Point/Counterpoint: Obama vows to establish playoffs for NCAA football

By CHRIS DERTZ and MIKE BUDA

President-elect Barack Obama made a lot of promises this campaign season. He’s outlined his plans for the economy and bringing peace to the Middle East. There is one proposal, however, that he has yet to elaborate on. That is, of course, the promise he made on Monday Night Football to establish a playoff system in college football. Will he be able to do it? Chris Dertz and Mike Buda sat down to examine this possibility.

Chris Dertz: Well Mike, election season is over, and soon it will be time to see how Obama plans to deliver on the promises he’s made. Most important of these, as it may well have been the tipping point in the election since it was made on Monday Night Football, is his enthusiasm for the implementation of a playoff system in college football. Yes we can! Yes we can!

Mike Buda: Barack Obama may have the charisma and sports know-how, but he does not have the power in the BCS to change anything. There are some pretty stubborn, old, angry, powerful men out there and they have resisted the idea so far. The people that vote on whether to change to a playoff system are in it for the money, and if their pockets aren’t full, they won’t fix a thing.

CD: I couldn’t agree with you more. They line their golden pockets with golden threads. But isn’t it the job of every president to throw money every which way? I’ve heard about the government funding studies about why prisoners want to escape from prison, for Pete’s sake. As the president, Obama should consider it his duty to throw taxpayer’s money at anything and everything he likes, including the BCS commission.

MB: If Obama were to do that, you better hope none of the taxpayers get a whiff of it. They will be turned off to the entire playoff system idea faster than you can say ham sandwich. The entire situation comes down to the fact that Obama does not have power over the BCS old-folks home.

CD: I wouldn’t necessarily agree with the notion that the BCS big wigs would be turned off by the likes of Boise State in title contention. Sure, it’s the big conference schools that draw the big markets to these games, but think of the buzz there was around the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. All my friends from other mid-major schools tuned in and rooted the Broncos on. Besides, who doesn’t love seeing giant upsets? Think about possibly three weeks of them.

MB: Sure, the underdog story is great, but in the end, it comes down to who has the power, and the people with the power are after the money. Obama may be the president, but he can’t do a thing about college football’s postseason. He’s just going to have to focus on the economy or the war or which dog he should get.

CD: My vote is for Fox Terrier. He could even probably get some extra funding from a Fox/BCS tie-in.