A good week ruined?

I used to LOVE college football bowl week.

Now I don’t.

I used to get an education in football by watching as many games as I possibly could over the course of the week. I’ve even written about this before with a post called, Crash Course.

I can’t really pinpoint the exact reason for my shift in Bowl Week fandom. My first thought is that ESPN, who used to do an exceptional job hosting the bulk of Bowl Week, has become too entrenched in the College Football Playoff politics. While watching a few minor bowl games this year on ESPN, I felt like the network’s sole purpose in broadcasting that particular minor bowl game was to talk about the College Football Playoff games. The CFP hung heavy over the 2018 Bowl Week.

Another reason that came to mind is there are just too many damn bowl games. The quality of matchup has been diluted to the point of a whole slew of bland and boring bowl games. Case in point for 2018? The 10-7 final, TCU/Cal Cheez-It Bowl. Plus, there rarely were multiple games broadcast at the same time, leaving thumb-happy remote control users like me, stuck with only one game on. Come on, man! I want to click-it action during Bowl Week!

And what’s the deal with all these NFL prospects choosing to skip their team’s bowl game. Okay, there’s always a chance you might break a nail before the NFL Combine but didn’t that school you’re leaving high and dry just sink a couple hundred thousand dollars into your development as a student-athlete? Besides that, how about the three most important things in team sports? Duty. Honor. Team.

Dear NFL prospect, play the damn bowl game.

Am I ready to give up on my lifelong fandom of College Football Bowl Week? Not hardly. But I do feel like Bowl Week is letting me and my desire to study & learn more about the game of football down on a more consistent basis.

And, for me, that is a problem.

Here’s to wishing for better Bowl Week product in 2019. Please don’t let me down, ESPN!