I'm Finished With College Football

It seems like autumn has arrived over night here in Indiana and I'm excited because fall and spring are my favorite seasons. I like them much more than the extremes of summer or winter. I love the weather we are having right now - overcast, even a little rainy, and a bit chilly but definitely not cold. One of my favorite parts of this time of the year is the start of football. For anyone wondering, however, I am finished with big time college football. Like NASCAR, college football has pushed me past the threshold of annoyance to the point where I am just not interested anymore. I'll give you a few examples.

I'm tired of all the scandals, for one. Every major program breaks the rules in some way. Some offenses are serious, others aren't. What really annoys me is the way the NCAA handles the situation. Either seriously punish people or just admit that everyone cheats and move on. Don't tell me the Ohio State players did something wrong and then suspend them for 5 games but let them play in the bowl game. What a joke. And I'm tired of ESPN running story after story about this stuff. It's like steroids in baseball. After a while I start asking "Who cares?". The first thing I thought when Auburn won the championship last year was that they better enjoy this while it lasts because there will be a review 4-5 years from now showing that Cam Newton's dad accepted money for him to go to school there.

I'm tired of all of the realignments or threat of conference changes. Most of these schools have been in their respective conferences for years without any trouble. It is just when schools figure out they can make more money if they join a conference with a bigger TV deal that they decide to leave. It's all about money, and it wouldn't be this way except for the fact that Americans eat college football up. We love it. I have a question: Is there another country in the world that places so much emphasis on athletics in institutions of higher learning? Universities are supposed to be centers of learning, not major athletics. Yet because we love these sports so much it has produced a cesspool of scandal and shady activity (see above paragraph).

Another thing that irritates me to no end is the fact that you can't have the TV on for more than 5 minutes without being bombarded by news regarding Notre Dame football. Here is a newsflash for everyone: Notre Dame hasn't been relevant in football for 20 years. They are easily the most overrated team in the nation and they achieve this distinction year after year. They are ranked 16th. Seriously? They got beat by South Florida at home. They are seriously ranked 16th? The only good thing about them being on TV all of the time is that I'm constantly reminded of how terrible they are. How about their coach yelling like a lunatic and saying that he didn't realize that he was going to be on TV so much. Really? What a joke. He'll probably win 8 games this year and they'll sign him to a 10 year/$100 million contract because they'll think he is going to be the next Lou Holtz. Actually I take all of this back. I like that they are on TV all of the time. I really enjoy watching them flounder around like a buffoon. It makes my weekend.

Purdue stinks. This really has nothing to do with college football in general but it does precipitate my lagging interest. I am tired of watching them struggle against teams like Middle Tennessee just to get killed by even just decent Big Ten schools. That routine is so predictable there really is no purpose of watching anymore.

Should I even mention the BCS and lack of a playoff system???