Bowl Games Are Not Meaningless Exhibitions

[Ree4]

My reply to @lightning1 got me thinking more about your point. I think you are absolutely right that Bowls are just a money grad by a lot of people who are not really assuming any of the risk. And while I believe every opportunity to compete as a team has meaning, what the Bowls are really doing is creating a situation where they can take advantage of players' willingness to compete and their loyalty to team/program. These factors compel athletes to compete for something that really is devoid of meaning outside of those intrinsic factors. It is quite the sham.

To be fair to the players, most of whom are going to compete due to a variety of intrinsic motivators, give them something of meaning to compete for. Or do away with them. I am totally on board with that.

Bowls also create match ups that we might never see. We're probably all tired of playing Florida in bowl games but I'm excited to watch Iowa play a team we've never played before, or would have never played if not for this opportunity. It gives Iowa fans a chance to learn more about Miss St and them a chance to learn more about us. I learned that they still think cowbells are relevant, who woulda thought??

 

[Ree4]

I think the more we understand CTE and the other long term health factors of playing tackle football, the less meaning every football game has. If my son were a high D-1 football player, I'd be very careful about how many unnecessary hits they took/games they played.
Everyone has different reasons for competing in and coaching sports. If I were a college player trying to get drafted in the NFL, those extra Bowl practices/Bowl game, would have meaning. It's an opportunity to get better, in search of my goal. My personal goal. If we asked every single incoming freshman football player "what are your personal goals for football?" How many of them do you think would include playing in an Outback Bowl as one of their goals?

I'd argue (with no evidence) that practices contribute to CTE much more than playing games. For every time you knock heads with somebody in a game, you do that 20-25x as much in practice settings. The 15 practices leading up to the game are a much bigger risk than the game itself... Thoughts?

 

[4thngoal]

I get the rationale, protect himself, but why draw the line at bowl games? Why should Fant have played in the Illinois or Nebraska games, the West was already decided, why risk injury in those games, how were they anymore meaningful? Would those who say it's okay for any player (not just Fant, I'm not picking on him) to miss a bowl game for this reason give that same player the same pass for missing a regular season game? It's a slippery slope.

You could take that further. What's the difference between the rose bowl and the taxslayer bowl?
Does it really matter what bowl or even if its for the championship?
Do you risk an NFL contact worth a bunch of money, money that will set you and your family up for life if done properly to be able to say, but I played in or even played for a team that won a NC?
I guess I would have to assume that if someone was going to skip a bowl game for potential financial reasons, they have no reason to not skip any and all bowls and playoffs..
Now that would throw a wrench in the entire landscape of bowls and the cfp.
So yeah the landscape is changing, but the more people who skip, the less interesting the bowls become. That costs college football $ as a whole.
Basically the more that skip, the more obsolete the sport becomes. (Non cons and then bowl games carry very very little weight). Thus going against the very thing that got you a contract to make a life and living from the game.

I get the difference, but I also see the similarly to finding a different job and giving no notice to your current employer. I see the similarity to getting married but keeping an eye out to trade up.
Like I said yes they are different, but at the core, they do have similarities.

 

[kicker22]

I honestly don't mind bowl games. Based on the OOC schedule we see year in and year out its nice to see quality opponents from other conferences. We don't get that opportunity very often.

 

[homes]

You could take that further. What's the difference between the rose bowl and the taxslayer bowl?
Does it really matter what bowl or even if its for the championship?
Do you risk an NFL contact worth a bunch of money, money that will set you and your family up for life if done properly to be able to say, but I played in or even played for a team that won a NC?
I guess I would have to assume that if someone was going to skip a bowl game for potential financial reasons, they have no reason to not skip any and all bowls and playoffs..
Now that would throw a wrench in the entire landscape of bowls and the cfp.
So yeah the landscape is changing, but the more people who skip, the less interesting the bowls become. That costs college football $ as a whole.
Basically the more that skip, the more obsolete the sport becomes. (Non cons and then bowl games carry very very little weight). Thus going against the very thing that got you a contract to make a life and living from the game.

I get the difference, but I also see the similarly to finding a different job and giving no notice to your current employer. I see the similarity to getting married but keeping an eye out to trade up.
Like I said yes they are different, but at the core, they do have similarities.

I think I was being more the devil's advocate, because once you get on that logic, drawing lines between what is acceptable and what isn't can appear to be arbitrary or random.

Again, I get the rationale of a player wanting to sit it out, but I guess being more of a traditionalist, I go back to the beginning, the point where a player and the school have agreed that the player will come to the school in exchange for a scholarship and all of the other perks, tangible and intangible that go with being a scholarship football player that the school provides. The school has provided the coaching, training, exercise/weight training facilities, and nutrition and anything else not specifically mentioned that allows the player to develop and showcase his ability. The school gets the benefit of that player performing on the field and increases that school's chance of success (in theory if not in practice for all you skeptics), not just wins and losses. That quid pro quo carries with it, if not a formal, an informal commitment to fully participate for the school during the entire course of that season. Sh*t happens all the time, there's no guarantee it won't at any time, but anyone who signs up to play football understands and accepts that risk, and should see it through to the end of the season. But, I'm not losing any sleep on that happening or not happening, it's just my point of view.

 

[westender]

Non CFP bowls are for dinosaurs. Participation trophies. Everybody gets a ribbon! All kids get at least a B and no homework! New world friends! They have the internet on computers now!

 

[westender]

Case in point, the 2015 Rose Bowl.

Folks around here were talking like the Hawks were Alabama and then we proceeded to get Harlem Globetrottered by a PAC-12 team. I could hear McCaffery giggle all the way back here in Iowa every time he made a tackler miss.

The 2015 Rose Bowl had much less meaning than a 1980s Rose Bowl. And then you get stuck playing the Pac 12. The land of obscurity. It is CFP or bust any more. Watching Hawks in a non-CFP bowl is like watching them play Maryland in season.