Do bowl games mean anything anymore?

B

briney11

Well-Known Member
Or even matter? With all of the players "opting out" and entering the portal, these games are more about extra practices for the remaining players and getting to see the guys who are taking over for the departed players. Whoever loses is always going to have the built in excuse of "well if so and so were playing, it would've been different". It sure isn't like it used to be. Seems to me that the bowl games are just glorified post season exhibitions now.
 
It's easy to crap on low and mid-level bowl games these days, but to the question 'do they matter?', I guess I look to the players for the answer. Do I hear starters saying they don't matter? Rarely. Do I hear starters saying they look forward to playing another game with their teammates? Yep. Do I see coaches coaching, and players playing like they want to win, like true competitors? Yep.
So, fans can crap on the games all they want. If the players want to compete for themselves, for their coaches, for their universities, and for their future...that's good enough for me.
 
Grady said:
It's easy to crap on low and mid-level bowl games these days, but to the question 'do they matter?', I guess I look to the players for the answer. Do I hear starters saying they don't matter? Rarely. Do I hear starters saying they look forward to playing another game with their teammates? Yep. Do I see coaches coaching, and players playing like they want to win, like true competitors? Yep.
So, fans can crap on the games all they want. If the players want to compete for themselves, for their coaches, for their universities, and for their future...that's good enough for me.
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Yup.
 
Grady said:
It's easy to crap on low and mid-level bowl games these days, but to the question 'do they matter?', I guess I look to the players for the answer. Do I hear starters saying they don't matter? Rarely. Do I hear starters saying they look forward to playing another game with their teammates? Yep. Do I see coaches coaching, and players playing like they want to win, like true competitors? Yep.
So, fans can crap on the games all they want. If the players want to compete for themselves, for their coaches, for their universities, and for their future...that's good enough for me.
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Exactly. It's fine if they don't matter to you. If they don't, then don't watch them. Think of all the great players we have that we've watched the past several years. We get to watch them one more time...if we choose to.

As for opt outs, I quote Norman Dale: I would hope you support who we are, not who we are not.
 
briney11 said:
Or even matter? With all of the players "opting out" and entering the portal, these games are more about extra practices for the remaining players and getting to see the guys who are taking over for the departed players. Whoever loses is always going to have the built in excuse of "well if so and so were playing, it would've been different". It sure isn't like it used to be. Seems to me that the bowl games are just glorified post season exhibitions now.
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Look no further than the excitement exhibited by Nebraska and other teams when they cross over the six win mark. Yes they matter.

And still, the team that plays isn’t the same roster that played all season long..
 
We will see if and/or when these bowl games have to pay players, if that will make a difference.
 
When they have to sign contracts for pay to play, those contracts could require participation in any post-season games.
 
ShemHawk said:
When they have to sign contracts for pay to play, those contracts could require participation in any post-season games.
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I don’t know man, if I’m a top tier player with first or second round aspirations, I don’t want to be signing anything that might make me play in the Pinstripe or Pop Tart bowl right before the draft. Screw that. KJ playing in the Music City bowl would be just completely idiotic. An insurance policy can help, but blowing out a knee or rupturing an achilles could end your days of playing football. There’s more to it than just money. Maybe add language that they agree to play in any CFP games, but I really doubt anyone would opt out of those anyway.

Still has to be an individual decision. Just like you see NFL, MLB, and NBA players sit if their teams get either eliminated from or clinch playoff spots
 
Fryowa said:
I don’t know man, if I’m a top tier player with first or second round aspirations, I don’t want to be signing anything that might make me play in the Pinstripe or Pop Tart bowl right before the draft. Screw that. KJ playing in the Music City bowl would be just completely idiotic. An insurance policy can help, but blowing out a knee or rupturing an achilles could end your days of playing football. There’s more to it than just money. Maybe add language that they agree to play in any CFP games, but I really doubt anyone would opt out of those anyway.

Still has to be an individual decision. Just like you see NFL, MLB, and NBA players sit if their teams get either eliminated from or clinch playoff spots
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I’m drinking every time I see the pop tart bowl mentioned, and I don’t drink. The bowls sponsorships are getting wild. I need a Fruity Pebbles bowl. Or a Little Debbie bowl.
 
I mean, at some level, every game after Iowa's second loss does not matter. The reality is that 98% of football players in this country won't get a shot to win a national title. Doesn't mean that other games are not important. Rivalry games still mean a hell of a lot in these parts, even if the winner of the Iowa/Nebbie game doesn't have to play in a shitty baseball stadium in the Northeast and instead gets to travel to balmy Nashville in December.

Bowls are a reward for the program. The team gets a week somewhere nice and is treated well. They get to play a different opponent on neutral turf. We all get to watch it and cheer for Iowa one last time this year.

Do they matter as much as when there were only 11 bowls and the Nattie was decided by beat writers? No. But, they still matter.
 
JoeyLabasForPresident said:
The sellout streak continues! Also, loving the buy-in on the Max Headroom bit.
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I've been on here for almost a decade. Randomly posted every couple of months starting 2-3 years ago, and really got into full posting in the last year. It was about time I setup an avatar. So the convo with Fry made it a clear choice.
 
briney11 said:
Or even matter? With all of the players "opting out" and entering the portal, these games are more about extra practices for the remaining players and getting to see the guys who are taking over for the departed players. Whoever loses is always going to have the built in excuse of "well if so and so were playing, it would've been different". It sure isn't like it used to be. Seems to me that the bowl games are just glorified post season exhibitions now.
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Yes, they matter. I think it is somewhat similar to bowl games many years ago when the national championship was awarded by the AP poll BEFORE the bowl games. A bowl is intended to be a reward for the players, coaches and fans. And you get extra practices. You have to win 6 games. It is not that easy, is it Nebraska fan?

Winning the bowl is great but losing doesn’t sting that much. Sometimes you get a good matchup. Iowa v Mizzou is a good matchup.
 
ChosenChildren said:
Yes, they matter. I think it is somewhat similar to bowl games many years ago when the national championship was awarded by the AP poll BEFORE the bowl games. A bowl is intended to be a reward for the players, coaches and fans. And you get extra practices. You have to win 6 games. It is not that easy, is it Nebraska fan?

Winning the bowl is great but losing doesn’t sting that much. Sometimes you get a good matchup. Iowa v Mizzou is a good matchup.
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Stop making sense. You are a loner!
 
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