One of the advantagews of having a sporting goods business and also having a website and blog is that when a company displays poor service and total lack of respect for the people who pay them, I can let them have it in my blog.
I have been a memer of this national chain of fitness clubs for over three years. My membership fees are paid in full and my monthly dues are on automatic payment through my credit card so the company has been had an issue with me paying my dues.
A while back I removed my young daughters name from my account because she was not using it. At the time I was told that with my account being one of their higher level accounts I could add her back onto the account whenever I wanted to with no problem at all.
In fact it was just a couple weeks ago that I called and asked if I could do that and they said again, no problem.
Well guess what? Went in tonight and tried to do just that and was treated very rudely and was told that I would have to sign her to a three year contract and that the fee was going to be higher then I am paying now.
I was so pi$$ed off that I just left with my daughter and will never go back into that building again. As soon as my wife quits using her membership I will close the account, by my own fitness equipment and put it in my office.
I would advise that others do the same. These clubs pray on the young user who is not smart enough to know what they are doing and just say yes to anything. This generation is so in tune with paying any price for anything just so they can have it now is wrong and at some point they will learn a hard lesson that they have been ripped off.
I will attempt to contact the corporate headquarters tomorrow but from what I have already read tonight online, this is a problem nation wide with this organization and I do not expect to have my problem resolved.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Radio vs Online Radio
I am one of those people who like to listen to talk radio as well as music when I am at work or in the car much to the shagrin of my wife and kids.
My favorite shows are sports radio shows but only the shows that have intelligent conversation and not just the trash talking and stupid non-sports related conversations that are so prevalent in sports talk radio.
I have 3 girls who play sports, watch sports and love to talk sports from time to time. I like them to hear intelligent sports conversation rather then talk about the busty babes the sportscaster dated or the one that just walked past the window. A little bit of this stuff is ok but some take it to far.
In todays electronics world it appears that tuner manufacturers have given up on AM Radio. No matter what type of antenna I attach to my system I cannot get reception on my system in the office or the house. But the stinking little walkman type radio I have gets great reception. But I do not want to walk around the house or office with earphones in my ears.
So recently I discovered online radio on ESPN. Now I have known about it for some time but I just got around to trying it out and I tell you what, it is great. I love to listen to Colin Cowherd and Mike Tirico in the mornings and it prevents me from having to listen to Jim Rome on the radio. Cowherd and Tirico's shows are smart and funny. They have class and can cover subjects in an intelligent manner without having to stoop to the trash talking of the listeners to fill show time.
My problem now is that the local sports radio station requires you to have a membership to listen online. I find that to be an issue. Now I have memberships online for all kinds of things, but not one of them is something that I can get for free via another source. So why must they collect information about me? I know all about marketing, that is what I do. It just does not seem right.
There are a couple of the local shows that I would like to listen to on saturday mornings or during drive time. If the local station were to offer those services without the membership I would be there for sure and so would more listeners I think. So the demographics that they are collecting by requiring membership to listen is skewed because more people would listen if they offered the service without membership.
So unitl my local station figures this out and changes their policy I will continue to find ways to enjoy intelligent sports radio. I will listen to Colin and Mike online at espnradio.com without a membership and not on my radio that gets no reception.
More radio stations need to figure out that they would get more listeners online then over the air if they only offered the service.
To ESPN Radio, Colin Cowherd and Mike Tirico, keep up the good work. Don't let your shows slip to the dark side of talk radio. To my local stations, get a grip! Whatever happened to customer service.
My favorite shows are sports radio shows but only the shows that have intelligent conversation and not just the trash talking and stupid non-sports related conversations that are so prevalent in sports talk radio.
I have 3 girls who play sports, watch sports and love to talk sports from time to time. I like them to hear intelligent sports conversation rather then talk about the busty babes the sportscaster dated or the one that just walked past the window. A little bit of this stuff is ok but some take it to far.
In todays electronics world it appears that tuner manufacturers have given up on AM Radio. No matter what type of antenna I attach to my system I cannot get reception on my system in the office or the house. But the stinking little walkman type radio I have gets great reception. But I do not want to walk around the house or office with earphones in my ears.
So recently I discovered online radio on ESPN. Now I have known about it for some time but I just got around to trying it out and I tell you what, it is great. I love to listen to Colin Cowherd and Mike Tirico in the mornings and it prevents me from having to listen to Jim Rome on the radio. Cowherd and Tirico's shows are smart and funny. They have class and can cover subjects in an intelligent manner without having to stoop to the trash talking of the listeners to fill show time.
My problem now is that the local sports radio station requires you to have a membership to listen online. I find that to be an issue. Now I have memberships online for all kinds of things, but not one of them is something that I can get for free via another source. So why must they collect information about me? I know all about marketing, that is what I do. It just does not seem right.
There are a couple of the local shows that I would like to listen to on saturday mornings or during drive time. If the local station were to offer those services without the membership I would be there for sure and so would more listeners I think. So the demographics that they are collecting by requiring membership to listen is skewed because more people would listen if they offered the service without membership.
So unitl my local station figures this out and changes their policy I will continue to find ways to enjoy intelligent sports radio. I will listen to Colin and Mike online at espnradio.com without a membership and not on my radio that gets no reception.
More radio stations need to figure out that they would get more listeners online then over the air if they only offered the service.
To ESPN Radio, Colin Cowherd and Mike Tirico, keep up the good work. Don't let your shows slip to the dark side of talk radio. To my local stations, get a grip! Whatever happened to customer service.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
BCS Playoff System - Oops! Part 2
I was kindly reminded that I left out the Mountain West Conference from my playoff system bracket. Thanks for your input, it was a mistake. So lets revisit the subject with revisions and explanations.
I like the idea of the person who commented on my first version that the second round games be more regionally oriented so that fans could attend more easily. However by doing that you will always have the same teams playing each other like you get in pro sports. A better way to do it would be like the NCAA basketball tournament where after you have conference champions you seed them into the matchups based upon rankings.
The matter of the conferences that do not have 12 teams for a conference championship game would end up being the decision of the conference. They could just take the champion from the regular season and put them into the second round. Or they could split there current conference into two divisions based upon their current teams. Teams would still play the full conference schedule so no rivalrys would be affected.
Out of these 11 D1 Conference champions, you seed the first 7 teams based upon rankings of the 11 conference champions. The final spot in the round of 8 teams will be the winner of a mini playoff among the other 4 unseeded conference champions.
So you end up with something like this.
Round 1
Game 1
BYU (Mountain West Champion)
Florida Atlantic (Sun Belt Champion)
Game 2
Uni. Central Florida (Conference USA Champion)
Central Michigan (Mid-America Champion)
Round 2
Game 1 winner vs Game 2 winner
Round 3
Game 1 (ORANGE BOWL)
#1 Seed (example for 2007 Ohio State, BIG 10 CHAMPION)
#8 Seed (winner of round 2 game1)
Game 2 (SUGAR BOWL)
#3 Seed (2007 Virginia Tech, ACC Champion)
#6 Seed (2007 West Virginia, Big East Champion)
Game 3 (ROSE BOWL)
#5 Seed (2007 USC, PAC10 Champion)
#4 Seed (Oklahoma, Big12 Champion)
Game 4 (FIESTA BOWL)
#7 Seed (2007 - Hawaii, WAC Champion)
#2 Seed (2007 - LSU, SEC CHAMPION)
ROUND 4
ORANGE BOWL CHAMPION VS SUGAR BOWL CHAMPION
ROSE BOWL CHAMPION VS FIESTA BOWL CHAMPION
ROUND 5
BCS CHAMPION GAME
I like the idea of the person who commented on my first version that the second round games be more regionally oriented so that fans could attend more easily. However by doing that you will always have the same teams playing each other like you get in pro sports. A better way to do it would be like the NCAA basketball tournament where after you have conference champions you seed them into the matchups based upon rankings.
The matter of the conferences that do not have 12 teams for a conference championship game would end up being the decision of the conference. They could just take the champion from the regular season and put them into the second round. Or they could split there current conference into two divisions based upon their current teams. Teams would still play the full conference schedule so no rivalrys would be affected.
Out of these 11 D1 Conference champions, you seed the first 7 teams based upon rankings of the 11 conference champions. The final spot in the round of 8 teams will be the winner of a mini playoff among the other 4 unseeded conference champions.
So you end up with something like this.
Round 1
Game 1
BYU (Mountain West Champion)
Florida Atlantic (Sun Belt Champion)
Game 2
Uni. Central Florida (Conference USA Champion)
Central Michigan (Mid-America Champion)
Round 2
Game 1 winner vs Game 2 winner
Round 3
Game 1 (ORANGE BOWL)
#1 Seed (example for 2007 Ohio State, BIG 10 CHAMPION)
#8 Seed (winner of round 2 game1)
Game 2 (SUGAR BOWL)
#3 Seed (2007 Virginia Tech, ACC Champion)
#6 Seed (2007 West Virginia, Big East Champion)
Game 3 (ROSE BOWL)
#5 Seed (2007 USC, PAC10 Champion)
#4 Seed (Oklahoma, Big12 Champion)
Game 4 (FIESTA BOWL)
#7 Seed (2007 - Hawaii, WAC Champion)
#2 Seed (2007 - LSU, SEC CHAMPION)
ROUND 4
ORANGE BOWL CHAMPION VS SUGAR BOWL CHAMPION
ROSE BOWL CHAMPION VS FIESTA BOWL CHAMPION
ROUND 5
BCS CHAMPION GAME
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
BCS Playoff System
The state of the current system in major college football is a mess. Currently there is 1 undefeated team, 2 one loss teams and 10 two loss teams ranked in the top 25 of the final BCS Standings. Out of that we have a 1 loss team and a 2 loss team playing for the mythical National Championship.
So what makes that one loss team better then the other one loss team. You say it is strength of schedule. Well both played weak non-conference schedules but one team played a conference D-1 conference champion in preseason.
So what makes that two loss team better then the other 9 two loss teams in the top 25. Of those other 9 two loss teams, 7 are from BCS conferences that are, by diffinition better then the non-bcs conferences so there should be no excuses if a conference has a down year. If the powers who put those conferences on a pedestal now say there not worthy because the teams are no good then why is that conference a BCS conference? You cannot have it both ways.
The other 2 two loss teams come from conferences that are considered less worthy then the other 6 BCS conferences. However both those teams beat BCS conference teams last year in bowl games. So how does that work?
Do you see what I am getting at. With more and more players moving from the BCS conference teams to other schools because they can play and not just sit the bench, the so called lesser schools now have better talent and better coaches then ever before. BCS conference schools look to hire the coaches away from the non-bcs schools because of their success. How many NFL players on Sundays now come from the non-bcs conferences. The New England Patroits have 15 players of their 53 man roster from non-bcs conferences including Randy Moss.
So with so many questions about who is better, why can't we just put together a playoff system that will work. We already have the first 5 games of the playoff being played in what could be a 20 team, 17 game playoff system that would add a total of 7 games to what we have already. But not really since teams already would be playing in one bowl game so in reality it only adds a couple games to the current system and would extend the season by one week to Jan. 15th. It would require that 3 BCS conferences add a conference playoff to their conference schedules and it would also require the 4 independent teams to join a conference. That should not be to difficult as two of them already play in football conferences during basketball season.
So lets take a look at how easy a 20 team playoff system would work.
Five conferences currently have a conference playoff system. ACC, SEC, BIG 12, CONFERENCE USA and the MID-AMERICAN. Those would be part of the first round of the playoffs. They already exist so it would change nothing. The winner from the Conference USA and Mid-American conferences (non-bcs conferences) would seed into the first round of the 16 team playoff bracket. The conference champions from the WAC and the Sun Belt conferences would fill two more spots. No additional games yet. The conference championship games for the ACC, SEC and BIG 12 would be part of the round of 16.
The PAC-10, BIG 10 and BIG EAST would have to install a conference championship game. If you divide the PAC-10 into a north and south division you would have USC vs Oregon State this year in a conference championship game. If you split the BIG 10 into east and west you would have Ohio State vs Illinois in their conference championship game. The BIG EAST game would be West Virginia vs UConn.
That fills in your round of 16 teams. So after the conference championships you have; Virginia Tech, Oklahoma, West Virginia, USC, Ohio State, LSU, Hawaii and Central Florida say as winners coming out of those games. That brings you to the round of eight. Those 4 games could be played in the existing 4 BCS Bowl Games.
Now what I would suggest is that before the Championship game each year the NCAA announces how the brackets would lay out for the coming year. The Six BCS conferences would be drawn to see who plays who after conference championship games along with a draw to determine who of the 4 non-bcs conferences would play who first and where they would fall after their first round games. So each year the round of 16 teams would match different conferences against each other by draw. The bracket I have below is only one possible lineup.
Its really quiet simple so far and you could still have all the lesser non-bcs bowls for teams that did not qualify for the playoff system.
After the round of 8 you are left with 4 teams who play in the final 4 to determine the BCS Championship game. That is two of the 4 additional games needed to make this work. The other 2 games would come from the non-bcs teams adding to the numbers to get to 8 teams. So we add two additional bowl games after the 4 existing BCS games and move the BCS Championship game back one week to the 15th of January. That would tie into the Super Bowl hype and create a January Football madness of epic proportion. They could even play the BCS Game at the Same site as the Super Bowl each year to tie the games together. Imagine the money for the hosting city of both the Super Bowl and BCS Championship Game each year.
I think if the BCS and conferences put their collective egos aside for a few minutes and looked at the possibilites of this, it would make complete sense and we would finally have a true national champion for college football that would give a chance to the smaller schools as well as the bigger schools to hold up that coveted trophy.
So what makes that one loss team better then the other one loss team. You say it is strength of schedule. Well both played weak non-conference schedules but one team played a conference D-1 conference champion in preseason.
So what makes that two loss team better then the other 9 two loss teams in the top 25. Of those other 9 two loss teams, 7 are from BCS conferences that are, by diffinition better then the non-bcs conferences so there should be no excuses if a conference has a down year. If the powers who put those conferences on a pedestal now say there not worthy because the teams are no good then why is that conference a BCS conference? You cannot have it both ways.
The other 2 two loss teams come from conferences that are considered less worthy then the other 6 BCS conferences. However both those teams beat BCS conference teams last year in bowl games. So how does that work?
Do you see what I am getting at. With more and more players moving from the BCS conference teams to other schools because they can play and not just sit the bench, the so called lesser schools now have better talent and better coaches then ever before. BCS conference schools look to hire the coaches away from the non-bcs schools because of their success. How many NFL players on Sundays now come from the non-bcs conferences. The New England Patroits have 15 players of their 53 man roster from non-bcs conferences including Randy Moss.
So with so many questions about who is better, why can't we just put together a playoff system that will work. We already have the first 5 games of the playoff being played in what could be a 20 team, 17 game playoff system that would add a total of 7 games to what we have already. But not really since teams already would be playing in one bowl game so in reality it only adds a couple games to the current system and would extend the season by one week to Jan. 15th. It would require that 3 BCS conferences add a conference playoff to their conference schedules and it would also require the 4 independent teams to join a conference. That should not be to difficult as two of them already play in football conferences during basketball season.
So lets take a look at how easy a 20 team playoff system would work.
Five conferences currently have a conference playoff system. ACC, SEC, BIG 12, CONFERENCE USA and the MID-AMERICAN. Those would be part of the first round of the playoffs. They already exist so it would change nothing. The winner from the Conference USA and Mid-American conferences (non-bcs conferences) would seed into the first round of the 16 team playoff bracket. The conference champions from the WAC and the Sun Belt conferences would fill two more spots. No additional games yet. The conference championship games for the ACC, SEC and BIG 12 would be part of the round of 16.
The PAC-10, BIG 10 and BIG EAST would have to install a conference championship game. If you divide the PAC-10 into a north and south division you would have USC vs Oregon State this year in a conference championship game. If you split the BIG 10 into east and west you would have Ohio State vs Illinois in their conference championship game. The BIG EAST game would be West Virginia vs UConn.
That fills in your round of 16 teams. So after the conference championships you have; Virginia Tech, Oklahoma, West Virginia, USC, Ohio State, LSU, Hawaii and Central Florida say as winners coming out of those games. That brings you to the round of eight. Those 4 games could be played in the existing 4 BCS Bowl Games.
Now what I would suggest is that before the Championship game each year the NCAA announces how the brackets would lay out for the coming year. The Six BCS conferences would be drawn to see who plays who after conference championship games along with a draw to determine who of the 4 non-bcs conferences would play who first and where they would fall after their first round games. So each year the round of 16 teams would match different conferences against each other by draw. The bracket I have below is only one possible lineup.
Its really quiet simple so far and you could still have all the lesser non-bcs bowls for teams that did not qualify for the playoff system.
After the round of 8 you are left with 4 teams who play in the final 4 to determine the BCS Championship game. That is two of the 4 additional games needed to make this work. The other 2 games would come from the non-bcs teams adding to the numbers to get to 8 teams. So we add two additional bowl games after the 4 existing BCS games and move the BCS Championship game back one week to the 15th of January. That would tie into the Super Bowl hype and create a January Football madness of epic proportion. They could even play the BCS Game at the Same site as the Super Bowl each year to tie the games together. Imagine the money for the hosting city of both the Super Bowl and BCS Championship Game each year.
I think if the BCS and conferences put their collective egos aside for a few minutes and looked at the possibilites of this, it would make complete sense and we would finally have a true national champion for college football that would give a chance to the smaller schools as well as the bigger schools to hold up that coveted trophy.
Friday, November 09, 2007
Seattle Sonics, The NBA and NW Fans
The Seattle Sonics are on the edge of a cliff and wondering if they should back away or get shoved off the edge. The new owner of the Seattle Sonics (Clay Bennett) is an Oklahoma Businessman who has announced his intention to move the team to Oklahoma City as soon as possible. This decision is being spurred along by the lack of effort and general attitudes that the city of Seattle and the State of Washington have with regard to his requests for a new arena to be built south of the city.
The NBA stated earlier this week that if Seattle were to lose the Sonics to Oklahoma City that the NBA would not put a team back in Seattle.
To the best of my knowledge the problem lies in the fact that the owner (Clay Bennett) wants a new stadium built in the Renton area that would be funded by public moneys and the City of Seattle and the State of Washington want to spend the money on a remodel of Key Arena as long as Bennett was to put funds into the project.
Sports franchises and the power they hold over cities have gotten out of control. But as long as there are cities out there who want a team in their town there will be owners who will hold a city hostage over new arenas. Key Arena however is out of date and undersized for a city the size of Seattle. Ford Arena in Oklahoma City is only 6 years old and has 45+ luxery suites, seats 20,000+ for Basketball and as we all know, sports in the south is king.
Sports in the Northwest is an after thought for most people. If teams are hot and winning people get excited and go to games, but if the teams are losing nobody goes. In the south, fans fill arenas and stadiums week in week out. It is a lifestyle, a party, a happening. It is the place that everyone wants to be and they go to the games to party and cheer for their teams. In the Northwest, most fans go to games because they got free tickets from someone and don't really care if the team wins or loses because they mean nothing more to them then being seen at the game and impressing a business partner or friend.
Seattle fans like Portland fans need to get their collective acts together. You cannot complain all day about not having a team in some sport and then not support the teams that you have. They need to know that Professional Sports is a business and the athletes are highly paid because that is what we have let happen as a people where pro sports in concerned. So when an owner complains that he cannot field a competitive team unless he gets the high paid player and is losing money because of the Arena he plays in is to small or does not provide what he needs to be successful. You have only yourself to blame.
If your going to be a fan, then support your teams do what is needed to keep them their. Otherwise let them go and stop complaining when you don't have a team to go watch. Perhaps in stead of spending money on a billionare owner who wants everything, you should support your college teams and help support the education of our future adults and not the spoiled professionals.
The NBA is struggling right now. Football is king and I don't see the NBA doing anything about that in the near future. Seattle has chosen the Seahawks and Mariners as their teams of choice and there appears to be no more money left for the Sonics or the Huskies.
So ok Seattle, get off the dime and build a new arena or let the Sonics go to Oklahoma and be happy with it. I am sure the Blazers and Huskies won't mind having all the former Sonics fans out there with extra cash in their pockets. When they need a sports fix they can go to a Huskies game or come down to Portland to see a Blazers game and help up keep our NBA team in Portland.
The NBA stated earlier this week that if Seattle were to lose the Sonics to Oklahoma City that the NBA would not put a team back in Seattle.
To the best of my knowledge the problem lies in the fact that the owner (Clay Bennett) wants a new stadium built in the Renton area that would be funded by public moneys and the City of Seattle and the State of Washington want to spend the money on a remodel of Key Arena as long as Bennett was to put funds into the project.
Sports franchises and the power they hold over cities have gotten out of control. But as long as there are cities out there who want a team in their town there will be owners who will hold a city hostage over new arenas. Key Arena however is out of date and undersized for a city the size of Seattle. Ford Arena in Oklahoma City is only 6 years old and has 45+ luxery suites, seats 20,000+ for Basketball and as we all know, sports in the south is king.
Sports in the Northwest is an after thought for most people. If teams are hot and winning people get excited and go to games, but if the teams are losing nobody goes. In the south, fans fill arenas and stadiums week in week out. It is a lifestyle, a party, a happening. It is the place that everyone wants to be and they go to the games to party and cheer for their teams. In the Northwest, most fans go to games because they got free tickets from someone and don't really care if the team wins or loses because they mean nothing more to them then being seen at the game and impressing a business partner or friend.
Seattle fans like Portland fans need to get their collective acts together. You cannot complain all day about not having a team in some sport and then not support the teams that you have. They need to know that Professional Sports is a business and the athletes are highly paid because that is what we have let happen as a people where pro sports in concerned. So when an owner complains that he cannot field a competitive team unless he gets the high paid player and is losing money because of the Arena he plays in is to small or does not provide what he needs to be successful. You have only yourself to blame.
If your going to be a fan, then support your teams do what is needed to keep them their. Otherwise let them go and stop complaining when you don't have a team to go watch. Perhaps in stead of spending money on a billionare owner who wants everything, you should support your college teams and help support the education of our future adults and not the spoiled professionals.
The NBA is struggling right now. Football is king and I don't see the NBA doing anything about that in the near future. Seattle has chosen the Seahawks and Mariners as their teams of choice and there appears to be no more money left for the Sonics or the Huskies.
So ok Seattle, get off the dime and build a new arena or let the Sonics go to Oklahoma and be happy with it. I am sure the Blazers and Huskies won't mind having all the former Sonics fans out there with extra cash in their pockets. When they need a sports fix they can go to a Huskies game or come down to Portland to see a Blazers game and help up keep our NBA team in Portland.
Monday, October 22, 2007
World Series
The World Series is set and it will be the Colorado Rockies making their first ever trip to title series vs the Boston Red Sox who came back from trailing the series with the Cleveland Indians 3 games to one by winning three straight to send Cleveland home for the season wondering what could have been.
So, let the trash talking start! Already this morning I have heard from the Red Sox fans who once again are in the World Series after winning it in 2004. Where do all these Red Sox fans come from any way? They're on my daughters softball team, they go to our church. I see them all over the place. I never knew we had so many people living in Oregon that once lived in Boston.
Red Sox fan has become the stylish thing to be. People once latched onto them because they felt sorry for the woeful Sox because it had been 80+ years since they won a Title. Now since they won and ended that streak it seems that everyone has taken claim to the title of "the fan who broke the curse".
Red Sox fans, Cowboys fans, Notre Dame fans and (sorry Red Sox fan) Yankee fans have become the bain of my existense. Who are these people and why do they cheer for a team 2 or 3 thousand miles away from where they live? I can see it if they once lived in the area but I have never understood the ones who did not.
I have always been the type of fan who cheers for the local team. I grew up in California so I was a Giants and 49er fan. When we moved to Oregon I still cheered for the Giants (still do) and 49ers (still do) but I have adopted the Seahawks and Mariners as my primary teams in pro sports. But down deep I am a college sports fan. I find the games more enjoyable, you cheer for the team and not the player as much. Names of players change every year with graduation so each season is new and fresh with speculation about who will take whos place. The games for the most part are more enjoyable to watch as the passion of the young player comes through where the professional athlete views it more as a job.
That brings me back to the World Series. My regional affiliation will make me cheer for the Rockies in the series being as they are the closest team to where I live. But a signigicant part of me will be cheering, not for the Red Sox, but for Jacoby Ellsbury. Ellsbury is a former Oregon State player and since I am an Oregon State alum I must support my fellow Beavers.
So let the series begin. Lets hope we can get it done before the winter snows come to Denver or it could be the longest World Series in history.
Rockies in 5 games.
So, let the trash talking start! Already this morning I have heard from the Red Sox fans who once again are in the World Series after winning it in 2004. Where do all these Red Sox fans come from any way? They're on my daughters softball team, they go to our church. I see them all over the place. I never knew we had so many people living in Oregon that once lived in Boston.
Red Sox fan has become the stylish thing to be. People once latched onto them because they felt sorry for the woeful Sox because it had been 80+ years since they won a Title. Now since they won and ended that streak it seems that everyone has taken claim to the title of "the fan who broke the curse".
Red Sox fans, Cowboys fans, Notre Dame fans and (sorry Red Sox fan) Yankee fans have become the bain of my existense. Who are these people and why do they cheer for a team 2 or 3 thousand miles away from where they live? I can see it if they once lived in the area but I have never understood the ones who did not.
I have always been the type of fan who cheers for the local team. I grew up in California so I was a Giants and 49er fan. When we moved to Oregon I still cheered for the Giants (still do) and 49ers (still do) but I have adopted the Seahawks and Mariners as my primary teams in pro sports. But down deep I am a college sports fan. I find the games more enjoyable, you cheer for the team and not the player as much. Names of players change every year with graduation so each season is new and fresh with speculation about who will take whos place. The games for the most part are more enjoyable to watch as the passion of the young player comes through where the professional athlete views it more as a job.
That brings me back to the World Series. My regional affiliation will make me cheer for the Rockies in the series being as they are the closest team to where I live. But a signigicant part of me will be cheering, not for the Red Sox, but for Jacoby Ellsbury. Ellsbury is a former Oregon State player and since I am an Oregon State alum I must support my fellow Beavers.
So let the series begin. Lets hope we can get it done before the winter snows come to Denver or it could be the longest World Series in history.
Rockies in 5 games.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Parity, Is It Good For Sports?
Parity in college sports has been talked about over the last 16 years (1991) since the NCAA cut scholarships from 95 to 85 for D1 football programs. Within a few years of the 1991 season, more and more upsets have plagued college football. Teams that were once doormats of their conferences have now become contender’s year in year out and teams that were once champion’s year in year out now struggle to survive against the once feeble.
I hear from fans of the once powerful that they think parity has ruined football. Sure, their team is no longer beating up and other teams because their financially secure program can no longer go out and give scholarships to players just to keep them out of the hands of the teams who cannot afford more scholarships. So those players are now seeking out the programs that will offer them playing time and a chance to build something.
It is because of the 85 scholarship limitation that programs like Oregon, Oregon State, Washington State, Louisville, Rutgers, Utah and Boise State have crashed the party and been in the national spotlight the past 10 years. Players who normally would have gone to USC, Oklahoma, Florida, and Miami for the scholarship and sat the bench waiting their turn are now starters for other teams and making an impact on the college football world.
As each year passes, more and more programs that were once down or never ever heard from are now contending for titles. And not just in their conference and national titles. Just look at South Florida. Seven years ago they were not even a D1 school, today they are ranked #5 in the nation. Cincinnati is another up and comer this year. 6-0 in the Big East and shaking up the football world.
So for all those fans out their that complain that parity is a bad thing, I say “Nuts to You”. Parity in college football has made it better then ever. Every week you never know who will beat who. Teams can no longer overlook the once weak schools on their schedules or they will get beat. It makes every game matter and gives every game the chance to be one to remember. Just look at the upsets this season so far. Appalachian State over #5 Michigan, Stanford over #2 USC, South Florida over Auburn, Notre Dame over #15 UCLA and many others.
The fact that you never know who can come out and beat another team each week is the best argument of all for a playoff system in D1 college football. Just think how exciting it would be to see a Cincinnati or South Florida make a run through a playoff system and win a National Championship on the field where it should be decided. We can still have the bowls in place for the teams to go to that do not make it to the playoffs, but imagine how much fun it would be to see a real champion on the field and not a champion that was picked by sportscasters or computers.
Thank God for parity in college football, it makes every week exciting. Already today we have an upset in the first game of the day on TV. I can’t wait to see who else shocks the world today.
I hear from fans of the once powerful that they think parity has ruined football. Sure, their team is no longer beating up and other teams because their financially secure program can no longer go out and give scholarships to players just to keep them out of the hands of the teams who cannot afford more scholarships. So those players are now seeking out the programs that will offer them playing time and a chance to build something.
It is because of the 85 scholarship limitation that programs like Oregon, Oregon State, Washington State, Louisville, Rutgers, Utah and Boise State have crashed the party and been in the national spotlight the past 10 years. Players who normally would have gone to USC, Oklahoma, Florida, and Miami for the scholarship and sat the bench waiting their turn are now starters for other teams and making an impact on the college football world.
As each year passes, more and more programs that were once down or never ever heard from are now contending for titles. And not just in their conference and national titles. Just look at South Florida. Seven years ago they were not even a D1 school, today they are ranked #5 in the nation. Cincinnati is another up and comer this year. 6-0 in the Big East and shaking up the football world.
So for all those fans out their that complain that parity is a bad thing, I say “Nuts to You”. Parity in college football has made it better then ever. Every week you never know who will beat who. Teams can no longer overlook the once weak schools on their schedules or they will get beat. It makes every game matter and gives every game the chance to be one to remember. Just look at the upsets this season so far. Appalachian State over #5 Michigan, Stanford over #2 USC, South Florida over Auburn, Notre Dame over #15 UCLA and many others.
The fact that you never know who can come out and beat another team each week is the best argument of all for a playoff system in D1 college football. Just think how exciting it would be to see a Cincinnati or South Florida make a run through a playoff system and win a National Championship on the field where it should be decided. We can still have the bowls in place for the teams to go to that do not make it to the playoffs, but imagine how much fun it would be to see a real champion on the field and not a champion that was picked by sportscasters or computers.
Thank God for parity in college football, it makes every week exciting. Already today we have an upset in the first game of the day on TV. I can’t wait to see who else shocks the world today.
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