On College Football

The last couple weeks has caused me to reexamine my love of college football. Especially in the light of this week's Florida State - BYU football game, in which BYU got beaten handily. Keep in mind that I grew up in Tallahassee and have rooted for FSU since I was made aware of the game.

Let's review their seasons to date:

BYU started the season ranked #20 with a tough schedule and hopes to run the table and play for the championship. The first game was with #3 Oklahoma in Dallas. A close game, a real nail biter, but BYU pulls it off, winning 14-13. BYU fans were ecstatic. The elation continued the next week as they clobbered Tulane 54-3.

FSU started the season ranked in the teens with high hopes of returning to their years of glory. Their first opponent was long time rival Miami, and FSU was heavily favored to win. On Labor Day evening, in a real barn burner, FSU lost 38-34 when they failed to convert on three straight plays from 1st and goal on the 2-yard line with 17 seconds left. FSU has lost so many games to Miami in the last seconds it is ridiculous. Their misery was compounded when in the next week they were trailing Jacksonville State 9-7 late in the fourth quarter. They managed to score twice in the final minute to save the game, but it was nearly the most embarrassing loss in FSU school history.

BYU and FSU came into Saturday's game on opposite ends of the spectrum. BYU fans were confident, happy and gleeful in anticipation of taking out a major power on BYU's home turf. Many FSU fans were despondent - a close friend who knows college football much better than I do gave FSU a .1% chance of winning the game. Other FSU fans were more optimistic, but odds makers favored BYU by seven points.

And in the end, that is probably what did BYU in. BYU was favored and they got over confident. FSU scored early and then recovered a fumble on BYU's first possession and subsequently scored again. FSU scored again and again and kept intercepting BYU's famed QB - the final score was 54-28. The reactions were predictable: FSU fans were jubilant and BYU fans were disappointed.

Some observations:

1. This season has produced a roller coaster adventure for the two teams, even after just three games. Is this what people want? Do people prefer to base their happiness on outcomes on which they have no control? It's kind of like gambling. Instead of money, people are investing their time, energy and mood. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. But it does seem a little silly to have so much riding on something for which you have no control. I have been guilty of this myself, and I wonder why I keep following college football.

2. Generally you are setting yourself up for disappointment if you follow a sport. At the end of the year, there is only one national champion. And even then, there is often a dispute because there is no playoff. Just last year, Utah won all their games, but was not allowed to play in the national championship, passed over in favor of two teams who had each lost a game.

3. Even with the inevitable disappointment, there are still good reasons to watch college football. It's a beautiful sport to watch, especially if the game is close. It can be a social event, or even if you don't watch it with people, you can talk about it at your work, church or elsewhere in the community. Especially in certain communities (i.e., Seminole football in Tallahassee, Boston Red Sox in Boston).

Unfortunately, the calculus doesn't work well for me here in the Philippines. I can only watch parts of Friday night games on Saturday morning at the gym (provided I can control the TV). Precious few Americans here follow college sports because of the time zone difference and probably zero Filipinos follow it because no one here plays American football. Not to mention that I usually waste a couple hours on Sunday morning before church watching the scores update, usually to be disappointed.

4. I don't like these people that deride "fair-weather fans" and feel themselves superior because they are "die-hard". If your team stinks and most of the games you watch them play in are downers, why should people keep cheering for them? Especially if you're not getting much social benefit from cheering for them, it doesn't make much sense. This is like continuing to drink after you are already totally drunk or continuing to gamble after you've lost all your money.

5. I think some people adopt sports teams because they feel their lives lack meaning otherwise. Some people have kids and raise a family, finding meaning in such a pursuit. Other people have pets to substitute for children. Other people have their team. Reminds me of something the David Putty character on Seinfeld said when painting his face (and then chest) in support of the local hockey team: "Gotta support the team". Yeah and you have to get a life too.

Since I won't be back in the US until the 2010 college football season, I think I will focus my attention elsewhere. So long Cougars, Seminoles, Longhorns, Aggies (Texas A&M) and Aggies (Utah State). Study hard in the offseason and I'll see you next year.