Crisis Averted

Just like the Cuban Missile Crisis, Expansion Fever has come and gone and the anticipation was much worse than the final event. In fact, for real college football fans, the new alignments are fantasies come true. With twelve teams each, the PAC-10 and Big Ten can now stage championship games and level the BCS playing field somewhat. Of course, the Big 12 now has to ixnay its game, but hey- whatever keeps Texas happy.

There are many teams I hate in the college landscape. Notre Dame, A&M, USC, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Michigan…that’s just off the top of my head. Texas has always been on that list. UT was a school before they were even a state, yet they steal our logos, then sue us for using them. They’re copycats and, like everything else in Texas, vastly overrated. I believe everything is bigger in Texas, because egos sure are.

Yet. Tennessee and Texas have a special relationship akin to the US and Great Britain. When the chips are down, we pull together. Plus, I’ve got family down there. So I have, on occasion, rooted for the Longhorns.

No more. The way the conferences have fallen over themselves to snag the Austin market is one thing. Disgusting, but understandable to some degree. But I had no idea until all this started breaking how unequitably other conferences distribute their money. Were I a Big 12 fan, I would be ashamed that not only are schools like Kansas, Iowa, and Iowa State receiving a much smaller piece of the pie, they’re going to end up paying Colorado’s bailout fees to keep the conference together so the rich can get richer.

It’s also scary the beating tradition took during this fiasco. That’s what makes college ball different- the pageantry and century old rivalries. But some commissioners have turned their teams into mercenaries, up for the highest bidder. Texas made the right decision, even if not for the right reasons.

The SEC gets almost everything about college ball right. We have the best stadiums, the best bands, and the best records. Now the nation knows we’ve even got the best financial distribution system.