Everybody quits on the teams before they even get started, Since they are getting paid now, there should be contracts signed... that you have to play in the bowls...
So I guess bowls are pretty much useless going forward...
- Thread starter cocean
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It truly is sad what greed has done to bowls. Mid-December through 1/1 used to be the best sports time of the year. Now all these selfish, opt-out pricks are ruining it. The damn playoff ruined it too.
I'm excited as ever to take my family to Jacksonville on the 30th. You can find a reason to go and be excited, or you can act like a 2 year old throwing a fit.
I don't know how/why this misperception keeps getting perpetuated. There is zero truth to it and no basis for it.
Bowls, such as ours this year, the Gator Bowl, has no more or less relevance in connection to the national title than it did prior to the implementation of the CFP. Outside of the top 4 or 5 teams, in the history of college football, no team playing in a bowl has been playing for a shot at the title, yet teams were happy to go bowling for decades. Suddenly, with the implementation of the CFP, the Gator Bowl is meaningless. The media is the source of that misperception and it just took root in the minds of players and fans. FSU and OU played in the Gator Bowl in 1985 with no shot whatsoever at the title, But the bowl wasn't meaningless then. Why is it meaningless now?
There's just simply no logical basis for it.
Further, if people think bowl games are meaningless if you're not one of the top 4 teams, how much more meaningless will they be perceived to be when you're not one of the top 12?
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Agreed.
I will say the opting out has put a small damper on the bowls. I find myself watching bowl games and thinking " well, if they had the whole team..."
Right. The CFP has not rendered the games meaningless; the opt outs have. You're not going into a bowl game with your full team, so that "what if" sentiment you mention is always going to be there.
Players in 1985 had no more or less incentive to play in the Gator Bowl than players do in 2022.
IMO, the difference between the bowl games pre and post CFP is the concentration of media coverage. New age clickbait media is completely focused on the playoffs and very little else. Teams outside of the playoffs are now NPCs.
Ain't that the truth. It would help if the media wasnt on the top four team is all that matters bandwagon 24/7.
Really not much has changed as far as the bowls if we just tuned out the clown show.
As soon as we learned it was Cocks vs Catholics, we ordered our tickets thru the Gamecock Club.
Go Gamecocks!! and before anyone starts giving me grief, I was a Roman Catholic 18 years before I became a Gamecock. I even sat next to Coach McGuire at mass on several occasions.
Yes, that is certainly a part of it. It's all media-driven. The bowls themselves mean exactly what they mean pre-CFP.
They’re meaningful to fans, Seniors not going to the league (or trying to have more game film), and W/L record to tout to recruits.
They are absolutely completely useless to Seniors/undergrads guaranteed a high draft spot. And that’s totally acceptable and ok.
They are absolutely completely useless to Seniors/undergrads guaranteed a high draft spot. And that’s totally acceptable and ok.
Anyone who thinks bowl games are meaningless is not thinking it through. I ask what's the perception of Virginia Tech football today? What was the perception when Shane's Dad, Frank, was in charge? When Frank was there, VT finished in the Top 10, 7 (seven) times and in the Top 20 another 9 (nine) times. They finished just outside the Top 20 one other time, finishing in the Top 25 a total of 17 (seventeen) times. It's easier to recruit when your program is looked at as a national power. Do you think today's Virginia Tech football program is perceived as a national power? In Frank's days....YES. Today.....NO!!!!!!
Obviously, I consider the bowl game against Notre Dame to be VERY important.
Obviously, I consider the bowl game against Notre Dame to be VERY important.
It's only meaningless to them because the media told them it is. The games themselves have no more or less significance than they did10, 20, 30 or 40 years ago. Only difference is players back then weren't sissies.
I tell ya, the powers that be really played this one beautifully. As soon as the 4-team CFP was announced, the "now bowl games will be meaningless" poison was put out there by the media. Witless players and fans gobbled it up. Players started opting out of bowls, actually rendering them meaningless to some fans. Then the same folks who spread "now bowl games will be meaningless" lie started pushing for CFP expansion...because teams not in the 4-team CFP feel like their bowl games are meaningless....exactly what the media told them to think from the start. So now we're getting the 12-team playoff.
Oh, my family & I are gonna go & spend way too much money, eat good, see some stuff, & have a good time. As an "old guy," though, I'll say this.....I've been on 7 previous bowl trips, & if you don't win the game, the fun is dampered a good bit. Hopefully our remaining Cocks can pull it off!
A main reason I quit going to games overall. Even traveling to a regular game is a multi-day $1,000 investment. To do all that and not win is just a major downer.
Under 18, contracts are unenforceable. Plus, schools would never do that for liability reasons anyway.
Personally I am hopeful expanding the playoff is a move that will combat the leg up in recruiting enjoyed by the handful of teams who have pretty much been in the playoff mix since the playoffs started... with the exception of a few bad years. And I hope the move to expansion will open the recruiting doors to teams who had no shot at certain recruits under the current system. For me, it's about offering top recruits more teams to consider if they want a chance to play for a title.
It may or may not work, time will tell... but it seems like a logical step to take to me.
The bowl games outside of the CFP aren't getting the teams seen in the regular season due to players deciding to transfer or opt out. I doubt much can be done about it as they can't force a player to play. The only good thing about a bowl for us is the extra practice time.
I think in about 5 to 10 years you'll see the Power 5 expand to 24 teams like the FCS does and do away with the current bowl system. Use these bowls for 1st and 2nd round games. You would probably has less opt outs from star players if there is a change for a National title
This.
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Selfish. Making a decision that is in the best interest of your family.
I tend to agree the "opt outs" are bad. However, I don't think some of the bowls are meaningless. There are too many bowls now. I watch most of the major bowls and usually enjoy them. There are some intriguing match-ups.
Tennessee vs Clemson should be good. NC State vs Maryland will be interesting too. Also, I'm thrilled the Cocks are playing Notre Dame. While the Irish are not what they were decades ago; they're still admired nationwide.
Tennessee vs Clemson should be good. NC State vs Maryland will be interesting too. Also, I'm thrilled the Cocks are playing Notre Dame. While the Irish are not what they were decades ago; they're still admired nationwide.
If you want to make sure that the players participate in these post-season money grabs, then pay the young men to participate. Everyone else makes money (literally everyone associated with the bowls), why not the players?
It should actually come from the bowls themselves. They could pay a winner's share and loser's share. You want kids to try, give them more cash if they win!
It should actually come from the bowls themselves. They could pay a winner's share and loser's share. You want kids to try, give them more cash if they win!
But the problem isn't so much that players are opting out of the Lending Tree Bowl, Cheeze It Bowl, or Pinstripe Bowl. It's that they are opting out of what used to be major bowl games to programs and fans, so the proliferation of bowls really has nothing to do with that.
My point it's meaningless to players if not why are they opting out or head to the portal . In 1985 there was not a such thing and players were happy to play in any bowl game... jmo
Use these bowls for those who don't dance at all and/or leave the dance floor early. The playoffs operate completely outside of the bowl structure.
Do like FCS, DII, DIII, and the NAIA do. Higher seed hosts all playoff games except for the championship game, which is held at a neutral site.
In their heyday bowls were exciting because of the matchups. Today the bowls have lost a lot of their luster cause the top teams that create the most excitement are in their own top bubble. Previously teams had to have a lot more wins to be selected. There were fewer bowls and they did not have corporate sponsors that brought about all the silly names attached to the bowl game. They were classier names Used.
You kind of lost me here. You led off with Bowls, then went into a brief history of VT football.