It's a new day

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Today was Barack Obama's inauguration. Maybe because of the television coverage, many people out there may just think of this transition as a routine event in the course of our country. Which in some ways it has become, but what I find amazing that for the most powerful governmental seat in all of this world that we as a nation can do a peaceful, celebratory transition of power from one administration to the next without riots, bloodshed or the country falling apart at the seams.

It's almost become a shuttle launch where the marvel of this event is somehow lost in the celebration - as if we're partying for New Year's or something. But with Barack Obama's swearing in today where he took the oath of office to become our 44th President, he has somehow invigorated this post with a youthful vibrancy that it has desperately needed for too many years.

I don't agree with many of the policy tactics that (now) former President G. W. Bush instilled. His arrogant leadership style was perfectly summed up in his last press conference where he obviously lamented the negative opinion of his work over the last 6 years and how he just never seemed to be able to "reach" out to the people of the nation and become the person that we needed him to be. He didn't have that reachable personality - or at least one that translated into his actions as President.

I don't believe that G. W. Bush was a bad man - just not the right man for the job when bullying your way through foreign policy or internal affairs just wasn't the right line. Nor that he didn't seem to listen very well to the people he served.

Not that the office of the President should kowtow to the popular whim of the people just to keep their favor, but there is a time when thinking through the entire cycle of the decisions needed to be done. Did we need to attack Iraq and spend vast amounts of our treasure on liberating a country that didn't want to be liberated? The answer is obvious. Afghanistan was another story all together and we were justified in our cause there - it was moral based upon the harboring of the very people who directly attacked and killed our citizen on 9/11. The President, though should have stuck to his guns of when to act when it was prudent to do so - not rallying in on the war cries of a wounded nation seven and half years ago.

Every time I hear Obama speak I am filled with an overwhelming since of hope. Hope that our lives will someone come together as a nation and finally act as a community. I want to believe that he will deliver upon his campaign promises and utilize this crisis to the advantage of a nation that has been mired in the committee decisions regulated not by what is right, but those special interests that may benefit from policy. That we may overcome the nightmare of our economic woes, put together an effective health care plan for our nation's citizens, provide opportunities where there haven't been any, to right the wrongs of our careless use of our natural resources and start headlong down the road to repair this environmental damage before it can't be done, to find primary domestic energy source where the influences of other nations can not drive our way of life.

The list is long - the tasks are huge - and for a nation to sit back and let the emotional ride end with this swearing in where we abandon the grass roots initiatives that lead to his inauguration to begin with would be criminal. We must look at today as the time to start. That all of the events that lead up to this very day in our nation's history reflect each and every one of us in every portion of our country. That we must look at this through the eyes of a contractor who worked hard to win the bid who now must get to work to build the building- each brick at a time until the building reaches it's iconic design set forth in the plans laid by the architect.

And like the contractor, it is not the job of one person - it is a team of specialized workers who come together in the right sequence to do the necessary work - the skilled laborers who love their trade and who can wield their abilities in a forum not seen in our nation's history. Those who can shape the land, prepare the foundation, raise the framework, sheath the walls and make the structure habitable.

We are not the lazy owners who just foot the bill, we are in this hands on - just like the world's largest Habitat for Humanity project but in this case, we all get to live there.

I wonder how I can be a part of this building. How I can find my own way into this historical change that I can, at sometime in my future, look back proudly on these years and know that I did my part - just as Rosie the Riveter or the Infantryman did during the greatest generation's greatest feat. I wonder how my roll will be in this.

I am excited beyond words about the possibilities that will present themselves. We are a nation of believers and I believe we're tired of shooting ourselves in the foot and destroying our own opportunities. We need to keep fighting until the war is over and not let the battles dictate our mood.

To be in a community is to be dependent on one another. Our collective being sustains us. We must come out from the fenced back yards in our subdivisions and rise to the occasion to lift a hand and help one another out. We are not individuals who will reap a defined benefit at some future point - we will only be rewarded from the fruits of our labor.

Will you pick up a shovel and dig in or will you watch as others lay out your future for you?
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Success

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Success. This is a topic that I've recently started to grapple with. What does it mean to be successful? My middle-class mind drifts towards wealth, big-important jobs that pay to the extreme, the best neighborhoods in the city... Maybe that's a typical response to that type of question, I'm not really sure.

A while back I read a book called "The Framework for Understanding Poverty" by Dr. Ruby Payne. She is/was a educator in Texas who started a study on why kids were failing in schools and her research led to class struggles and expectations. Mainly in the form of economic poverty, but she also discussed poverty in terms of all available resources (i.e. family/friend support, money, housing, transportation, opportunities, etc). It was fascinating to read about what each economic class valued and strove to obtain.

Success for a middle class family, for example, is based upon education and managerial skills. So my thoughts of what defines success in my mind are (sub)culturally driven ideals: wealth accumulation via objects (houses, cars, clothes) and particular jobs (executives, CEO's) and where someone went to college (Ivy League, Stanford). Those high set benchmarks are the ideals set forth in our culture to (generally) define who has made it and who hasn't. The pride that a middle class family has when their child is accepted to MIT or Harvard. That they've got the muster to be at the very top.

Success for a wealth family isn't from expensive objects- they are by nature but when you're in a class of people who can buy just about anything they want, it comes down to exclusivity and who you know. Education is a given - and going to Harvard or Columbia will happen, even if the kid isn't all that smart to begin with. The attendance isn't for the education to get a good paying job later on, it's to connect with other wealthy families so power, influence and alliances can be continued on. To me, that's why secret societies like the Skull and Bones at Yale are so crazy to understand for other classes and why they generate so much conspiracy theory behind them.

Purchasing items becomes more of who has the exclusive rights to do such (and sometimes buying what isn't for sale). Limited production or rare antique multi-million dollar sports cars for example. My brother is a graphic designer and one of his clients sells ultra limited production wrist watches. These watches sell for several hundred thousand dollars each and his client actually brought over three of them to his house. He couldn't even convey the nervousness he had to have over a million dollars in watches on his coffee table - and there were only three of them!

The poor rely on social networks for what they need. Things that the middle class and the wealthy take for granted are not reliable in their world so simple things like having reliable transportation to get to and from work can be an issue. If the car breaks down, they can't get to work and thus loose their job. They can't pay a standard mechanic for the work so it comes down to who they know who can fix the car in some sort of barter and trade system.

The concept of a future doesn't exist. "Future" is just a word and has no meaning. Money that is brought into the household is split amongst those there. Windfalls are blown immediately. That's why state lotteries come under so much criticism as a "poor tax" because those who mainly purchase lottery tickets live below (or near) the poverty level and when a massive windfall happens, those millions of dollars are lost in a matter of months. They aren't trained in the concept of managerial skills for money or investments and why middle class people are so appalled at the squandering of such a gift.

Success for those who live in poverty comes from those that have gifts of talent in sports/entertainment. The ghetto rapper who can make it to the big time as a national recording artist is highly valued. Mainly from the entertainment s/he provided in the ultra stressful world of poverty.

What made me think about success is why do I/we think of the culturally driven markers as the culmination of a successful life? The more I think about it, the more ludicrous it seems. Why do I need to strive to be on some sort of defined career path where my success isn't determined by my own values, but by those around me who are casting their votes on if I made it or not.

And for those who do reach levels of success under those cultural terms, that we actually turn on them? Dr. Payne actually outlined that people can move from class to class successfully if they have a guide to show them the unwritten rules of that class (what to do and say). But one of the hardest things she found for those who want and desire to move classes, and even if they have a guide who will invest in them for that shift, is that they have to give up all of their previous support group to do such. That may mean relationships with family - and that can be a roadblock to that successful shift. We turn on those who shift because we can't identify with them anymore. We cast them into some sort of Purgatory.

I've been thinking about how to adjust my own attitudes about success and stop perpetuating those ideals that really don't make sense. Success is a life that is happy and enjoyable and for most accounts, money (although important for basic security of resources) isn't the key. Seems like the more money you have the more problems that actually arise.

I am reminded of a story that I heard told to me once (forgive me for not having the reference):

A rich businessman was vacationing in Mexico where he went on a charter fishing trip. While enjoying himself on the cruise, the man asked the captain if he thought about expanding his fleet, making a ton of cash and living the good life.

The captain of the boat didn't have any money and asked what that would entail. The rich businessman immediately jumped into his business plan of adding 10 more boats, hiring a full time staff to market and entertain his guests and accountants to manage all of the money he'd make.

The captain asked for what purpose he'd do this? It would take so much effort to run a company of that size. The businessman told him it would be a lot of work, but it would be worth it in the end. The captain could retire one day, relax and go fishing like he was doing on his vacation.

The captain thought about it and then told the businessman:

"But I'm doing that right now."

Sometimes we're right where we want to be even without the business plan.

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Resolve to resolve

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Well a new year has dawned and even though it is only January 6th, it feels like the holidays are a distant memory. I find it interesting that all of the retail sales woes and hype prior to our consumer based winter season has died down on the news and that, like a light switch, we change our focus as if Christmas didn't just happen.

I haven't been in the stores yet, but I'm sure that Valentine's Day has already peeked it's ugly head up on display aisles and that Easter isn't far behind. Kind of hard to think of Easter now - especially when its snowing outside.

I have launched a new blog yesterday. It's a real-time journal of my quest to find fitness in 2009. I'm being rather forthcoming with my postings and putting myself in the awkward position of airing my dirty laundry. My plan is to do weekly weigh-ins that show status along with posting what I'm doing (eating, exercising) and my progress (or lack thereof). I hope that there is actual progress - it would make for a boring story otherwise - journeys are only interesting if you actually leave the driveway.

What has me nervous about this is that it is me. This blog you're currently visiting has been an outlet for my ideas and thoughts - all of which are snippets of the whole picture. A person following this blog (both of you - thanks by the way) would see some of how my thought process works along with my opinions and commentary on things that concern me, but it's still processed. It's still a controlled view into my world.

My new blog: http://ryansfitnessjourney.blogspot.com/ is how it is as you see it. Raw. I'm posting photos of me in just my shorts (a word of warning, I have no bodily resemblance to Brad Pitt so venture carefully) and my weight and body as it changes. You can't hide it when it's out there for anyone and everyone to see.

And for that, it's strangely liberating - as if I'm letting go of that insecurity by posting it so publicly, but it's still an opening up to anyone who may or may not have a positive influence via their comments. Plus my friends, family and acquaintances will have a front row seat to my life.

So this new year has brought with it a whole bag full of uncertainty - economic problems, a new president of our country (yea!), people losing their jobs and hopefully I keep mine for at least a little while longer, etc. But with that change comes the hope that it will bring happiness, too. And that for every one thing we feel is out of our control there is one thing that you can actively do.

I'm currently reading a book I got for Christmas - "Velvet Elvis" by Rob Bell. Rob Bell is an absolutely amazing speaker and storyteller. He is a Christian Pastor of the Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, MI and if you haven't watched his speak then you need to treat yourself (check out Nooma). His book is starting to hit home for me - especially in relationship to how I view what Christianity is - I'm about 2/3rds through the book the section I read last night spoke of the importance to let go of the things that drive us and to enjoy who we are. Success is defined by our happiness and enjoyment of our lives - more money, a new job, a new location won't change who we are inside and Rob Bell spoke of looking at the mysteries behind the mystery. That there is always more to the story (our story). We need to get past the superficial in order to find that core.

That's been part of my journey all along in 2008. Rob Bell wrote about the commonly used phrase "where ever you go, there you are". Changing the surface doesn't change who we are and that happiness comes from enjoyment of who we really are and bringing those attributes to the surface and stop living for the approval of others (he says to live for God). I guess that resonates with me.

And maybe that phase of "where ever you go, there you are" applies to my own fitness journey - I had started the launch of my blog before I got to this section in the book last night, but it just seemed to make sense to me. That for all of the postulating and theories - for all of the commentary and beliefs that it is all of naught if there isn't substance behind who I am. And part of the substance is taking care of the only vessel I've got to make it through my life.

I don't really believe in resolutions. A friend of mine said to me that it doesn't make sense to her to "resolve" to do anything - you write down your goals for the year and then focus on the top five - keeping the list in a prominent place (like a bathroom mirror) so that you're reminded of them and then holding one another to those goals. I liked that perspective on them. It takes the negative spin of a resolution into a positive change for growth.

My wish for you in this next year that you find yourself - where ever that may be and bring out the very best in yourself. Stare at that 800 lb gorilla and kick it's ass. Be who you were meant to be and live for happiness and joy.

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Disposable Nation

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They just don't make it like they used to. Or how the saying goes for when we encounter some product that we remember from a previous day that seemed to last forever. Like refrigerators that ran for 30 years or the television your grandparents still watch that they bought new when you were a small child. Vacuum cleaners that are as old as you are and still pick up the dust.

For the exception of a couple of things such as my car and our house that I can honestly see myself still using in 5 years let alone 10 or longer. And absolutely nothing that I see as passing on to my children and my grandchildren. It will all be dust by then.

Some time in the mid 20th century we passed a tipping point where technology became cheaper than labor. It was a gradual shift as skilled laborers retired and eventually died and the cravings of technology driven items such as Walkman radio/cassette players, personal computers and cell phones came into our main stream pop culture.

The overall shift in our culture of values changed at this very time. Households moved from single income male wage earners to more and more homes with two working parents. As the women's movement for equality took greater hold in the 60's and 70's and asserted their own abilities in the male dominated fields, the composition of households changed. Some for the good and some for the worse.

We began to rely on technology to fill in the gaps. Mom's weren't around as much now to bake homemade goods so we started buying up microwave ovens and precooked meals and more and more take-out. Children weren't nearly as busy with after school activities. Guys played football in the fall, basketball/wrestling in the winter and baseball/track in the spring. Gals had volleyball, basketball and track and all of this seemed to fit within biking distance and before dinnertime when mom and dad got home.

The technology of more convenience - we demanded more and more restaurants with drive-thrus and home delivery. We wanted our groceries to require minimal additional ingredients to assemble and cook. We wanted better technology to communicate since we didn't see one another and since no one was in one spot for very long any more. Cell phones showed up and when the costs and the coverages got less and greater service, households latched onto them. Now we are reduced to text messages that don't even use English (OMG! - LOL).

Our family size shrunk and soon a family of four found that a 2,000 SF home wasn't big enough and moved into a 3,500 SF home with the reasoning that it was a "better" neighborhood with "better" schools. As if to rationalize the move on the account of a better life for our kids. Or that all of the people we knew in the old neighborhood moved away and we were left with no one around.

Or that in our neighborhoods today how rare it is for you to know anyone over 100 feet away and that for most of the people around your home, you may or may not even know their names and the only contact has been (possibly) a friendly wave that gave vague credibility that you understood they lived around you. Or that the home you live in today is one that you legitimately see yourself in 10 years from now and that some idea of a better location somewhere across town would be much more ideal to the life you'd like to live.

Modern neighborhoods now have greater spaces between homes with wide sweeping streets that never run in a straight line and are graced with silly names like "West Andrew Creek Street" or "Dulcinea" or "Long Valley Ridge Road". Whatever happened to 3rd Street? The design of the neighborhoods push each home apart discouraging interaction. No wonder that on National Night Out celebrations that it can be an awkward venue of a gathering of strangers.

Our houses today are built with high technology and little craftsmanship. Very few can even afford craftsmanship anymore. Quality stonemasons or finish carpenters are very, very rare. If your home was built after 1990, the home you live in was built with profitability solely in mind with the cheapest products available. With a design not created by an architect with quality in mind but with thin veneers of aesthetics that gave the buyer the impression of high resale.

High resale. People buy their homes so they can sell later. As long as they're next to good schools.

Aren't good schools based upon the constituents that compose them? The faculty provide only a portion of the quality of education, it's the neighborhood that provides the next part and the individual with the rest. People make the assumption that a certain neighborhood with a certain type/style of home will produce classmates of a certain caliber that will "ensure" that your child is in good hands.

Our careers have fallen prey to this as well. I know of no one who has the same job they started out with in their career. They trade them out as they see fit. No long term commitment to the business that gave them the job. The same goes for the employers - very few get behind the lives of their workforce to give them opportunities to grow and feel part of a family. The relationship between employer and employee has boiled down to a purely transactional environment where employees are viewed as individual cost centers that need to produce along with shoving traditional benefits back for employee payment/contribution. Employees view growth opportunities not in terms of years or decades to reach milestones but in matters of months with expected compensation.

The technology of email, overnight delivery, faxing, online conference calling, automated customer service and cell phones have pushed the pace of work to a feverish pitch which only allows for implications at home. Work is never really "left at work". We are becoming more and more accessible - twenty-four hours a day. Emails are expected to be returned the minute they are sent. Call waiting and cell phones are impolite interruptions into face-to-face meetings or ongoing conversations. Demands are immediate.

Our relationships are becoming more and more transactional. We spend less and less time together and more and more time apart. In those times that a couple are together, tending to the household chores take precedence. The bathroom needs to be painted, the lawn mowed, the garaged cleaned. Oh yeah, play with the kids and if there's a few minutes at the end of the day then we can "maintain" a relationship.

Friendships are harder to maintain. When time is made and plans are carried out where a couple invites another couple over for dinner - why is it the the invited couple now feels obligated to return the favor? Wasn't it just a gift in the first place?

Our relationships and friendships are based upon an accounting of the give and the take where if it becomes too far out of balance the relationship or the friendship is disposed of.

We are a disposable nation. One that takes something for the moment and disposes of it when something new comes along. Commitments are rare and even more rarely reciprocated. We judge our success from the outward appearance of things accumulated - a nice home in a respectable neighborhood, a decent car(s), vacations ot the right places, clothes that show we're responsive to the right trends, spouses who have the right prospects and income potential, children who go to the right schools and play the right sports and who are in the TAG programs.

Our furniture has become like clothes and we throw them away or give the to Goodwill when we tire of them. We spend less and less time with quality and more more and more time with appearance. We have acquired a severe lack of substance.

We have sought out technology as the replacement of our community. We rave about Facebook and Myspace but won't take the time to make a new friend in our workplace or across the street. Maybe it's because someone might discover what we're really like? How could we live with that in the open?

In our quest to be all things to all people we've left our character and passion far behind. In that when we are confronted with people who have retained those traits we are immediately drawn to them.

Oscar Wilde once said: "A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing". Has our culture descended into the grasp of the cynic or could our future be much different?

Hope.

Hope is the cornerstone that things can be different. Hope is the eternal optimist. Hope bathes in joy and wears it like a royal robe. Hope is to believe that all is not lost. Hope is the greatest of all things.

Is it possible to turn the tide of our collective consumer culture to change direction and refocus on those people and things that have and bring value. And with that we make a conscious effort to become a person who brings value to those that are around us. To freely give of our talents and abilities without any thought of reciprocation. To give our our spirit of hope.

I would think that a new day could dawn within this new year of ours. Read more! Read more!

Could a new BCS College Football Playoff work?

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I just can't resist it and leave it alone. Like most people who follow college football to any extent - I can't stand the current system that determines who gets to play for a national championship. But as I've thought of this and why most (if not everybody) is against the system and why nothing will be done about it.

It comes down to what people feel is fair. When too few individuals (or groups) hold too much of the power, people get antsy. It's the feeling of having some level of control over your own destiny. To me, it's the same reason why some people can't stand to fly but are content to drive (or be driven) - even though statistics clearly show that flying (commercially) is far safer than driving. But it's the idea that we have at shot of changing the outcome of an accident directly where when a plane crashes you're along for the ride. We want to feel that there is something "out there" that instills trust that fairness and equality are being championed on behalf of the minority.

There are currently eleven (11) conferences that play at the 1-A level. Six (6) of them are considered "BCS" conferences which are basically an elite tier whose conference champions get to play in big money, nationally televised bowl games around this time of year (you may of heard of some of them...).

The remaining five conferences aren't affiliated with the big money - high profile bowls and since they are deemed weaker by that context - the will have no chance to play for the national championship which only takes the top two BCS computer ranked teams who play in a separate big money bowl. The current payouts for the top four BCS bowls and the National Championship Bowl are $17 million. In 2009, the Big 12 Conference champion Oklahoma will play the SEC Conference champion Florida in the National Championship. But, both conferences also get to play in the other top ranked BCS bowls (SEC - Alabama in the Sugar Bowl and the Big 12 - Texas in the Fiesta Bowl). Meaning that both conferences get a share of another $17 million.

Out of 120 teams at the 1-A level, there are 34 bowl games (including the National Championship). That means 68 teams are playing in a bowl which is slightly over half of the teams. What also bugs me (and most others) is that a team is "bowl eligible" with six wins. Well, in a 12 game season - that's a 0.500 record and if that team loses their bowl game, they actually end the season with a losing record. This bowl season, there are nine (9) teams with a 6-6 record playing and another 16 teams playing with a 7-5 record.

Since this bar is so low - most conferences are fielding several teams in bowls. Here's a breakdown:

BCS Conferences

Big 12 - 7 of 12 teams
Big 10 - 7 of 11 teams
SEC - 8 of 12 teams
Pac 10 - 5 of 10 teams
ACC - 10 of 12 teams
Big East - 6 of 8 teams

Non-BCS Conferences

Mt. West - 5 of 9 teams
C-USA - 6 of 12 teams
WAC - 5 of 9 teams
Sun Belt - 2 of 8 teams
MAC - 5 of 13 teams

Independents Notre Dame and Navy are also playing in bowls.

Now for the money - I added up all of the payouts for the 34 bowl games and the total pot is $129,753,000. Games range anywhere from $300k to $17M for payouts. The BCS conferences will collectively receive around $111M this year or 86% of the payouts. The non-BCS conferences and Independents will receive the balance. Since Utah was able to qualify for a BCS game this year, it throws it off - in a "normal" year where only BCS schools are receive BCS bowl game money, the figure would be around $120M which constitutes 92.5% of the total bowl money.

That figure gets split up amongst the winning team representing the conference with a portion going back to the other teams in the conference. Here is the breakdown of winnings that will go to each conference:

BCS Teams:

Big 12 - $22,540,000
Big 10 - $23,475,000
SEC - $26,600,000
Pac 10 - $11,440,000
ACC - $16,450,000
Big East - $10,975,000

Non BCS Teams:

Mt. West - $10,050,000 (Utah's $8.5M for it's Sugar Bowl Appearance)
C-USA - $2,812,500
WAC - $1,874,000
Sun Belt - $537,500
MAC - $2,300,000

Independents (they don't share with anyone else):

Notre Dame - $199,000
Navy - $500,000

It reeks of unfairness. The lower caste teams can't reach the top to make the big money even though they are ranked on the same scale as the upper crust conferences and since they can't get the big money (often enough), the funds aren't there to build the conferences up so that they can be competitive. It's amazing when you really think about the level of money that non-BCS teams play so well to be ranked in the top 25 let alone breaking the top ten (both Utah and Boise State did this year). The system is designed to keep the little guy out but does allow for a little table scraps to be thrown out on occasion.

So, what if I were king and could rearrange things so that all teams had an equal shot at the national championship along with instituting a bonafide play-off system? Here's what it may look like:

I would attempt to keep most of the conferences stable for traditions sake but there are some major changes that would need to be enacted. I would propose that we cut the conferences down from eleven (11) to nine (9). I would dissolve the WAC, C-USA and the Sun Belt to do this and take those teams and redistribute. I would create one entirely new conference as well. Each conference would have at least 12 teams split into two divisions that would allow for a conference championship. (I have included a graphic of what each conference would look like - CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO ENLARGE).



SOUTHERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE - this is a new conference consisting of ex Sun Belt and C-USA teams.

MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE - this has the same name and only four of the original teams but has taken on most of the newly dissolved WAC.

BIG EAST CONFERENCE - this is expanded from eight (8) teams to 12. Teams from C-USA, Sun Belt and MAC would fill out this roster.

BIG NORTH CONFERENCE - this is formally the BIG 10. I added Iowa State from the BIG 12 to balance out the new "west" region.

PACIFIC COAST CONFERENCE - this is formally the PAC 10. I added Utah and BYU to make twelve and split the conference into north and south regions.

SEC - there are no proposed changes

BIG 12 - With Iowa State going to the BIG NORTH, Colorado State was added to the BIG 12 north division. TCU was also added as a 13th team in the south division.

ACC - there are no proposed changes

MAC - Removed one team - Temple would now be part of the Big East.

INDEPENDENTS - Western Kentucky would now be part of the new SOUTHERN Conference. Air Force would join the other service academies as independents along with Hawai'i.

The nine (9) conferences would produce one conference champion that would be entered into the national playoff system consisting of the top 16 teams. The other seven (7) teams would come from the conferences and/or independents who are in the top ranks as determined by the BCS computer program. For instance, if the Big 12 produced three top 10 teams with one being the champion with an automatic slot, then then the other two could find their way into the playoffs as seeded at-large teams.

The first round of playoffs would be held at the higher seeded team's home field with a much higher payoff ($5-8 M from endorsements). Quarter and Semi finals would be held at neutral sites where I proposed the four BCS bowls along with adding the Cotton and the Liberty Bowl. These payoffs would be larger - $10-12 M for the quarter finals and $12-15 M for the semis. The national championship would be the same with a final payout around $15-20 M.

A team making to the national championship would earn tens of millions for their school and conference along with allowing all conferences the ability to legitimately compete for a national title.

The existing bowl exhibition games could still be used for those teams who didn't make the playoffs and those funds could be distributed accordingly. I would guess that in a couple of years those bowls wouldn't be all that interesting and would fade.

Now, there are a lot of obvious problems with this fantasy - first, the people in power aren't willingly going to relinquish it so a "self-governed" system isn't going to spring up from the grassroots. Secondly there are a lot of traditions that would have to be reshaped to accommodate this. Third, the system would allow for unequal funding to go to dynasty conferences and the money would have to be figured into this. Conferences that only field their champion and they lost in the first round would get very little compared to the previous system, but those that did make it to the quarters, semis and finals would rake in 3-4 times what they do now.

And maybe with all "grass is greener" fantasy scenarios that the truth of it is that in the quest of fair play and equality, those factors could (and do) spur their own set of problems and controversy and those sports who have leveled the playing field (such as Indy Car), public interest quickly fades. The populace wants and craves a controversy and the heralded Cinderella story where the little guy gets his day. So with that in mind - maybe we should just suck it up? You let me know.


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