An idea to borrow from ... soccer?
Posted: Friday, May 16, 2008 12:53 AM
To suggest that football here in the United States could learn a thing or two from the “football” in Europe would be fighting words to most.
But, they’re on to something over there across the Atlantic, where the sport we know as “soccer” is king.
On Wednesday, the UEFA Champions League final will be contested by Manchester United and Chelsea at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Those two teams outlasted the rest of Europe’s elite football clubs that qualified to participate in the continent’s most prestigious competition.
Established in 1955 and previously called the “European Cup,” the Champions League regularly provides the matchups that fans want to see … Arsenal vs. Milan … Liverpool vs. Internazionale … Roma vs. Real Madrid … Celtic vs. Barcelona. It’s the best clubs from all the different national leagues in Europe squaring off against each other in special evening matches played during their “regular seasons.”
This competition, which doesn’t interfere with or directly influence league play, also settles the score regarding the constant debate over which nation’s league is supreme. This year’s dispute was put to rest early, following the quarterfinals as three teams from England’s Premier League -- Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool -- made it through to the semifinals (along with Barcelona from Spain’s La Liga).
To put this into a context perhaps better understood by football fans on this side of the pond, the Premier League is the Southeastern Conference (and La Liga is the Pac-10). Except here’s the difference … the Premier League proved its case without a doubt.
In college football, we’re left to wonder, when not arguing.
The point here is not about establishing an extensive tournament, but rather creating a system by which elite teams qualify for and are honored by inclusion into a set of special games that pit the best of the best against one another.
Truly what we need in college football is more “big” intersectional matchups during the regular season and more concrete results to make better judgments and settle disputes.
Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Carles Puyol might not mean a thing to you, but it’s like Pat White vs. James Laurinaitis. And Arsene Wenger vs. Frank Rijkaard is similar to Les Miles vs. Pete Carroll.
Wouldn’t that be fun?
Since the BCS already has basically separated the Football Bowl Subdivision conferences into two distinct divisions, why not take a further step and use the previous year’s results to determine the two top teams from each of the chosen conferences (SEC, Pac-10, Big 12, Big Ten, ACC and Big East) and award them the pleasure of participating in a special pair of “Champions League” games.
Each of the 12 teams would play one “Champions League” game at home and one on the road. The pairings would be determined during a televised “draw,” like the do over in Europe. Can you imagine the TV ratings for such an event? Not to mention the huge numbers generated by the actual matchups.
Of course, each team would be prohibited from drawing the other school from its conference and it would have to make room by dropping a couple non-conference foes from its schedule.
Don’t worry. You wouldn’t be potentially losing USC-Notre Dame or Florida-Florida State. There would still be room on the slate for those types of games. But you would have to do without Oklahoma-Chattanooga or Virginia Tech-Furman.
And then, the Mocs and Paladins would have to figure out a date to get together to fill their sudden voids in the schedule. It’s all for a good cause and, of course, all the teams shoved off a heavy-hitters’ schedule would get a hefty payday (even larger than the one they were already set to receive for being an early-season sacrifice).
Ohio State gets a big thumbs-up for playing at USC on Sept. 13, but wouldn’t it be much more compelling if the rest of its non-conference schedule didn’t include Ohio, Youngstown State and Troy?
And imagine if the 2007 Buckeyes had to play … say … at Boston College and hosted West Virginia at the Horseshoe? Do you think Jim Tressel’s crew would have made it to their second consecutive BCS title game? Perhaps. And if so, maybe they would have proved to be more able.
Last season certainly proved that you don’t have to do go 12-0 to conclude your campaign in a BCS game. More than ever, winning your conference is still the main ingredient. So coaches shouldn’t fear formidable non-conference foes as they once did. Why not shoot for the stars? Even if you miss, you’re likely to still end up in their vicinity.
The odds are squarely against a college football “Champions League” ever being established, but it’s something to ponder … at least this week.
We’ve got to find a way to have more Georgia-Arizona State (Sept. 20) matchups and less Sam Houston State-Kansas.
Perhaps the only way is to force it and make it an honor and a privilege (and, of course, hugely profitable) to compete against the best, which is something that should be logical in the first place.
