Confusion is Status Quo

When I first moved to Europe in 1990, there were already 19 bowl games, national championships were sometimes imaginary and there was talk of the need for a play-off system to sort everything out.

This year, there are 32 Bowl games I could count, the BCS still is less-than-perfect and there is talk of the need for a play-off system to sort everything out.

At least in the old days, some things could be counted on. The Big Ten had 10 teams and its champion traditionally got a trip to the West Coast so they could be humiliated by a lower-rated team from the Pac Ten in the Rose Bowl. A MAC team would play a WAC team for bragging rights of the mid-level conferences. Alabama -vs- Auburn and Nebraska -vs- Oklahoma were season finales and Michigan -vs- Ohio State would be called "The Game" and would determine the Big Ten title and maybe have implications for the national championship.

Well, at least one thing stayed the same.

Thanks to the Internet and North American Sports Network, I no longer have to count on the Monday edition of USA Today to get my sports news from back home and suddenly I feel like I know things again, although still not with the intimacy of the fan back home.

Nonetheless, I'm going to try and offer my own take of things based on what I do see and hope that other overseas fans like me will enjoy and chip in when they've got something to say. Let's get this show on the road...