December 6, 2008
Sick of Las Vegas
Written by: David
I know I am not the only one that is sick of BYU playing in Vegas, and I know that it won’t be official until tomorrow, but we all know what is going to happen. Honestly, I could probably live with it if the Pac-10 could send a decent team, but no, we will either be stuck with a 6-6 Arizona St, or what appears to be the case, a weak Arizona at 7-5.
I realize that the game will sell out thanks to BYU, but don’t they want a compelling game at least? Apparently not as they have let Cal, the number 4 Pac-10 team get away because another bowl wanted a local team. So we get stuck with a crap team instead of a decent matchup.
How can the MWC allow their teams to get screwed out of decent competition? The Bowl is only concerend about money, but the conference should be concerned about showcasing their teams, and playing a team that is barely bowl eligible, even if they are from a BCS conference, does nothing for gaining credibilty.
We had a good year for the most part, and it will likely end with a win over a third Pac-10 team, but what good is it to bust your butts all year to end up with little to no national respect. If the Mountain West wants to be taken more seriously they need to get in some better bowl contracts where the competition will be better, and the teams will have something more to play for. Until that happens, they will continue to be looked down upon, and be forced to play inferior opponents.
The bowls and the conferences are two different entities. The bowl committee’s sole priority is money.
I really think that what the LV bowl is terrible. They should have TCU playing Cal.
Attendance aside, Las Vegas is not a good match for BYU from a cultural perspective. Is it really sending out the message we want when Bronco is in pictures surrounded by dancers? Why not decline the invite and go to New Mexico? That would be the morally correct thing to do anyway.
The Las Vegas Bowl is a bad bowl, and always will be. It is locked into a bad timeslot and a bad stadium. It can never be a fit destination for the MWC champ.
What we should have done is twenty years ago got up off our lazy butts and started a “Ski Bowl” in Utah, or a
“Cure for Cancer” bowl, or some other corny-named bowl. If Bosie can do it, we sure can. Unfortunately, now the NCAA is not sanctioning more bowl games, and thus the recent proposal was rejected. That’s what we get for terrible, terrible long-range leadership at the top.
Go Cougs!!!!!!!!!
BYU vs. Arizona in Vegas is now official: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/2008-12-07-1056716604_x.htm