The best is supposed to be what we want, right?
I mean, no one would settle for Detroit when they could have Paris. Only a fool (or a world-class miser) would hold on to his Chevy Metro when he can afford to spend $1.7 million on a Bugatti Veyron. And before today I had never heard of Noma but a lot of people use this Danish restaurant which is the best in the world and if I had the chance to dine there for free I certainly wouldn’t say sorry I’m full. .
So why are so many college football fans so upset about LSU vs. Alabama rematch that will conclude the 2011 season on January 2. 9 in the national championship game?
Well, on a very obvious level I understand the grudge. His first meeting, the “Game of the Century” on Nov. 5, which ended in a 9-6 LSU victory, wasn’t exactly exciting, unless you consider the punt game the height of athletic excitement. .
And there’s no denying that SEC fatigue is a very real condition in non-red states. The conference is guaranteed a sixth straight national champion, and depending on the outcome, LSU will win its third or Alabama capture its second title in the past eight years. The good old boys have become monotonously monstrous, and their fans love nothing more than to remind the rest of the country just how superior their brand of football is.
Despite all that, there’s no escaping this simple fact: LSU and Alabama are the two best teams in college football right now. They have proven this conclusively over the course of the last four months. In short, they have earned the right to play for crystal football.
The bitter complainers out there, namely Oklahoma State and Stanford, just don’t have a case. Either one could have earned a spot in New Orleans on Jan. 1. 9 but failed at key moments. Oklahoma State inexplicably lost to Iowa State, while Stanford was easily handled by Oregon at home. Sure, Bama also lost: to the best team in the nation, in overtime, by a measly three points, in a game he would have won if his kicker hadn’t had Helen Keller’s aim.
Yeah, you’re probably thinking, but how about a tiebreaker? If our goal is to have the best, surely it would be better if some computers and human voters decided who plays for the crown, right? Well, not necessarily. A four-team playoff would be great. Stanford vs. LSU and Oklahoma State vs. Alabama in the semis, with the winners to meet for all the glory, sign me up for that. However, any playoff setup bigger than that would really start to diminish the importance of the regular season.
Do we really need Arkansas, which was beaten by both LSU and Alabama, competing for the right to say it’s the best team in the country? Or Kansas State, which lost by 41 points to Oklahoma and narrowly escaped eastern Kentucky – EASTERN KENTUCKY? – for three points? Or Boise State, which faced fewer quality teams in an entire season than LSU or Alabama did in a couple of weeks?