With the economy still in peril, troops still on the ground in two theaters, and rogue nations developing nuclear weapons, we would think that our federal government would have a lot to occupy their time. Apparently, nothing can be more important than getting involved in matters that should never be discussed by the Legislative or the Executive. The most pressing issue of the day is the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) for college football.
Of course we all hate the BCS. A playoff series would be more fair, and exponentially easier to understand. We shouldn’t have to have a degree in Statistics to understand the ranking system, but is this how senior members of the Senate and the Obama administration need to be spending their time? Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) has requested a review by the Justice Department concerning the matter. Apparently he agrees with President Obama that the BCS ranking system is just too much to bear. Obama stated before his inauguration that he disagreed with the system in place for determining a National Champion football team. I believe the direct quote was “Throw my weight around” to nudge the BCS into a playoff system. Now we have the Justice Department reviewing whether an Anti-Trust investigation is needed. Now I suppose we must sit back and wait for the Justice Department to find a law that would invade into college football. Statist intervention at its finest.
On a positive note, when the issue is big enough, Republicans and Democrats can work together in a beautiful demonstration of bi-partisanship to accomplish far reaching goals. Economy, health care reform, and war are just trivial issues that should be politicized, but college football…
-Justin West
Tags: BCS, College Football, Justice Department, obama, Orrin Hatch
Interesting post. I have mixed feelings. On one hand there are much more pressing issues, that you’ve listed, that congress should be dealing with. On the other hand I think congress has the ability to multi-task. Obviously we don’t like what they do, by and large, they can handle (at least try to or do so feebily) various issues and challenges.
I think the biggest issue I have is why this should be dealt with by the federal government at all. Some members of leadership don’t like it??
Hardly a justification in my mind. What if Obama and Mitch McConnell decide that the “one foot in” rule is too relaxed for college ball and they should use NFL style “two feet in” rules? I suppose Congress could pass a law to regulate college rules. But why stop there?!?! Let’s make sure that those high school kids are held to the same standard just for equality!!
Why does Congress get involved in sports?
MWD
I’ve wondered since childhood why sports enjoy such a favored status in our country, or any country for that matter. Far more pressing than congress taking a moment to discuss College Football, IMO at least, is the fact that for decades, school sports outrank academics by level of importance in our public school system. Schools cry constantly that they haven’t enough money to buy books, yet with diesel fuel at $3.00 a gallon plus, they can routinely fire up a bus to haul the football team across the state for the big game.
Any half decent dog can chase a ball, even bring it back with a little training. It doesn’t impress me when humans do it.
Justin