MIZZ-ERY and Outrage

The last time I saw the Kansas Jayhawks football team, they were walking off the field at Arrowhead Stadium as the losers of the “Border War” to Missouri.

The last time I saw Kansas QB Todd Reesing, he had a giant chunk of grass and dirt stuck in his helmet after being sacked in the endzone of Arrowhead Stadium for a safety by a few Missouri defensive lineman.

That evening, Missouri proved to the nation that they were the better football team. Missouri won the Big XII North and earned the right to play Oklahoma in the Big XII Championship game in San Antonio on Saturday night.

As it turns out, “earned” isn’t the right verb for the victory.

Either the BCS committee enjoyed watching Kansas sitting on their couches so much, they forgot to pay attention to the Big XII Championship, or they all have a severe case of dyslexia and misread the final score of the game only nine days ago.

Regardless, the decision to award Kansas a spot in the FedEx Orange Bowl while dropping Missouri out of the BCS is one of the worst injustices in the history of collegiate athletics.

Just for a moment, let’s forget about the fact that the current system will once again rob fans of a true champion. Let’s also forget that 3-loss Illinois (another team Missouri beat) will be playing in the Rose Bowl.

Somebody from the Big XII conference, the NCAA or the BCS needs to explain how Missouri got robbed of a spot on the national stage by losing to a top-10 team in their conference championship game—a game Kansas didn’t make.

Somebody needs to explain how a team like Kansas, who played nobody all season until they faced Missouri—and lost—is awarded a BCS game. And while they’re at it, they should try explaining how that same team is ranked lower in the final BCS standings and still gets into the BCS.

It is absolutely mind-boggling that teams can sit at home and watch others battle for a conference championship and be rewarded. It’s basically putting a positive spin on playing one less quality opponent.

I imagine it would be a lot like if somebody just took a week off of work—no sick calls, no vacation time, no personal leave—then strolled into their boss’s office the following Monday, asked for a raise, and got it!

Your head spinning yet? So is mine.

I’ve never been a big college football fan to begin with. I suppose this stems from my childhood when the Chicago region was forced to watch boring Big Ten football. I just have a problem with any sport that leaves the question of “Who’s champion?” unanswered. That’s essentially what takes place every year and will continue to happen until a playoff system is put in place. But that’s an argument for another day.

Today, I vow to never again watch a college football game for entertainment purposes. I will only do so if I am being paid—either by my current employer to make a highlight or to cover a game in person.

That starts now, and will include the consolation prize for my alma mater—a spot in the Cotton Bowl. Forgive me for not being excited after coming so close to a birth in the BCS “National Championship” game. Who really cares if Missouri is better than Arkansas or where they finish among the top-15?

I wish Missouri would have boycotted the bowl altogether and really stuck it to the NCAA and the Big XII so that they wouldn’t collect a paycheck. I guarantee every student-athlete on the Missouri football team is plenty pissed right now as well. Hopefully, they’ll only be using DHL or UPS to send packages home from now on.

Finally, part of me hopes Missouri takes this opportunity to gain sympathy around the country and stick it to the Big XII conference. Somebody-perhaps the commissioner-should have gone to bat for them to the BCS committee and failed to do so.

I say the long-standing rumor becomes a reality: Missouri heads to the Big Ten giving them 12 teams and forcing that pathetic excuse for a "power" conferences to have a conference championship game. Maybe the Big XII will then reel in Memphis, though I really don’t care at this point.

Heads need to roll.

Yesterday, I was upset about failing to capitalize on the opportunity of a lifetime and about seeing a dream week with the No. 1 in front of Missouri come to an end. Now, I just feel like somebody took a piss in my bowl of Frosted Flakes.

If BCS headquarters is all over the news tomorrow due to a phoned in bomb threat, I’ll gladly take the blame.