John Adams

The Pop Culture Approach to a Playoff System

2008-11-29T05:04:42Z

Week nine is now in the books and the discussion in college football turns to one thing and one thing only. It isn't the season reaching the midway point, or the amazing games around the corner, or the ones recently witnessed. Instead, it is dominated by talk of a computer.]]> This computer talk is what fans point to when their complaints begin to spew over the Bowl Championship Series bungle.

Paul "Bear" Bryant is rolling in his grave as the BCS has replaced his famous quote, "Offense sells tickets; Defense wins championships!" with "Computers, strength of schedule and a computer-geek in a corner office decides who gets to play that championship-level defense."

Most experts in the field of college football would ask for a "plus-one" game pitting the winners of the top two bowl games against each other for the national championship. Others would go for the gusto and demand an eight-team playoff with the six major conference winners and two additional at-large teams chosen by the all-knowing computer man.

However, I am a forward thinker and know these "tournaments" will never fly with the BCS or presidents of the universities. So, I am calling for radical changes to determine the national champion. The top eight teams will compete in one of the following as selected by a spin of a huge wheel located at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend:

Option 1 -- American Gladiators Each team will compete as gladiators and contestants in the popular show, American Gladiators. I would love to see top college linemen going after each other in the Joust. Speedy receivers scaling up the Climbing Wall. Tight ends circling the linebackers as they attempt to win at Powerball. And who wouldn't love seeing elite running backs blazing through the Eliminator?

Option 2 -- So You Think You Can Dance I don't know exactly how this would work, but I am sure there would be a period of time where people would have to call in and vote for their favorite team. Whatever three teams had the lowest amount of votes, they would have to do a dance off. Who wouldn't want to see the dance moves of a 350-pound offensive lineman?

Option 3 -- Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? This would be an excellent opportunity to show off our student-athletes. The BCS could bring in fifth graders from the opposing team's city and put them against the star athletes. This would also be a great way to get the community involved.
Option 4 -- Rotating Options This would be a rotating option to add special games to address the ever-changing culture, such as Japanese Game Shows, Checkers, Rock Paper Scissors, etc.

If you are reading this and thinking, "How ridiculous!" please know that I am writing it and thinking the same thing. It is just as ridiculous as not having a playoff system in college football.

I am facing the reality I will not see a championship decided on the field that hasn't first been decided in some computer-nerd's tan cubicle. It saddens me and causes me to look toward March, and the madness of championships being decided by last shots, amazing teamwork and of course, defense.

Fashion, Football and a whole lot of Buckeye

2008-11-25T03:17:50Z

The Buckeyes took the national stage once again last Saturday in hopes of redeeming themselves after horrific beat downs to Florida by 45, and LSU by 38 in the two previous BCS National Championship Games. Yet, Ohio State proved once again their incredible knack for embarrassing themselves on the national stage by being run out of the L.A Coliseum by the #1 ranked Trojans of USC. The only thing more embarrassing than the effort put out by the Bucks is the blatant disregard of fashion taste by the Buckeye fans.

With so many violations witnessed, I will only highlight some of the most egregious fashion faux pas.

]]> Multiple fans from Ohio State were sporting buckeye jeans, scarves, hats, t-shirts, underwear, socks, shoes, crocs, and jerseys--most were camouflaged and complete with various stains from the gutting of their latest deer. The problem is not the overuse of clothing that ultimately says the same thing "I am a Buckeye fan", but the fact that most of them haven't changed clothes since their last National Championship in 2002.

Another fashion gaffe spotted during the tailgating festivities was the Buckeye necklace. This one, at first, might not seem to be a clear-cut violation, but I believe it is socially understood that wearing a string of nuts around your neck is not a wise fashion statement.

As I passed multiple throwback USC jerseys sporting names like Allen, Polamalu, Palmer, Bush and Leinart, I struggled to see the same mystique associated with the Anthony Gonzalez, Mike Nugent and Kirk Herbstreit throwbacks that were so prevalent from the Buckeye fans. If that wasn't enough to upset the fan-fashion gods, the numerous 350-pound women wearing jerseys of kickers, wide receivers and quarterbacks certainly did the trick. It is a widely held view that if you weigh twice as much as the original athlete, you must choose the jersey of an offensive or defensive lineman.

The worse fashion blunder of the weekend was seen on the leprechaun roaming the sidelines for the Buckeyes, none other than Coach Tressel. A sign from a USC fan summed it up best; "While you were out Coach Tressel, the 80's called and they want their sweater vest back!" Although Tressel has single-handedly brought back the grey and crimson sweater vest, my only word of warning to the coach is to steer clear of postgame statements such as "Now we just need to roll up our sleeves and get back to work."

With a plethora of fashion bungles and clear violations to fashion common sense, the OSU fans are imitating their football team by embarrassing themselves under the national spotlight. It could be time to expand the wardrobe, toss the nuts in your purse, pick an appropriate jersey, put the sweater vest back in the drawer and maybe even call in fashion and culture experts Ted, Carson, Kyan, Thom and Jai. I can see it now, beginning this fall a new show called, "Queer Eye for the Buckeye".

Pac-10 is Awful ... And I Blame it on Pete!

2008-11-10T19:33:12Z

John Adams has never won an award for his writing, but he is a former collegiate athlete for a small college where everyone makes the team. Currently, he is a grad student at the University of Southern California studying the archaic form called, Print Journalism. John points to Flutie's Hail Mary as the birth of his love for college football, and Lloyd Carr's tenure at Michigan as the beginning of his love of strong drink.

Even if the Trojans of Southern California went undefeated this football season and survived the mighty Beavers of Oregon State, they still should not be in the National Championship game because the anemic Pac-10 conference. BUT before you cast stones at the BCS (okay, cast away at that ridiculous system) or the Pac-10, realize the blame lies solely on the shoulders of Pete Carroll for why the conference has deteriorated.

]]> Yes, I believe the reason the Huskies of Washington resemble a beaten Chihuahua is because Carroll; not Tyrone Willingham. The reason UCLA's offense is as potent as a placebo is due to the coach on the "rougher" side of town; but don't fret Bruin fans, Rick Neuheisel will pay, strip-in, bring in the top recruits when he begins his recruiting scheme.

The only two programs where Carroll is not at fault are the Bears of Cal-Berkeley and the Cardinals of Stanford. Berkeley's problem stem from the fact they have students living in trees; for god sake, just knock down the trees and put up some additional dorms! Stanford's issues, on the other hand, deal with admission requirements for the school. The Cardinals recruiting materials boast, "You don't have to be a Rocket Scientist to play football; unless you play for us!"

However, the rest of the conference can blame Carroll, and all the coaches being fired in the Pac-10 should band together and bring a lawsuit against him for the monopoly he has created.

Carroll's monopoly is built around a recruiting scheme that reeks of brilliance. The first step is to recruit heavily in his area, and thankfully, he is in the talent-rich pool of Los Angeles. This plan would not work well if he was banished to Pullman, Washington or worse, Corvallis, Oregon. Unfortunately for the powder-blue younger brother, they are located in the heart of Carroll-country and their only hope is to get the leftovers off the Trojan's table, unless "Slick Rick" does his magic.

If Carroll recruited only local guys, the playing field at the Coliseum would be level, but the greedy coach targets the 15 top recruits in the country and lures many to Southern California, with its nice weather and beautiful women. What 18-year-old high school athlete could resist that temptation?

With the best-of-the-best donning the crimson and gold, the Pac-10 is left crowning the champion before the first snap of the season. The Pac-10 becomes the battle for second, and it is awfully hard to recruit upper echelon players to fight that battle. Top recruits, not pursued by the Trojans, will head to the SEC or Big 12 where competition is fierce and always open. Unlike the Pac-10, these conferences give everyone a chance to win and claim a piece of the National Championship prize.

For the sake of the Pac-10, Coach Carroll and the Trojans might need to emulate the efforts of the leprechaun, Jim Tressel and his Ohio State Buckeyes. For the good of the Big-10, the Buckeyes are allowing Penn State and Michigan State to fight for first; giving the appearance the conference is wide open and able to be won by anyone. This Buckeye failure will give a hint of validity to the remaining Big-10 coaches as they woo recruits with their "The conference is wide open and you could be the missing piece that helps us win the whole thing!" spiel.

For this year as fate would have it, the weakness of the Pac-10 due to Carroll's monopoly on recruits and titles is going to bite him in the ass and cost the Trojans a chance to play for another National Championship. Hey, maybe this BCS system isn't so bad!

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Is the Tailgate Party an Environment for Everyone?

2008-10-09T18:18:51Z

When you think, "tailgate" what do you think? My thought is a drunken party with beer bongs, the smell of barbeque, loud and obnoxious fans (drunk, of course), and the occasional "boobie-flash" (maybe that is just the perverse hope in most guys).

]]> Imagine my surprise when at the USC tailgate Party, I saw a diversity of cultures and generations. The common thread that brought everyone together was a football game, but more important, a desire to relax and have fun. Here is a glimpse of the Tailgate Party.