Bigger Isn’t Better
The expanded basketball tournament means a bigger football playoff is probably just a matter of time.
If you’re of a certain age, you may remember the SNL skit Taco Town , a satirical send up of American restaurants’ tendency to embiggen portion sizes until they challenge the very concept of human dignity. In the sketch’s most memorable line, a babyfaced Andy Samberg yells “Pizza! Now that’s what I call a taco!
” I yelled that same thing myself with the recent news that the NCAA basketball tournament is expanding to 76 teams starting next year . I’m not terribly sentimental about college basketball since I only watch it in the spring as tourney time nears, but this is a craven decision that no fan wants and that will only make the sport worse and less interesting . It signals, once again, a growth-at-all-costs mindset on the part of the sport’s leadership (meaning Greg Sankey and Tony Petitti) with no regard for the fans or the student-athletes (are we still calling them that?
). What concerns me more is that this probably means a 24-team football playoff is inevitable. Realistically, the 24-team format was probably a foregone conclusion as soon as the BCS shuffled off this mortal coil.
I suppose we should count our blessings that it took more than a decade for the greedy vampire squids who run this sport to decide to woodchipper it beyond recognition. If you’re in favor of a bigger playoff, I won’t try to change your mind. But as I remain a disciple of Senator Blutarsky, here are my reasons for skepticism.
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