
The reality is, college football isn't going to have a playoff system anytime soon. Not many people can change that-even Obama. The only thing his comments have done is stir up more un-needed controversy about the current system, which will be in place for at least the next five years and is the best system for crowning a national champion anyway.
A lot of people who push for a playoff system are unaware of the logistics and ramifications of such a system. You can add our president-elect to that list.
If Obama is so concerned about college football, what he should do is sit back and watch the rest of the regular season. The finale will determine which two teams deserve to be in the national championship game. What a great concept.
This writer can be contacted at opinion@theeastcarolinian.com.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 4
Sinjun
posted 11/20/08 @ 10:14 PM EST
i guess meddling in football is more important than selecting a treasury secretary >.> yep you can see how much the president elect thinks of ya'll.
ANON.
posted 11/21/08 @ 12:28 AM EST
Uhhh.....really? That q and a about football lasted for about 45 seconds, it was just a lighthearted topic...give the guy a break. The whole interview lasted about 30 minutes. (Continued…)
TE
posted 11/24/08 @ 12:44 AM EST
the author of this article must have been low on ideas if you really got to write about a 45 second q&a when the interview was quite longer...seriously people move on. (Continued…)
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