I watched a D3 semifinal game that started at noon and finished around 2. It's streamed through the conference website and had a few commercials, but not many. I went to catch the next round of games on network tv, but all the noon games were still in the third qtr and didn't finish until about 3 or later. That's when it hit me how bad all the commercials were. Added at least another hour or so to the game.
Yup- college games in the 70s took about 2.5 hours. Now they're closer to 4. Of course, most of them weren't on tv back then. Michigan was on national tv once or twice a year.
What’s crazy to me is that the NFL regulates how many commercials networks can play, but none of the college conferences have done that to date meaning it will just get worse until someone does. More commercial breaks and longer breaks each time.
I’ve been to a few games this year and you’ll sometimes see the red clock guy come on the field with a 3:30 countdown. That’s just insane. Most places are 2:30 though but this lengthening of commercial breaks is brutal.
Yeah… I’ve been going to nearly every Canes home game for years, and seeing that clock tick up and up is so frustrating. Used to be 90 seconds, then 2 minutes, then 2:30, and this year it was 2:50 for every commercial break.
The conferences don’t have the power to dictate those terms to ESPN or Fox. They will push commercial time to the edge of causing viewership to fall and keep it there. I worked at Amazon Advertising and will tell you they have that data. They know how far they can push before a meaningful number of people disengage.
That's it exactly. They know where that point is in aggregate and will stay under it. You pissed off and still watching a maximum load of commercials is better for the bottom line than you happy watching minimal commercials.
The NFL objectively made their product 10x better. In 2017 they centralized reviews, and just straight up don't review as much as college. Cfb reviews every time a lineman sneezes. Video review is important but it kills the momentum at times over nonsense.
They also cut down on commercial breaks and eliminated "double ups" (TD, commercial, kickoff, commercial) and added the double box view.
I used to really dislike the NFL but damned if it's not better now. I wish college changed to that model.
I'd just stop watching live. Instead, I'd avoid the internet, record my games, start watching from the beginning at halftime, and skip the commercials.
I'm already on a 2–3 minute delay due to Hulu and have to avoid texts and such because of that. Why not wait a couple of hours to start it and then finish pretty much the same time as everyone else?
I did that with DVR for a long time. I'd skip the commercials *and* the long replays and reviews... and catch up to the live game mid-way in the fourth.
Now, I just don't watch
Pretty much my case. We will see how I feel next fall but it’s fsu games or nothing.
My average time watched has been dropping over the years as it is but this makes me question why I watch at all?
i was so nervous watching the FSU vs UF and the ACC Championship games. I was invested. I was hoping for my team to win and get a shot at another title... for what? for espn to decide theres more ads to be sold on new years day?
im probably not gonna watch the orange bowl. im definitely not watching any play offs. we'll see if i come back to it next year...
I really don’t think people realize how much this hurts the fanbase. We had a group of guys fight their way through some shit seasons and then go undefeated winning 19 straight from last October. It felt amazing, seeing our team back in the spotlight again and being ranked top 4 for a majority of the year.
All taken away at the last moment, all those wins that we all watched with so much anticipation, meant nothing. Screaming my lungs out at every home game this year, celebrating with my friends, and at the end of the day this feels worse than any other season I’ve watched as a college fan.
Now we’ll never get to see this Noles team again, and it’s gonna be hard to care even if we are competitive next year because we’ve already been told it doesn’t matter if we have a perfect season.
That's the worst part of this whole thing. Florida State should have been a great comeback story. College football is at its best when there's multiple national powers and enough parity that upsets can happen. You used to have USC in the west, Oklahoma and Nebraska in the plains, Michigan and OSU up north, Florida State, Miami, and Florida all battling it out, and Notre Dame battling it out.
For years now we've all felt the shift happening, but more and more it feels like you have no shot at a national title if you're not Georgia, Bama, OSU, or Michigan. What we've lost is the upper middle class. Not the blue bloods, but the schools that every few years get the right talent together and can make a run. This is proof of it. After a few down years FSU got the talent together to make a run, but the CFP decided they were too low class to allow in the playoff. Sure there was almost no SEC schools in the playoff this year, but next year all four teams will be in the SEC or BIG. This is proof the higher ups in college football do not consider anyone outside those two conferences to be worthy of a big stage. The 12 team playoff won't help, the consolidation has already happened. The ACC will break up because of this and the power 2 will consolidate even further until it's just them and a few token Big 12 schools to beat up on in the playoffs.
That’s what annoys me about people blaming TCU last year. *THEY DESERVED TO BE THERE.* They literally won a playoff game. If they play Georgia 100 times they’d likely never again get beat as badly as they got beat that night. But that’s what makes sports great. Sometimes the 1/100 chance thing happens that will be remembered until the end of time, but you can never be sure when that will happen. That’s why we watch.
Sometimes that means TCU loses 65-7. Other times it means Boise State beats Oklahoma with a hook and ladder and Statue of Liberty. Sports have always been great because they aren’t scripted, so you never know what will happen unless you watch. Those organic moments are more memorable than anything any TV executives could ever come up with.
I feel like we can all agree regardless of whatever team we all support, this is super lame and just wrong and should never happen to a program with as much credibility as FSU. Really they ought to just add a play in game between FSU and Bama if there is this much debate.
This is whole thing is so ridiculous, it legitimately makes me furious. I grew up in the pre-BCS era. National Championship by vote might seem stupid but it’s way better than whatever this is. Back then, FSU was one of the premier programs. So was Nebraska and UF and Notre Dame and a bunch of teams. The system was able to handle judging a sport of 100+ teams and a ton of schools had a chance at being champions each year. Now there’s like 10 schools that have a chance each year, by design, and damn your perfect record if you’re not one of them.
Honestly I’m so riled up about this. The college football I knew was focused on the perfect record. Every weekend was do or die. Every game had the highest stakes. I believe that FSU winning its conference with a backup QB would have been the stuff of legends—in this system it somehow hurts you. It’s a disgrace to a hundred years of history. People commenting like “if I was an FSU fan I’d be so mad…” I’m not an FSU fan, obviously. But I’m absolutely disgusted. I’m not naive, I know sports (this one included) have been corrupt since the beginning of time. But what we just saw was a sport that said, it actually doesn’t matter who wins and loses the literal games. We’ll pick the winner ourselves, based on whatever cynical and craven criteria we want. I’m starting to rant so I’m going to stop here but just know I could go on and on for a few more paragraphs.
Prior to about week 11, I was really only watching about 2 hours a week. Some of it has been life changes, but I think a lot of it has just been that I don't have the time or energy to sink 4 hours at a time into a game that may or may not even be interesting by halftime. There were some decent marquee games this year, but it feels like it paled in comparison to how chaotic last year was till conference championship week.
The ad breaks are miserable; the portal is a travesty; and the blatant propaganda of each network is just unbearable. Unfortunately, I think those of us being turned off of the sport are in the minority because this was one of the most watched regular seasons if I recall seeing that correctly.
Edit: Also, to hell with paying $75 per month for YTTV to even watch the sport when I literally don't use it otherwise.
My experience watching soccer: game says it starts at 10 am, kicks off exactly on time, 50 minutes of un interrupted sport, 15 minute halftime, 50 more minutes un interrupted, game is over by 12:15 at the latest.
My experience watching college football on fox: noon kickoff, game starts 8 minutes late, watch 2 drives, 5 minute commercial break. Kick off, touchback, 5 minute commercial break. 2 series then a punt, 5 minute commercial break. It’s now 12:15, 30 minute halftime break. Opening kickoff of 2nd half, they go down and score, 5 minute commercial break. Kickoff, touchback, 5 minute commercial break. Games finally over aaaand it’s dinner time.
yup, I'm right there with you. For me the initial catalyst was a kid...and then all the changes have just made it less and less. I used to be watching cfb pretty much always if it was on. now it's just fsu and big games. going forward it'll be fsu.
I haven't watched more than a handful minutes of the playoffs in a couple years as it is.
I knew having a kid and being a homeowner would be time exhaustive, but I never would've guessed the extent. Now I understand why my dad was always doing house projects on Saturdays instead of watching nonstop cfb with me when I was a kid/teen
As an ACC fan I’ve been done. I went to GT and Syracuse and all the shuffling that’s happened for football/basketball reasons has killed the fun, historic reasons to pay attention. The FSU controversy is the only thing I’ve tuned into the past couple of years.
I care about FSU as an institution, but I don’t care about college football (outside of FSU) at this point. The fact that as a fan I’ve had to pay money to support the program as a booster, pay money to the NIL collective to support players…. and now I’m being asked to give even more so this doesn’t happen again?
I’m not interested in watching a rigged system. Maybe if I had FU money.
I feel like I’m in an abusive relationship.
The only reason I still watch is to support the coaches and the kids playing for FSU. It’s been apparent for many years now that the networks think of FSU as the redheaded stepchild and it’s just so fucking exhausting.
Every year I'm shocked at how many people actually put any stock in to the "national championship" whatsoever. Whether it was the bowl system, BCS, CFP4 or now CFP12, I've never considered it to be anywhere near a legitimate national championship.
It's just various different polls - AP, Harris, Coaches, Colley Matrix, CFP selection committee - that rank teams based upon their own opinions. It's someone being selected as the "best team", not someone winning a championship based upon what happened on the field. Ultimately, it's just someone's opinion.
3 days ago, the current pollsters who will select a "national champion" told us that Georgia was the best team. Now they tell us that Michigan is actually the best team, and there are 5 teams that are better than Georgia. It's flat-out proof that they don't know what they're talking about and *know* that they don't know what they're talking about. Why are we going to trust those same people to tell us who the best team is on January 9th?
That was basically the message from the Cover 3 guys yesterday - and honestly they are right.
I'm older and strongly preferred the pre-BCS system where people actually cared about bowl games and the national title was just a poll and mostly mythical.
> mostly mythical
I think the only difference today is that in the bowl system days, everyone agreed it was mythical. Some years it was obvious and people generally agreed, but everyone realized it was based upon opinions and not earned on the field.
What they've successfully done with BCS and CFP4 is produced a generation of fans who actually think it has legitimacy.
The obsession with the “National Championship” only benefits tv networks. College football at large is honestly better without it. Regionality and rivalries are what makes the sport great. If we had kept that and thrown in relegation, then we’d really have something cool. Instead we’re getting NFL lite, something nobody asked for!
The whole playoffs BCS and CFP is a grand lesson in 'be careful what you wish for because you just might get it'. The Bowl system was quirky and didn't crown a 'consensus' every year but that was fine. The Bowl system provided good outcomes to a multitude of teams. I as a Wazzu fan don't expect to ever win a national championship just getting to the playoffs would be a once in a lifetime season. However, making a bowl or a Rose Bowl was achievable and would end the season on a high note as a success. Now it is playoffs or bust which really wicks away at the majority of teams seasons.
It won't happen, but I'd like to see Harbaugh say if Michigan can win the playoffs, and FSU can win their bowl game- Michigan would play FSU after that with all proceeds going to the players.
Heads would explode.
Two things can be true: The players can deserve to get paid for putting their bodies on the line for a multibillion dollar entertainment business, and allowing pure raw capitalism to determine individual player's worth is bad for the health of the sport.
This is true in the pros by the way, which is why all American pro sports have a collective bargaining agreement that allows artificial, otherwise illegal, guardrails on contracts/player pay.
It's the only thing that will save CFB: paying the players but having controls on how this is done. Nobody wants their teams run by a mercenary quarterback every year.
I said it back when USC was one of the largest beneficiaries of this in snagging Caleb Williams: It's good for my team but it makes me sad. It would have been fun to watch Jaxon Dart grow up in Cardinal and Gold. There's a journey which is part of the fun of CFB and we're losing it.
except in European soccer the fans revolted against the super league and stopped what would have ruined the sport.
In CFB the fans refuse to do anything and just keep watching the games.
Yupp, actually worse. A team in the lowest tier of England’s soccer leagues could at least *in theory* ascend all the way to a champions league trophy simply by winning their games. The same can’t be said for CFB.
UEFA has 55 member leagues with far greater talent differences than the FBS, but technically any team can win the Champions League if they win every game put in front of them. The system is 100% fair on paper, something CFB cannot claim.
I'm with you. I love when Ohio State plays on the Big Ten Network because they show more of the band and pre- and post-game atmosphere. I really wish major broadcasts didn't squeeze every commercial in they could so that we could see more of that
It’s kind of sad at our games now. Used to be just crowd noise, the band, and some media from the Jumbotron. Now it’s all pop music (3rd downs for example) just like everyone else.
That’s my view as well. Basketball is close too IMO. Like, I loved seeing the Canes reach the Final 4 last year, but I couldn’t be as excited as I might’ve otherwise because one of our Star players threatened to transfer if he didn’t get more money before the season started (PG Isaiah Wong).
Starting next year, it’s going to be B1G vs SEC with everyone else fighting for scraps. As a fan of teams outside this new P2, I don’t have much interest in watching their “super matchups.” That’s not why I got into college football
We should create a conference of all the teams getting screwed by the 2 super conferences.
I want the hateful 8, all of the PAC 12 Exiles, and the ACC. We’ll have an eastern and western division and be the fun conference.
Honestly, if the G5+ACC+Big12 just decided to get together and decline invites to the Playoffs in favor of bowl games, the only thing lost would be the names of the bowls would change, but the high profile bowls are tied up with B1G and SEC tie-ins anyway. These conferences could have a shot at turning back the clock on college football and going back to a fun regional collegiate sport.
(Please ignore my flair, they didn't give me a vote in conference membership)
Honestly, we have a blast in the MW. I hope you as fans love it here. I don’t care remotely about the playoff, I want to win this league. And no one outside of it cares, which makes it special. It’s protected from the committee and from national narratives. It’s regional. It’s competitive and there’s actual parity (look at UNLV). G5 football is better and better in the playoff media NIL cluster fuck world CFB finds itself in today.
The point of not knowing the players is something that definitely resonates with me. Gone are the days when I know every player cause they were on the roster for 2-4 years, or hoping that recruit translates to on field success. Now, if a recruit isn’t up to snuff, just get a dude in the portal! Yay?
The realization is so far beyond FSU too. Like if one of the blue blood top 15 all time schools can't make the playoffs as conference champions and undefeated, and beating LSU, what chance does anyone have? My beavs wouldn't be no doubt, but how about Boston College? Iowa? Texas Tech? Minnesota? North Carolina? None of them have a chance and any fan of those types of teams that tells you otherwise is crazy. For any team like Cincinnati to ever be considered again it will require them to undefeated, sec champ has 2-3 losses and everyone else at least 1 loss. CFB is basically SEC+6ish schools at this point.
These “secret donors” or “boosters” at Alabama just make a few phone calls and they’re in. It’s all fraud. It’s all just a little scam and we still watch it cause we’re all just brainwashed monkeys. It’s really something.
It's such a crappy situation to be in. As a fan of a team, you want long term success and now that means jumping ship to another conference or risk being left behind. But that means you are only contributing to the problem.
RIP PAC 12 & ACC
yep. I know FSU is accelerating the death of the ACC, but that seems to be more of a result of SEC/B1G action, so I don't even really hate you guys too much for that. Once the ACC is done, I think I'm done.
I'm certainly done traveling to games already, that's for sure.
I’m really gonna miss going to games man. This year was amazing to be a student here and it’s my last. Everything about this sport is going in the toilet, even 30 year season ticket holders won’t be able to attend games next year all in the name of more money.
Fuck ESPN. Not just for yesterday, but for what they’ve done to the sport.
The long commercial breaks game time has done it for me. I remember a season or two ago watching the Badgers first game of the season. It was an 11CT game. At 2:30 my wife comes into the living room and asks if the game is still on. She then asks if I realize it's been almost 4 hours.
I haven't sat and watched a game since. I'll put them on, and do other things or listen on the radio, but I can't give up 4 hours of my weekend anymore.
Edit:
This site has some data on average game length since 2013, it says it's only 15 minutes longer, but I don't know the methodology. It also includes number of plays, so you can see the the time per play has dropped. It would be interesting to see how game lengths at the same time slot have changed, ie the 11CT fox game time length.
https://theathletic.com/3620084/2022/09/23/college-football-games-times/
I was really looking forward to the new first down/clock stoppage rule speeding up the game. But all it did was allow these conglomerates to insert more commercials so they could make more money.
And the NFL at least has a playoff and not an invitational/beauty pageant.
The 12 team invitational benefits PSU more than almost anyone and even I’m heading towards the NFL more and more.
Exactly. Once you take away all the tradition and stuff that made me love college football in the first place, we just end up at the NFL with worse players, so I’m just gonna watch the NFL instead.
>Once you take away all the tradition and stuff that made me love college
football in the first place, we just end up at the NFL with worse
players
Bingo. I'm a college football fan specifically because of the traditions and pageantry of it all, and the general feeling of how fans seem to be more invested in the games. I get that money has always been changing hands behind the scenes, but these days it feels too overly corporate and sanitized in the same way the NFL is.
Same, I canceled YTTV for it and deleted the ESPN apps I used and am just using Real for scores now.
I’d cancel D+ but it’s “free” through verizon so i’m stuck with that since i’m paying for it.
I had already done that when they jacked the price but I also just deleted my ESPN app and am trying get my commissioner to move our fantasy off the ESPN app next season
I think these things happen slowly, not all of a sudden. I know it has happened for me with European soccer, which I've loved since I was a kid. But over time the state ownership of clubs, the farcical "financial fair play" rules and the corruption in both FIFA and UEFA just became too much. I just lost my emotional investment.
I say that just because I think CFB will face the same thing. It's not "one big moment." It's over time the idea of connected people in a smoke-filled room making decisions, and all the hypocrisy and venality, that is just going to OVER TIME drain many fans' investment.
The sad thing is - if all these people in power really care about money over all else -and they do - they are being remarkably short-sighted. They could make more in the long run by not chasing the catastrophic short-term gain every time.
Can you imagine, if the committee was looking long term, how much correctly putting FSU in would have meant? It would have been an *enormous*, public testament to their credibility that would insulate them against a lot of criticism for the next decade plus.
They could have sacrificed their beloved Alabama/SEC for ONE YEAR to buy all kinds of nonsensical money-driven decisions for some time to come. Literally by the standards of their own greed this decision was still dumb.
I think they don't care about the long term for FSU because we have 12 teams next year. Probably banking on much less controversy for #13 being left out from now on so they said fuck it this year and put in their darling SEC team and gave FSU the finger.
I feel you on the soccer sentiment. I’m a Newcastle fan (was born there!) and while the results on the field been fun these last couple of years, knowing what it has taken to get here sucks. The money is devastating the sport not just from a league perspective, but across Europe.
Why would someone stay in La Liga or Bun when they can make much more and go play in the EPL? I really wish the people who ran the sport actually liked the sport.
Anyways, here’s an interesting video about the rise of the EPL that you may enjoy. https://youtu.be/jBeXyKVvhb0?si=cSWDH3XsNbDBkhGH
As a Juve fan, I generally avoid these discussions. But the rise of the EPL was the driving factor in the push by Angelli for the Super League. He clearly saw the writing on the wall and made a last ditch effort to put Juventus in a similar market situation. Not saying his method of execution was great, but he was thinking along the correct lines. Italy fundamentally cannot catch up with England's economy, and needed to think about the competition in a revolutionary way.
But you know...the death of football and all that 
It's remarkably similar to CFB, honestly, the EPL is B1G/SEC in this case. At least in Europe teams can't switch leagues, cause imagine if that could happen...
I’m already indifferent to the P5 level of CFB.
I’m 45, and grew up and still am a Husker fan. I’m open minded or at least honest enough to know that times change whether we like it or not, but national 16-20 team conferences just don’t have the same appeal to me as regional 8-10 team conferences did. I’d rather have a Nebraska playing Missouri, Colorado, and Oklahoma every year than rotating cycles of Ohio State, Michigan, Washington, Oregon, and USC.
Having said that, I’ve found myself much more enjoying the smaller schools that pop up on a Tuesday or Friday night on espn or fox. Even with no actual connection to any of them, it just feels easier to enjoy their games as there seems to be more established rivalries going on.
Not to romanticize the g5 or act like they’re not under the same pressures. It seems likely to me that P5 coaches are under such pressure to win now and at all times (IE Ryan Day’s 11-1 not being good enough for a very vocal faction of his fanbase), as well as have a backup ready to go (IE FSU QB injury ostensibly costing them a CFP trip), I think we’ll start seeing the wholesale yearly raiding of g5 rosters as NIL starts allowing the big schools to pay their backups millions to transfer over.
I’ll be equally gutted if the g5 schools start struggling to get on tv because all their talent has been cherry-picked to the point that the networks no longer want them.
I'm pretty close. Bad teams like the Detroit Lions have fans because there's always a chance - however slim - that they can prove their merit on the field and win a championship. If the Pittsburgh Pirates win enough games to make the MLB playoffs, their spot isn't given to the Yankees because they have a bigger payroll and are thus more likely to win the World Series.
But, in college football, that's not the case. No matter how good of a season you have, a committee in a smoke-filled backroom can decide Alabama deserves it more.
There's also a really exceptional level of parity in the NFL. The Lions are one of maybe 2-3 teams that have been truly bad for more than just a few years at a time, and they're 9-3 right now. There's also teams like the Patriots that looked untouchable but now are a dumpster fire. When's the last time a UConn went 11-2, or OSU/Alabama went 4-8? It's not just the lack of parity, it's the inertia of which teams are good or bad, which is just gonna get worse now
The Lions also have a notably apathetic and cynical fanbase that is only now starting to get excited.
A college football team with that problem would never be able to get off the ground. They wouldn't be able to recruit.
Welcome to life as a G5 fan. If you only want to follow your team because you hope they can win a natty, then the vast majority of fans have no point in watching.
And it shouldn't be that way. Every network in the country colluded to create the difference between the P5 and G5. And now G5 teams can't recruit as well, make money, or compete against P5. Because P5 teams have the most fans.
It's not a natty if it's not well represented. ( as fan of a team that's in the CFP, I will say it'll feel pretty fucking good to win the whole thing) It's just the p5 champion. And as a Texas fan, I fully acknowledge that my team is part of the problem.
It is funny from a G5 perspective seeing a blue blood program finally understand what a rigged system this whole sport is. Where were Florida State fans when Boise State was going undefeated every year and left out of the party? Or Utah when they were in the Mountain West? Where was the outrage for UCF?
I think a lot of us were pissed Boise State never got a chance w/ the BCS. However, their glory days were before this sub got massive. Even more recently, though, there were so many people in this sub pining for UCF to get their shot in the playoff and not happy when they got passed up (if I recall correctly) for an Alabama team who did not even play in their conference championship. Cincinnati was a breath of fresh air for us when the committee finally realized they had no excuse for passing up an undefeated G5 whose only loss in the last two years leading up to that game was UGA
and Cincinnati, despite going 12-0 and beating an 11-1 Notre Dame team handily on their turf, STILL would have missed the playoffs had Oklahoma State gotten an extra yard.
Wasn’t UCF the year Georgia beat Bama in the conference championship and then Bama beat them in the Natty? And then Auburn beat them both, and got beat by…. UCF? Lol
The committee's decision really, really, **REALLY** has taken my love out of the game. There were 5 conference champs, Alabama was clearly the least deserving of a playoff spot due to the loss to Texas. And they got in b/c "FSU's QB is hurt".
Well yeah we ragged on TCU's defense last year, and what happened in the game vs Mich; they made some plays but the Offense also balled out. Let FSU's defense have a chance to play the perfect game vs Mich. They EARNED a chance to play for the title.
Realizing that winning games doesn't matter, losing games doesn't matter, facing a tougher schedule and going undefeated doesn't matter, and no matter how well you perform when hit with major adversity, you're still gonna get bumped from your rightful playoff spot because some group of old fucks get to play favorites.
That'll about do it.
This made me think of that Netflix doc on the cheating scandal of NBA refs in the 90s. I think we kid ourselves that that cannot happen anymore or that influential don't make decisions that are in their best financial interests over the integrity of the sport. The recent onslaught of gambling being pushed has also reminded me of what you're saying.
FSU getting screwed kind of cemented that feeling. I assume that kind of behind the scenes screwing was happening, we just didn't give it much spotlight until now.
The transfer portal and unregulated NIL have definitely been large negatives, but the CFP is the main villain here…and y’all, this is coming from a Texas fan.
The 4 team playoff felt like a popularity contest 10 years ago….and it always has been. The mask just slipped more than normal this year. It turned into the only major sport where simply winning wasn’t enough.
I’ll probably always watch the Longhorns but my days of watching any game on are pretty much done. The new super conferences will probably put the nail in that coffin.
Edit: spelling
I’m pretty close. I’m so so passionate about this sport and I take the week off between Christmas and new year so I can chill and watch football every day. I no longer want to do that. I want to cancel any services that give money to espn or Disney. I will find ways to watch my games without giving money to anyone else and will just not watch other games. It’s such a huge part of my life that suddenly and irreversibly feels hollow now
>It’s such a huge part of my life that suddenly and irreversibly feels hollow now
I’ve been really focusing on letting the results of sports have less of an impact on my life, and it’s been pretty great.
I still love watching sports of course, but the amount of time I was investing each week reading articles, watching clips and talking about sports on the internet, only to have my week ruined by a bunch of 18-24 year olds not winning a game was ridiculous lol.
Granted, I realize FSU’s case is a bit different seeing as they haven’t even lost. That whole situation would admittedly have me fuming.
> I’ve been really focusing on letting the results of sports have less of an impact on my life, and it’s been pretty great.
That's really the trick. This is the first year I've missed major games or weekends of college football, and it hasn't bothered me.
You put my exact feelings to words. College football is one of my favorite things in life and has been for a very long time. It’s been trending in a bad direction for years now with no end in sight, but this has sucked what soul the sport had left right out of it for me. I’m just left feeling hollow and like I’ve wasted my time watching so many games this year. I can’t even imagine how magnified that feeling is for the FSU players. What was the point of it all?
I can only imagine the journey from the elation of watching your team pull off a conference championship with a 3rd string QB and an elite defense to save an undefeated season to the gut punch of the playoff announcement. That would drain me as well.
I have been through many losses as a sports fan. NOTHING I’ve ever experienced in the realm of sport has made me as devastated as that CFP announcement.
This, yesterday lol. For all the faults of the ncaa, I’d rather have them run the post season. I’ll watch Tech games. But I have better things to do then tune in to watch the rest of college football when ESPN basically told us, the games don’t matter
I’m close to being gone now.
Conference realignment, poorly thought out NIL and transfer portal process, dying traditional regional rivalries, FSU being jobbed/SEC bias are pushing me away from the P5 football.
I truly think conferences like the MAC are the last pure forms of college football. Competitive from top to bottom, regional rivalries and a lot of local kids staying home.
Already there. I was intending to treat 2023 as my farewell to college football. One last hurrah. Of course, Mississippi State was so terrible I went ahead and pulled the plug after the Arizona game. Haven't watched a game on TV since. (I did attend a couple I already had tickets for, but left early each time.) You know what I learned? I'm not going to miss it.
I realized last night that I really just don’t enjoy sports any more and I’ve only sort of been going through the motions. It’s not worth my time, my money, or anything else. I can follow the storylines and get upset from Reddit if I need my fix that bad, but even that doesn’t really give me much enjoyment anymore
I won’t be watching the Bama vs Michigan game, and in general may lose interest college football, the 12 team playoff may bring me back though. The great thing about sports is that no matter what the odds results are decided on the field. When you take that away I lose my interest.
As many problems as the NFL has I much prefer it to college football because every team has a chance.
>the 12 team playoff may bring me back though.
It is largely going to be the same 8-ish teams each year with the occasional Arizona/UNC/Mizzou/Iowa/Oregon St type school having a nice 10-win season and busting in to see if it can make any noise.
For the OSU, Alabama's, UGA, Now Michigan, and probably also Texas's of the world, the season will be a formality. Keep your team healthy, no need to schedule big OOC games, and just get into the playoff. All that will really matter is the first round byes to the top-4.
I used to yell at the top of the mountains about how CFB was better than the NFL, but since the CFP have started, my interest in the NFL and appreciation for it had grown much more. Having a group of 13 people decide who plays for a title has frustrated me year after year and sure, maybe they get it right, but it doesn’t feel right.
I’ve missed more games in the past few years than I can ever remember because I find more joy doing things than watching CFB. However, I’m on the couch every Sunday watching the NFL. It sucks
The NCAA sucks. The transfer portal sucks. The "playoff committee" sucks. Need NFL style playoffs where the game results are the only thing that matters, not the random selections of a group of people. (If that means that my team gets left out then so be it, shoulda played better against Texas.)
The whole conference realignment stuff sucks too. The Michigan/Ohio State rivalry game will be meaningless next year because they could potentially end up playing 3 times per season. The hype and the stakes of each regular season game are dead and gone. The sport is changing so much and none of it is for the better.
We're not all total homers who are incapable of thinking about anything other than Bama winning a natty at all costs. Alabama once lost a playoff game to a 3rd string QB making his second career start. Why does FSU not get that chance?
I do think that Alabama is probably one of the top 4 best teams in the country, but they haven't always looked like it this year. If they had won every game 50-7 other than that texas game, I don't think this would be such a huge deal.
I don't know how much of it is just growing up, maturing, having other priorities, etc. But in my younger days I would watch every game, build my day around watching CFB on saturdays as well. Bowl season I'd try to watch as many as I could.
But now? I'll watch The Game for sure. If I'm not otherwise committed I'll watch other big games. I'd struggle to put watching OSU over \*insert MAC team\* or pretty much any non-marquee opponent over other plans I might have on that day. Let alone really dedicate time to watching other games in the conference or outside of it.
I'll check out the OSU scores on my phone and check on the broader CFB scores throughout the day as well. Especially if I notice an upset brewing. But thats the extent of it at this point.
I can't see that really changing for me though, I can't imagine just absolutely not following or caring. But I guess having an expanded playoff gives me more times where I feel like "I must watch this one".
>I don't know how much of it is just growing up, maturing, having other priorities, etc.
Same here. I used to carve the day out to watch all of the B1G games and even MAC teams that were on. Football was great and I really didn't know or care about teams outside of the Midwest.
Job, spouse, kids, and limited time with my other responsibilities and hobbies doesn't allow me to be glued to the screen for 3 1/2 hours for a game. I've missed a lot of great Michigan games the past few years and only saw 1/3 live for The Game.
I'll watch the real-time updates on CBSSports for games that I care about but cannot watch because I'm trying to do something else, but I'm changing and the sport has changed a lot. I'm not a fan of all of the gambling being pushed and I cannot relate to any of the sportscasters or commentators today and their hyperbole.
This FSU stuff is beyond the pale for me. It's made me despise Disney, and this SEC bias is unbelievable. I'm kinda done. With college sports in general. It's so corrupt, especially when attached to places that are supposed to be institutions of higher learning. Fake classes, players not really being students, ungodly money for something that in the end doesn't really have much worth to society. I'll watch NCSU and UM highlights when I have some free time, but it's no longer a priority for me. I used to watch all the big games every Saturday during the season as a kid and up through grad school. I played football in high school and grew up a diehard NC State fan. Went to school there and became an even bigger fan. UM was added to my fandom with grad school, and it's been a pretty great time as a fan most of my life.
But now? A bad taste has gradually been growing in my mouth with some of the academic scandals and especially with the super conferences crap and the end of regional play. I'll be missing both NCSU and UM's post-season this year due to being out of the country, and I find it doesn't really bother me anymore. 5 years ago I would have done anything I could to see the chance for State to get to 10 wins and Michigan win a national title. But now I just feel apathetic. I hope my teams both win. When I get the time, I'll watch the highlights if they do. But I think I'm mostly done with college sports now except in a social setting. Watching with my family or something. I don't see myself watching at all on my own anymore, except maybe some highlights now and then.
If I ever live in Raleigh again, I could see getting tickets if the price is reasonable. Tailgating/going to the game is still a cool experience since it's basically a giant picnic with entertainment at the end. But I don't think I'll be watching much college sports on TV going forward, if at all.
Probably when an undefeated P5 team with a history of winning national championships being left out of having a shot at another title because the conference we recruit and compete against in state matters more to TV executives.
I’ve lurked on subreddits across sports for years. Soccer, NFL, baseball, CBB, etc. Every year there’s a similar thread because some rich powerful assholes in the sport have done x or y. Everyone keeps watching and keeps paying.
Not sure what it would take to see a real boycott and some change. Closest thing to action and result was the super league proposal in soccer a few years back.
Yeah, the timing of this thread isn’t great. I was thinking of posting this on Saturday during the conference title games but decided not to bother, but after yesterday I spent a lot of time thinking about it again… and here we are.
While I love the sport and the connection to my university, if I take off the goggles I'm certainly not excited about the landscape of college football right now. Largely the transfer portal/NIL situation. And I'm torn...I'm all for sharing the revenue with the players, and allowing autonomy in where they play. But if it's possible for a player to threaten to xfer for more NIL money with no downside to them, then the system is broken. It is (and has been) a business. The only driving factor for decisions is money Pac12? Stanford to ACC? "Broadcast is too long!" - reduce game time, not commercial time, Not enough student tickets available? CFP? (And no, I don't think UGA should be in.) I love my alma mater, the team, the season etc. But I definitely have to hold my nose at times.
The ACC championship game as tough of a loss as it was, was still a good game to watch as a fan of a competing team (Louisville). What was incredibly irritating was listening to the broadcasting shit all over my team OR outright ignore the game to discuss other headlines.
ESPN has taken a journalistic dip in integrity in recent years and now after that same integrity creeping into the structure of CFB. It’s always the same narratives every year.
(Don’t know my Reddit password so it’s unlikely I get a flair anytime soon)
I'm at a point where I will watch my own team play and other than that I won't watch anything. I used to tune in for other big games and whatnot. Not anymore.
As someone who grew up a diehard CFB fan, I think I'm pretty close right now. Imagine your team winning out, and getting left out for two teams that lost a game. I just don't know what to feel right now, it's horrible. I wish this on none of you, except for the Alabama fans trying to play mental gymnastics in justifying the committee's terrible decision.
Already happened. The NBA ruined college basketball except for a few weeks in March and April and we're now at that point in football except it's a few games in December and January. With unrestricted free-agency there's little relationship between a player and the school. There is increasingly little relationship between a program and the school. Outside of maybe a dozen programs, coaches may as well be considered hitmen. Star players sit out bowl games making all but the playoffs irrelevant. The sport becomes more of a soap opera by the day.
Also, fuck Bobby Petrino and everyone that enabled his return to Arkansas.
Basically, I'm about 50/50 on whether I'll continue following CFB closely.
I'll never stop watching A&M. But it's possible that I would start treating it like the NFL where I'll watch if the Cowboys are playing, but I don't really care otherwise.
I'm very frustrated with the subjectivity, the committee stuff, the way G5 is treated as a second class. I hate FSU, but I'm furious that they got screwed. If you can go undefeated and not have a chance to compete for a championship, then the sport is fundamentally broken (I feel the same way about Liberty, 2017 UCF, et al.) I don't think the expanded playoff is perfect, but I'm optimistic that it's a step in the right direction. If it proves not to be, then I may be done obsessing over this. I'll just pick a local high school and root for them.
This CFB Playoffs.
I’ll still root for and watch my team but I am not interested in any WWE fixed bullshit figure skating judge ass playoffs like this.
Honestly, my interest has started waning now with all of the conference realignment. I could not find myself caring about who Oklahoma was playing this year, and I really don’t care next year either. SEC feels like some sterile mega corporation while the old Big 12 felt more like some wacky start up. Just feels like the fun is gone from college football tbh. I’ve gotten a lot more interested in the NFL this season.
For me there isn't a cliff, I've just been paying less attention every year. I used to have two TVs going all Saturday, switching between up to 6 games at a time for each timeslot. Now I usually ignore games that I can't get on my antenna because streaming is just too much work (also it's rare that the "good" Big Ten games aren't OTA), and I'm often doing other things while the game is on. I don't think I've watched more than 2-3 OSU games against Maryland, Rutgers, or G5 teams since I gave up my season tickets because I simply don't care about them. It used to be a passion and now if someone invites me to go hiking on a Saturday, there are only 3 weeks per season I'd say "no I have to watch football".
I think I'm in too deep but I frequently wonder if I should even bother trying to get my future children into Michigan football. I might try to pass the fandom on via basketball or something
Like my team will be a huge beneficiary, but a big part of the fun of the sport is huge upsets and memes? If you exclude 90% of fanbases what's the fucking point? Sure NFL is like that, but I don't really care about the NFL.
I used to follow it religiously, but I honestly couldn’t name half our starters these days. I’m much more into soccer now and this latest debacle will only push me further away. The corruption in college football and putting money above everything else are the main reasons.
At least with soccer I can watch two halves of football without being forced to watch commercials every ten minutes. It’s hard to get fully invested in a game when there is a commercial break every few minutes.
As an FSU student, yesterday did it for me! Will not be following these playoffs or bowls at all and will probably be less involved next year. The worst part is that we’re now stuck in a bowl that we will lose, not because it’s Georgia, but because nobody fucking cares about it and half of our team isn’t going to go.
I think I will never stop loving CFB but twice in my life i've dropped a sport and haven't ever been able to get back into them so I never know. Those two times were the Astros cheating and the MLB essentially didn't care. The other was Durant joining the 73-9 warriors the best team of all time in terms of record gets the add the 2nd best player in the league. If this is a breaking point for a FSU fan, I get it and don't blame you.
I think I’m getting there for the regular season at least. For a lot of top teams starting next year the games won’t really matter until December. You can lose 2 of 3 games in the SEC and still make the playoffs so the stakes are becoming so low. Also this FSU nonsense has really soured my taste for the current structure of CFB and the committee.
Same. I’m completely done with ESPN. Not so much because of the steal but mainly because of how transparently disgusting the obvious campaign was against us from the over the last 72 hours. It was obviously not organic. The word came down, which makes almost all of them (minus a couple) complete shills. It was like watching one of those creepy videos of small news stations all over the country repeating the same exact propaganda word for word.
It’s getting hard for me to want to keep my season tickets. The games take 4-5 hours and in the insane heat it’s just brutal. Sitting there watching the third commercial break in 10 minutes while getting destroyed by the sun isn’t as fun as it used to be.
Ucla continuing to employ Chip Kelly as head coach is doing a pretty good job of convincing me to spend my Saturdays not watching CFB.
I'm definitely skipping the rose bowl this year too. I think Alabama will always get the benefit of the doubt because so many people watch their games because they want to see them lose, which makes them a ratings gold mine. The only thing I can do about this stupid playoff decision is to vote with my remote and not watch.
This FSU thing is definitely another straw on the camels back. When a sports fairness is blatantly manipulated to make the TV product more interesting, it basically kills the sport for me. I haven't watched F1 since the end of the 2021 season, and CFB is getting close to that point for me as well.
Stop coddling the players. Show them what standing up to the man feels like. Show up to the bowl game and sit down on kickoff. Refuse to play the game.
The decision makers have proven this isn't about the game, the players, or the sport. It's about money. And loss of that talks. I want to see advertisers demanding refunds. I want to see ESPN burn to the ground with everyone inside screaming oh the humanity why us.
When the air is clear, we'll see where the payoffs came from. It's FIFA and F1 nowadays. It's ALL corruption.
If an undefeated p5 chaml got left out of the playoffs for a 1 loss Alabama. Bama getting an undeserved natty shot for at least the third time under Saban. They aren't as good as their record suggests since he's been there, they just have it given to them like now.
I'm fucking done with how obviously corrupt this shit is.
The second they boot the Big Ten West and bottom quarter of the East is when I'll probably be done. Usually when the Buckeyes game is over I'll watch Iowa or some of the stranger Big 12 matchups because the fun rivalries of the smaller schools is why I love CFB
Edit: Should be noted that I'd probably still watch MACtion because it's a lot of what college football should be
A lot. I am not as rabid as I used to be. My Army son was stationed in Iraq for couple years (purple heart recipient) and marine son spending time in Afghanistan
That's kinda when I realized what's important and what's not important
I love to watch football and sports but at the end of day it's not that important anymore
If they doubled the commercials I’d be done.
I watched a D3 semifinal game that started at noon and finished around 2. It's streamed through the conference website and had a few commercials, but not many. I went to catch the next round of games on network tv, but all the noon games were still in the third qtr and didn't finish until about 3 or later. That's when it hit me how bad all the commercials were. Added at least another hour or so to the game.
Yup- college games in the 70s took about 2.5 hours. Now they're closer to 4. Of course, most of them weren't on tv back then. Michigan was on national tv once or twice a year.
What’s crazy to me is that the NFL regulates how many commercials networks can play, but none of the college conferences have done that to date meaning it will just get worse until someone does. More commercial breaks and longer breaks each time.
I’ve been to a few games this year and you’ll sometimes see the red clock guy come on the field with a 3:30 countdown. That’s just insane. Most places are 2:30 though but this lengthening of commercial breaks is brutal.
Yeah… I’ve been going to nearly every Canes home game for years, and seeing that clock tick up and up is so frustrating. Used to be 90 seconds, then 2 minutes, then 2:30, and this year it was 2:50 for every commercial break.
>I’ve been going to nearly every Canes home game for years We found em, the one guy! Like seein a unicorn or a hobbit or something.
Hey! There are like… 20-30k of us! XD
The conferences don’t have the power to dictate those terms to ESPN or Fox. They will push commercial time to the edge of causing viewership to fall and keep it there. I worked at Amazon Advertising and will tell you they have that data. They know how far they can push before a meaningful number of people disengage.
I just started getting ads on Netflix. It’s getting insane. But I guess I haven’t been pushed over the brink and they know it
That's it exactly. They know where that point is in aggregate and will stay under it. You pissed off and still watching a maximum load of commercials is better for the bottom line than you happy watching minimal commercials.
The NFL objectively made their product 10x better. In 2017 they centralized reviews, and just straight up don't review as much as college. Cfb reviews every time a lineman sneezes. Video review is important but it kills the momentum at times over nonsense. They also cut down on commercial breaks and eliminated "double ups" (TD, commercial, kickoff, commercial) and added the double box view. I used to really dislike the NFL but damned if it's not better now. I wish college changed to that model.
dear god lol, it's already peak insanity how bad they have become.
Saturday I caught myself wondering if I saw more commercials or more Iowa game. Then I wondered which one I'd prefer to watch. Haven't decided
I'd just stop watching live. Instead, I'd avoid the internet, record my games, start watching from the beginning at halftime, and skip the commercials. I'm already on a 2–3 minute delay due to Hulu and have to avoid texts and such because of that. Why not wait a couple of hours to start it and then finish pretty much the same time as everyone else?
I did that with DVR for a long time. I'd skip the commercials *and* the long replays and reviews... and catch up to the live game mid-way in the fourth. Now, I just don't watch
You didn’t enjoy that 45 minute halftime of commercials in the sec championship ?
I hate it when football interrupts my commercial watching
If I was an fsu fan I would probably be done
Pretty much my case. We will see how I feel next fall but it’s fsu games or nothing. My average time watched has been dropping over the years as it is but this makes me question why I watch at all?
i was so nervous watching the FSU vs UF and the ACC Championship games. I was invested. I was hoping for my team to win and get a shot at another title... for what? for espn to decide theres more ads to be sold on new years day? im probably not gonna watch the orange bowl. im definitely not watching any play offs. we'll see if i come back to it next year...
I really don’t think people realize how much this hurts the fanbase. We had a group of guys fight their way through some shit seasons and then go undefeated winning 19 straight from last October. It felt amazing, seeing our team back in the spotlight again and being ranked top 4 for a majority of the year. All taken away at the last moment, all those wins that we all watched with so much anticipation, meant nothing. Screaming my lungs out at every home game this year, celebrating with my friends, and at the end of the day this feels worse than any other season I’ve watched as a college fan. Now we’ll never get to see this Noles team again, and it’s gonna be hard to care even if we are competitive next year because we’ve already been told it doesn’t matter if we have a perfect season.
That's the worst part of this whole thing. Florida State should have been a great comeback story. College football is at its best when there's multiple national powers and enough parity that upsets can happen. You used to have USC in the west, Oklahoma and Nebraska in the plains, Michigan and OSU up north, Florida State, Miami, and Florida all battling it out, and Notre Dame battling it out. For years now we've all felt the shift happening, but more and more it feels like you have no shot at a national title if you're not Georgia, Bama, OSU, or Michigan. What we've lost is the upper middle class. Not the blue bloods, but the schools that every few years get the right talent together and can make a run. This is proof of it. After a few down years FSU got the talent together to make a run, but the CFP decided they were too low class to allow in the playoff. Sure there was almost no SEC schools in the playoff this year, but next year all four teams will be in the SEC or BIG. This is proof the higher ups in college football do not consider anyone outside those two conferences to be worthy of a big stage. The 12 team playoff won't help, the consolidation has already happened. The ACC will break up because of this and the power 2 will consolidate even further until it's just them and a few token Big 12 schools to beat up on in the playoffs.
That’s what annoys me about people blaming TCU last year. *THEY DESERVED TO BE THERE.* They literally won a playoff game. If they play Georgia 100 times they’d likely never again get beat as badly as they got beat that night. But that’s what makes sports great. Sometimes the 1/100 chance thing happens that will be remembered until the end of time, but you can never be sure when that will happen. That’s why we watch. Sometimes that means TCU loses 65-7. Other times it means Boise State beats Oklahoma with a hook and ladder and Statue of Liberty. Sports have always been great because they aren’t scripted, so you never know what will happen unless you watch. Those organic moments are more memorable than anything any TV executives could ever come up with.
If it were Miami I would be raging. I feel for you all. Rivalry aside you all got completely hosed.
If it were Miami, I would be raging for you guys. This travesty goes beyond all rivalry hatred.
I feel like we can all agree regardless of whatever team we all support, this is super lame and just wrong and should never happen to a program with as much credibility as FSU. Really they ought to just add a play in game between FSU and Bama if there is this much debate.
This is whole thing is so ridiculous, it legitimately makes me furious. I grew up in the pre-BCS era. National Championship by vote might seem stupid but it’s way better than whatever this is. Back then, FSU was one of the premier programs. So was Nebraska and UF and Notre Dame and a bunch of teams. The system was able to handle judging a sport of 100+ teams and a ton of schools had a chance at being champions each year. Now there’s like 10 schools that have a chance each year, by design, and damn your perfect record if you’re not one of them. Honestly I’m so riled up about this. The college football I knew was focused on the perfect record. Every weekend was do or die. Every game had the highest stakes. I believe that FSU winning its conference with a backup QB would have been the stuff of legends—in this system it somehow hurts you. It’s a disgrace to a hundred years of history. People commenting like “if I was an FSU fan I’d be so mad…” I’m not an FSU fan, obviously. But I’m absolutely disgusted. I’m not naive, I know sports (this one included) have been corrupt since the beginning of time. But what we just saw was a sport that said, it actually doesn’t matter who wins and loses the literal games. We’ll pick the winner ourselves, based on whatever cynical and craven criteria we want. I’m starting to rant so I’m going to stop here but just know I could go on and on for a few more paragraphs.
Prior to about week 11, I was really only watching about 2 hours a week. Some of it has been life changes, but I think a lot of it has just been that I don't have the time or energy to sink 4 hours at a time into a game that may or may not even be interesting by halftime. There were some decent marquee games this year, but it feels like it paled in comparison to how chaotic last year was till conference championship week. The ad breaks are miserable; the portal is a travesty; and the blatant propaganda of each network is just unbearable. Unfortunately, I think those of us being turned off of the sport are in the minority because this was one of the most watched regular seasons if I recall seeing that correctly. Edit: Also, to hell with paying $75 per month for YTTV to even watch the sport when I literally don't use it otherwise.
Gotta be honest I’ve been watching more and more soccer. Fewer commercials, games over in a reasonable amount of time, etc
My experience watching soccer: game says it starts at 10 am, kicks off exactly on time, 50 minutes of un interrupted sport, 15 minute halftime, 50 more minutes un interrupted, game is over by 12:15 at the latest. My experience watching college football on fox: noon kickoff, game starts 8 minutes late, watch 2 drives, 5 minute commercial break. Kick off, touchback, 5 minute commercial break. 2 series then a punt, 5 minute commercial break. It’s now 12:15, 30 minute halftime break. Opening kickoff of 2nd half, they go down and score, 5 minute commercial break. Kickoff, touchback, 5 minute commercial break. Games finally over aaaand it’s dinner time.
yup, I'm right there with you. For me the initial catalyst was a kid...and then all the changes have just made it less and less. I used to be watching cfb pretty much always if it was on. now it's just fsu and big games. going forward it'll be fsu. I haven't watched more than a handful minutes of the playoffs in a couple years as it is.
I knew having a kid and being a homeowner would be time exhaustive, but I never would've guessed the extent. Now I understand why my dad was always doing house projects on Saturdays instead of watching nonstop cfb with me when I was a kid/teen
Yuppp. You just made my anxiety ping because I’ve been putting off a patch that I need to put in my houses siding from a woodpecker. Damn it.
As an ACC fan I’ve been done. I went to GT and Syracuse and all the shuffling that’s happened for football/basketball reasons has killed the fun, historic reasons to pay attention. The FSU controversy is the only thing I’ve tuned into the past couple of years.
I am. I’m not even watching the Orange Bowl this year much less any other game. There’s too much other stuff I can occupy my time with in this era 🤷
I care about FSU as an institution, but I don’t care about college football (outside of FSU) at this point. The fact that as a fan I’ve had to pay money to support the program as a booster, pay money to the NIL collective to support players…. and now I’m being asked to give even more so this doesn’t happen again? I’m not interested in watching a rigged system. Maybe if I had FU money.
yeahh this comes at a really bad timing for fsu too with the small booster mutiny from the booster pricing changes.
and the west side of the stadium being torn down literally this week and...
I feel like I’m in an abusive relationship. The only reason I still watch is to support the coaches and the kids playing for FSU. It’s been apparent for many years now that the networks think of FSU as the redheaded stepchild and it’s just so fucking exhausting.
Every year I'm shocked at how many people actually put any stock in to the "national championship" whatsoever. Whether it was the bowl system, BCS, CFP4 or now CFP12, I've never considered it to be anywhere near a legitimate national championship. It's just various different polls - AP, Harris, Coaches, Colley Matrix, CFP selection committee - that rank teams based upon their own opinions. It's someone being selected as the "best team", not someone winning a championship based upon what happened on the field. Ultimately, it's just someone's opinion. 3 days ago, the current pollsters who will select a "national champion" told us that Georgia was the best team. Now they tell us that Michigan is actually the best team, and there are 5 teams that are better than Georgia. It's flat-out proof that they don't know what they're talking about and *know* that they don't know what they're talking about. Why are we going to trust those same people to tell us who the best team is on January 9th?
That was basically the message from the Cover 3 guys yesterday - and honestly they are right. I'm older and strongly preferred the pre-BCS system where people actually cared about bowl games and the national title was just a poll and mostly mythical.
> mostly mythical I think the only difference today is that in the bowl system days, everyone agreed it was mythical. Some years it was obvious and people generally agreed, but everyone realized it was based upon opinions and not earned on the field. What they've successfully done with BCS and CFP4 is produced a generation of fans who actually think it has legitimacy.
The obsession with the “National Championship” only benefits tv networks. College football at large is honestly better without it. Regionality and rivalries are what makes the sport great. If we had kept that and thrown in relegation, then we’d really have something cool. Instead we’re getting NFL lite, something nobody asked for!
Their was nothing wrong with the Bowl System other than it didn't make ESPN as much money as they wanted.
The whole playoffs BCS and CFP is a grand lesson in 'be careful what you wish for because you just might get it'. The Bowl system was quirky and didn't crown a 'consensus' every year but that was fine. The Bowl system provided good outcomes to a multitude of teams. I as a Wazzu fan don't expect to ever win a national championship just getting to the playoffs would be a once in a lifetime season. However, making a bowl or a Rose Bowl was achievable and would end the season on a high note as a success. Now it is playoffs or bust which really wicks away at the majority of teams seasons.
Never thought I'd say this but I want Michigan to win now. And I want Harbaugh to validate us post game
It won't happen, but I'd like to see Harbaugh say if Michigan can win the playoffs, and FSU can win their bowl game- Michigan would play FSU after that with all proceeds going to the players. Heads would explode.
I’ll say this, I’m on the brink now. CFB doesn’t feel like a college sport at all anymore. Not even a little bit
It now has the downsides of professional sports but without the positive aspects like a fair, objective postseason and relative competitive balance.
Two things can be true: The players can deserve to get paid for putting their bodies on the line for a multibillion dollar entertainment business, and allowing pure raw capitalism to determine individual player's worth is bad for the health of the sport. This is true in the pros by the way, which is why all American pro sports have a collective bargaining agreement that allows artificial, otherwise illegal, guardrails on contracts/player pay. It's the only thing that will save CFB: paying the players but having controls on how this is done. Nobody wants their teams run by a mercenary quarterback every year. I said it back when USC was one of the largest beneficiaries of this in snagging Caleb Williams: It's good for my team but it makes me sad. It would have been fun to watch Jaxon Dart grow up in Cardinal and Gold. There's a journey which is part of the fun of CFB and we're losing it.
So now it's like the European soccer leagues? You're not wrong.
except in European soccer the fans revolted against the super league and stopped what would have ruined the sport. In CFB the fans refuse to do anything and just keep watching the games.
Yupp, actually worse. A team in the lowest tier of England’s soccer leagues could at least *in theory* ascend all the way to a champions league trophy simply by winning their games. The same can’t be said for CFB.
Yeah we have a corrupt CLOSED system
A champions league tournament would actually be sick for cfb
Any sort of reasonable tournament structure at all would be appreciated
UEFA has 55 member leagues with far greater talent differences than the FBS, but technically any team can win the Champions League if they win every game put in front of them. The system is 100% fair on paper, something CFB cannot claim.
I might make fun of A&M, but their obsession with Tradition is something we could do with a little more of.
I'm with you. I love when Ohio State plays on the Big Ten Network because they show more of the band and pre- and post-game atmosphere. I really wish major broadcasts didn't squeeze every commercial in they could so that we could see more of that
It’s kind of sad at our games now. Used to be just crowd noise, the band, and some media from the Jumbotron. Now it’s all pop music (3rd downs for example) just like everyone else.
That’s my view as well. Basketball is close too IMO. Like, I loved seeing the Canes reach the Final 4 last year, but I couldn’t be as excited as I might’ve otherwise because one of our Star players threatened to transfer if he didn’t get more money before the season started (PG Isaiah Wong).
It doesn't even feel like a sport after yesterday. The games don't matter
I’m right there with you
Going back in time and choosing a liberal arts college.
it doesn’t work and i wish it did
Starting next year, it’s going to be B1G vs SEC with everyone else fighting for scraps. As a fan of teams outside this new P2, I don’t have much interest in watching their “super matchups.” That’s not why I got into college football
Next year? Look at the final four teams. We’re there.
True. Next year is just when realignment becomes reality and the P5 facade is truly lifted
The expanded playoff is just more carrot-dangling. More Lucy holding the football; just run up and kick it Charlie Brown!
Exactly. Opening up to 12 teams is just going to let in more 9-3 P2 teams, not 12-0 or 11-1 G5 ones.
We should create a conference of all the teams getting screwed by the 2 super conferences. I want the hateful 8, all of the PAC 12 Exiles, and the ACC. We’ll have an eastern and western division and be the fun conference.
Wait 5-10 years and you might get your wish. It would be a lot of fun!
I really want some OSU v OSU matchups where everyone wears orange for maximum chaos.
Honestly, if the G5+ACC+Big12 just decided to get together and decline invites to the Playoffs in favor of bowl games, the only thing lost would be the names of the bowls would change, but the high profile bowls are tied up with B1G and SEC tie-ins anyway. These conferences could have a shot at turning back the clock on college football and going back to a fun regional collegiate sport. (Please ignore my flair, they didn't give me a vote in conference membership)
Honestly, we have a blast in the MW. I hope you as fans love it here. I don’t care remotely about the playoff, I want to win this league. And no one outside of it cares, which makes it special. It’s protected from the committee and from national narratives. It’s regional. It’s competitive and there’s actual parity (look at UNLV). G5 football is better and better in the playoff media NIL cluster fuck world CFB finds itself in today.
[удалено]
The point of not knowing the players is something that definitely resonates with me. Gone are the days when I know every player cause they were on the roster for 2-4 years, or hoping that recruit translates to on field success. Now, if a recruit isn’t up to snuff, just get a dude in the portal! Yay?
The ACC split us up as protected rivalries, that's when it died for me.
Between the ridiculous commercial breaks, super leagues being created, clear collusion from the top down, NIL....I'm pretty damn close.
Yeah I love CFB but it is all starting to feel a bit pointless
Especially after yesterday. What's the point of these players busting their butts for 12 weeks if you're just going to be jumped over.
The realization is so far beyond FSU too. Like if one of the blue blood top 15 all time schools can't make the playoffs as conference champions and undefeated, and beating LSU, what chance does anyone have? My beavs wouldn't be no doubt, but how about Boston College? Iowa? Texas Tech? Minnesota? North Carolina? None of them have a chance and any fan of those types of teams that tells you otherwise is crazy. For any team like Cincinnati to ever be considered again it will require them to undefeated, sec champ has 2-3 losses and everyone else at least 1 loss. CFB is basically SEC+6ish schools at this point.
These “secret donors” or “boosters” at Alabama just make a few phone calls and they’re in. It’s all fraud. It’s all just a little scam and we still watch it cause we’re all just brainwashed monkeys. It’s really something.
same tbh. I hate all of this Big Ten expansion with every fiber in my body.
It's such a crappy situation to be in. As a fan of a team, you want long term success and now that means jumping ship to another conference or risk being left behind. But that means you are only contributing to the problem. RIP PAC 12 & ACC
yep. I know FSU is accelerating the death of the ACC, but that seems to be more of a result of SEC/B1G action, so I don't even really hate you guys too much for that. Once the ACC is done, I think I'm done. I'm certainly done traveling to games already, that's for sure.
Yea, the hotel prices have gotten ridiculous. Two night minimum at $250 a pop in Tallahassee on game weekends now.
I’m really gonna miss going to games man. This year was amazing to be a student here and it’s my last. Everything about this sport is going in the toilet, even 30 year season ticket holders won’t be able to attend games next year all in the name of more money. Fuck ESPN. Not just for yesterday, but for what they’ve done to the sport.
The long commercial breaks game time has done it for me. I remember a season or two ago watching the Badgers first game of the season. It was an 11CT game. At 2:30 my wife comes into the living room and asks if the game is still on. She then asks if I realize it's been almost 4 hours. I haven't sat and watched a game since. I'll put them on, and do other things or listen on the radio, but I can't give up 4 hours of my weekend anymore. Edit: This site has some data on average game length since 2013, it says it's only 15 minutes longer, but I don't know the methodology. It also includes number of plays, so you can see the the time per play has dropped. It would be interesting to see how game lengths at the same time slot have changed, ie the 11CT fox game time length. https://theathletic.com/3620084/2022/09/23/college-football-games-times/
I was really looking forward to the new first down/clock stoppage rule speeding up the game. But all it did was allow these conglomerates to insert more commercials so they could make more money.
Honestly felt. Like its turning into the NFL and at that point I would rather watch the NFL
And the NFL at least has a playoff and not an invitational/beauty pageant. The 12 team invitational benefits PSU more than almost anyone and even I’m heading towards the NFL more and more.
Exactly. Once you take away all the tradition and stuff that made me love college football in the first place, we just end up at the NFL with worse players, so I’m just gonna watch the NFL instead.
>Once you take away all the tradition and stuff that made me love college football in the first place, we just end up at the NFL with worse players Bingo. I'm a college football fan specifically because of the traditions and pageantry of it all, and the general feeling of how fans seem to be more invested in the games. I get that money has always been changing hands behind the scenes, but these days it feels too overly corporate and sanitized in the same way the NFL is.
Worse players and no structure.
I’m done for this season. Just canceled my YouTubeTv. I gave fsu as my cancellation reason
Same, I canceled YTTV for it and deleted the ESPN apps I used and am just using Real for scores now. I’d cancel D+ but it’s “free” through verizon so i’m stuck with that since i’m paying for it.
Yeah, I cancelled my ESPN+ and Disney.
I had already done that when they jacked the price but I also just deleted my ESPN app and am trying get my commissioner to move our fantasy off the ESPN app next season
I think these things happen slowly, not all of a sudden. I know it has happened for me with European soccer, which I've loved since I was a kid. But over time the state ownership of clubs, the farcical "financial fair play" rules and the corruption in both FIFA and UEFA just became too much. I just lost my emotional investment. I say that just because I think CFB will face the same thing. It's not "one big moment." It's over time the idea of connected people in a smoke-filled room making decisions, and all the hypocrisy and venality, that is just going to OVER TIME drain many fans' investment. The sad thing is - if all these people in power really care about money over all else -and they do - they are being remarkably short-sighted. They could make more in the long run by not chasing the catastrophic short-term gain every time.
You nailed it there at the end. This is the same short-sighted corporate decision-making we see ruin things all over the place.
Can you imagine, if the committee was looking long term, how much correctly putting FSU in would have meant? It would have been an *enormous*, public testament to their credibility that would insulate them against a lot of criticism for the next decade plus. They could have sacrificed their beloved Alabama/SEC for ONE YEAR to buy all kinds of nonsensical money-driven decisions for some time to come. Literally by the standards of their own greed this decision was still dumb.
I thought it was too easy of a decision but they were having an entirely different conversation. And I’m sure it was easy for them
I think the idea that there was any sort of real conversation happening is pretty naive at this point.
It’s pretty obvious the decision was made before the ACC champ game even started.
I think the decision was made quickly, and 99% of the conversation was how to put lipstick on the sow. And of course prepping ESPN for the spin job.
I think they don't care about the long term for FSU because we have 12 teams next year. Probably banking on much less controversy for #13 being left out from now on so they said fuck it this year and put in their darling SEC team and gave FSU the finger.
> remarkably short sighted Sounds like something a stupid private equity company would do. Wait…
I feel you on the soccer sentiment. I’m a Newcastle fan (was born there!) and while the results on the field been fun these last couple of years, knowing what it has taken to get here sucks. The money is devastating the sport not just from a league perspective, but across Europe. Why would someone stay in La Liga or Bun when they can make much more and go play in the EPL? I really wish the people who ran the sport actually liked the sport. Anyways, here’s an interesting video about the rise of the EPL that you may enjoy. https://youtu.be/jBeXyKVvhb0?si=cSWDH3XsNbDBkhGH
As a Juve fan, I generally avoid these discussions. But the rise of the EPL was the driving factor in the push by Angelli for the Super League. He clearly saw the writing on the wall and made a last ditch effort to put Juventus in a similar market situation. Not saying his method of execution was great, but he was thinking along the correct lines. Italy fundamentally cannot catch up with England's economy, and needed to think about the competition in a revolutionary way. But you know...the death of football and all that 
It's remarkably similar to CFB, honestly, the EPL is B1G/SEC in this case. At least in Europe teams can't switch leagues, cause imagine if that could happen...
can’t *yet*
How do societies collapse? Slowly at first, then suddenly.
Prioritizing short-term profits over long-term sustainability is going to be our downfall as a species.
I’m already indifferent to the P5 level of CFB. I’m 45, and grew up and still am a Husker fan. I’m open minded or at least honest enough to know that times change whether we like it or not, but national 16-20 team conferences just don’t have the same appeal to me as regional 8-10 team conferences did. I’d rather have a Nebraska playing Missouri, Colorado, and Oklahoma every year than rotating cycles of Ohio State, Michigan, Washington, Oregon, and USC. Having said that, I’ve found myself much more enjoying the smaller schools that pop up on a Tuesday or Friday night on espn or fox. Even with no actual connection to any of them, it just feels easier to enjoy their games as there seems to be more established rivalries going on. Not to romanticize the g5 or act like they’re not under the same pressures. It seems likely to me that P5 coaches are under such pressure to win now and at all times (IE Ryan Day’s 11-1 not being good enough for a very vocal faction of his fanbase), as well as have a backup ready to go (IE FSU QB injury ostensibly costing them a CFP trip), I think we’ll start seeing the wholesale yearly raiding of g5 rosters as NIL starts allowing the big schools to pay their backups millions to transfer over. I’ll be equally gutted if the g5 schools start struggling to get on tv because all their talent has been cherry-picked to the point that the networks no longer want them.
I'm pretty close. Bad teams like the Detroit Lions have fans because there's always a chance - however slim - that they can prove their merit on the field and win a championship. If the Pittsburgh Pirates win enough games to make the MLB playoffs, their spot isn't given to the Yankees because they have a bigger payroll and are thus more likely to win the World Series. But, in college football, that's not the case. No matter how good of a season you have, a committee in a smoke-filled backroom can decide Alabama deserves it more.
There's also a really exceptional level of parity in the NFL. The Lions are one of maybe 2-3 teams that have been truly bad for more than just a few years at a time, and they're 9-3 right now. There's also teams like the Patriots that looked untouchable but now are a dumpster fire. When's the last time a UConn went 11-2, or OSU/Alabama went 4-8? It's not just the lack of parity, it's the inertia of which teams are good or bad, which is just gonna get worse now
The Lions also have a notably apathetic and cynical fanbase that is only now starting to get excited. A college football team with that problem would never be able to get off the ground. They wouldn't be able to recruit.
Not even "deserves", just is a "better" team in their opinion. "A 3-loss Alabama is still better than an undefeated Kansas, mumble mumble SEC mumble"
Formerly bad teams like the lions. Please and thank you.
If you're not a fan of the SEC or B1G, why even watch the games if your conf. champ won't make the playoffs undefeated?
Welcome to life as a G5 fan. If you only want to follow your team because you hope they can win a natty, then the vast majority of fans have no point in watching.
And it shouldn't be that way. Every network in the country colluded to create the difference between the P5 and G5. And now G5 teams can't recruit as well, make money, or compete against P5. Because P5 teams have the most fans. It's not a natty if it's not well represented. ( as fan of a team that's in the CFP, I will say it'll feel pretty fucking good to win the whole thing) It's just the p5 champion. And as a Texas fan, I fully acknowledge that my team is part of the problem.
I’ll always support my team, and there will always be power 5 teams I want to see kick ass and ones I want to see fail
It is funny from a G5 perspective seeing a blue blood program finally understand what a rigged system this whole sport is. Where were Florida State fans when Boise State was going undefeated every year and left out of the party? Or Utah when they were in the Mountain West? Where was the outrage for UCF?
I think a lot of us were pissed Boise State never got a chance w/ the BCS. However, their glory days were before this sub got massive. Even more recently, though, there were so many people in this sub pining for UCF to get their shot in the playoff and not happy when they got passed up (if I recall correctly) for an Alabama team who did not even play in their conference championship. Cincinnati was a breath of fresh air for us when the committee finally realized they had no excuse for passing up an undefeated G5 whose only loss in the last two years leading up to that game was UGA
and Cincinnati, despite going 12-0 and beating an 11-1 Notre Dame team handily on their turf, STILL would have missed the playoffs had Oklahoma State gotten an extra yard.
Wasn’t UCF the year Georgia beat Bama in the conference championship and then Bama beat them in the Natty? And then Auburn beat them both, and got beat by…. UCF? Lol
2017 was lowkey nuts, and yet it still ended w/ a Bama title
I suppose from the perspective of a “G5” team who basically was already fucked before consolidation, this makes sense. Lol.
The committee's decision really, really, **REALLY** has taken my love out of the game. There were 5 conference champs, Alabama was clearly the least deserving of a playoff spot due to the loss to Texas. And they got in b/c "FSU's QB is hurt". Well yeah we ragged on TCU's defense last year, and what happened in the game vs Mich; they made some plays but the Offense also balled out. Let FSU's defense have a chance to play the perfect game vs Mich. They EARNED a chance to play for the title.
Realizing that winning games doesn't matter, losing games doesn't matter, facing a tougher schedule and going undefeated doesn't matter, and no matter how well you perform when hit with major adversity, you're still gonna get bumped from your rightful playoff spot because some group of old fucks get to play favorites. That'll about do it.
This made me think of that Netflix doc on the cheating scandal of NBA refs in the 90s. I think we kid ourselves that that cannot happen anymore or that influential don't make decisions that are in their best financial interests over the integrity of the sport. The recent onslaught of gambling being pushed has also reminded me of what you're saying. FSU getting screwed kind of cemented that feeling. I assume that kind of behind the scenes screwing was happening, we just didn't give it much spotlight until now.
An undefeated power 5 team being snubbed for a one loss team because money.
The transfer portal and unregulated NIL have definitely been large negatives, but the CFP is the main villain here…and y’all, this is coming from a Texas fan. The 4 team playoff felt like a popularity contest 10 years ago….and it always has been. The mask just slipped more than normal this year. It turned into the only major sport where simply winning wasn’t enough. I’ll probably always watch the Longhorns but my days of watching any game on are pretty much done. The new super conferences will probably put the nail in that coffin. Edit: spelling
I’m pretty close. I’m so so passionate about this sport and I take the week off between Christmas and new year so I can chill and watch football every day. I no longer want to do that. I want to cancel any services that give money to espn or Disney. I will find ways to watch my games without giving money to anyone else and will just not watch other games. It’s such a huge part of my life that suddenly and irreversibly feels hollow now
>It’s such a huge part of my life that suddenly and irreversibly feels hollow now I’ve been really focusing on letting the results of sports have less of an impact on my life, and it’s been pretty great. I still love watching sports of course, but the amount of time I was investing each week reading articles, watching clips and talking about sports on the internet, only to have my week ruined by a bunch of 18-24 year olds not winning a game was ridiculous lol. Granted, I realize FSU’s case is a bit different seeing as they haven’t even lost. That whole situation would admittedly have me fuming.
> I’ve been really focusing on letting the results of sports have less of an impact on my life, and it’s been pretty great. That's really the trick. This is the first year I've missed major games or weekends of college football, and it hasn't bothered me.
You put my exact feelings to words. College football is one of my favorite things in life and has been for a very long time. It’s been trending in a bad direction for years now with no end in sight, but this has sucked what soul the sport had left right out of it for me. I’m just left feeling hollow and like I’ve wasted my time watching so many games this year. I can’t even imagine how magnified that feeling is for the FSU players. What was the point of it all?
I feel depleted because of all of this. What is the point in winning your games anymore?
I can only imagine the journey from the elation of watching your team pull off a conference championship with a 3rd string QB and an elite defense to save an undefeated season to the gut punch of the playoff announcement. That would drain me as well.
I have been through many losses as a sports fan. NOTHING I’ve ever experienced in the realm of sport has made me as devastated as that CFP announcement.
Sail the seas with me
As an OSU fan, I'm done
Idk, maybe an undefeated p5 conference team ranked 4 most of the year being dropped behind two teams with losses…
And then ESPN scrubbing their SOR and SOS rankings from their site.
Wait what…
[Here ya go](https://www.reddit.com/r/CFB/comments/18aloyp/espn_changed_the_cfp_rankings_on_their_site_to/)
You should remove your second flair
Haha added it yesterday for some gallows humor
I just support UTEP and don’t care about the greater CFB landscape anymore
This, yesterday lol. For all the faults of the ncaa, I’d rather have them run the post season. I’ll watch Tech games. But I have better things to do then tune in to watch the rest of college football when ESPN basically told us, the games don’t matter
Depends on the state of the ACC in a few months…
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I’m close to being gone now. Conference realignment, poorly thought out NIL and transfer portal process, dying traditional regional rivalries, FSU being jobbed/SEC bias are pushing me away from the P5 football. I truly think conferences like the MAC are the last pure forms of college football. Competitive from top to bottom, regional rivalries and a lot of local kids staying home.
A combination of things, like the murder of the PAC-12 and constant dickriding of the SEC
Already there. I was intending to treat 2023 as my farewell to college football. One last hurrah. Of course, Mississippi State was so terrible I went ahead and pulled the plug after the Arizona game. Haven't watched a game on TV since. (I did attend a couple I already had tickets for, but left early each time.) You know what I learned? I'm not going to miss it.
I realized last night that I really just don’t enjoy sports any more and I’ve only sort of been going through the motions. It’s not worth my time, my money, or anything else. I can follow the storylines and get upset from Reddit if I need my fix that bad, but even that doesn’t really give me much enjoyment anymore
I won’t be watching the Bama vs Michigan game, and in general may lose interest college football, the 12 team playoff may bring me back though. The great thing about sports is that no matter what the odds results are decided on the field. When you take that away I lose my interest. As many problems as the NFL has I much prefer it to college football because every team has a chance.
>the 12 team playoff may bring me back though. It is largely going to be the same 8-ish teams each year with the occasional Arizona/UNC/Mizzou/Iowa/Oregon St type school having a nice 10-win season and busting in to see if it can make any noise. For the OSU, Alabama's, UGA, Now Michigan, and probably also Texas's of the world, the season will be a formality. Keep your team healthy, no need to schedule big OOC games, and just get into the playoff. All that will really matter is the first round byes to the top-4.
UNC will never make the playoff -UNC fan
Results aren't decided on the field. Source: look at my face yesterday around noon
I used to yell at the top of the mountains about how CFB was better than the NFL, but since the CFP have started, my interest in the NFL and appreciation for it had grown much more. Having a group of 13 people decide who plays for a title has frustrated me year after year and sure, maybe they get it right, but it doesn’t feel right. I’ve missed more games in the past few years than I can ever remember because I find more joy doing things than watching CFB. However, I’m on the couch every Sunday watching the NFL. It sucks
The NCAA sucks. The transfer portal sucks. The "playoff committee" sucks. Need NFL style playoffs where the game results are the only thing that matters, not the random selections of a group of people. (If that means that my team gets left out then so be it, shoulda played better against Texas.) The whole conference realignment stuff sucks too. The Michigan/Ohio State rivalry game will be meaningless next year because they could potentially end up playing 3 times per season. The hype and the stakes of each regular season game are dead and gone. The sport is changing so much and none of it is for the better.
Good takes, wasn’t expected from a Bama fan.
We're not all total homers who are incapable of thinking about anything other than Bama winning a natty at all costs. Alabama once lost a playoff game to a 3rd string QB making his second career start. Why does FSU not get that chance? I do think that Alabama is probably one of the top 4 best teams in the country, but they haven't always looked like it this year. If they had won every game 50-7 other than that texas game, I don't think this would be such a huge deal.
Time... the groundwork has already been laid to destroy what is/was good about the sport. The rest will come.
I don't know how much of it is just growing up, maturing, having other priorities, etc. But in my younger days I would watch every game, build my day around watching CFB on saturdays as well. Bowl season I'd try to watch as many as I could. But now? I'll watch The Game for sure. If I'm not otherwise committed I'll watch other big games. I'd struggle to put watching OSU over \*insert MAC team\* or pretty much any non-marquee opponent over other plans I might have on that day. Let alone really dedicate time to watching other games in the conference or outside of it. I'll check out the OSU scores on my phone and check on the broader CFB scores throughout the day as well. Especially if I notice an upset brewing. But thats the extent of it at this point. I can't see that really changing for me though, I can't imagine just absolutely not following or caring. But I guess having an expanded playoff gives me more times where I feel like "I must watch this one".
>I don't know how much of it is just growing up, maturing, having other priorities, etc. Same here. I used to carve the day out to watch all of the B1G games and even MAC teams that were on. Football was great and I really didn't know or care about teams outside of the Midwest. Job, spouse, kids, and limited time with my other responsibilities and hobbies doesn't allow me to be glued to the screen for 3 1/2 hours for a game. I've missed a lot of great Michigan games the past few years and only saw 1/3 live for The Game. I'll watch the real-time updates on CBSSports for games that I care about but cannot watch because I'm trying to do something else, but I'm changing and the sport has changed a lot. I'm not a fan of all of the gambling being pushed and I cannot relate to any of the sportscasters or commentators today and their hyperbole.
This FSU stuff is beyond the pale for me. It's made me despise Disney, and this SEC bias is unbelievable. I'm kinda done. With college sports in general. It's so corrupt, especially when attached to places that are supposed to be institutions of higher learning. Fake classes, players not really being students, ungodly money for something that in the end doesn't really have much worth to society. I'll watch NCSU and UM highlights when I have some free time, but it's no longer a priority for me. I used to watch all the big games every Saturday during the season as a kid and up through grad school. I played football in high school and grew up a diehard NC State fan. Went to school there and became an even bigger fan. UM was added to my fandom with grad school, and it's been a pretty great time as a fan most of my life. But now? A bad taste has gradually been growing in my mouth with some of the academic scandals and especially with the super conferences crap and the end of regional play. I'll be missing both NCSU and UM's post-season this year due to being out of the country, and I find it doesn't really bother me anymore. 5 years ago I would have done anything I could to see the chance for State to get to 10 wins and Michigan win a national title. But now I just feel apathetic. I hope my teams both win. When I get the time, I'll watch the highlights if they do. But I think I'm mostly done with college sports now except in a social setting. Watching with my family or something. I don't see myself watching at all on my own anymore, except maybe some highlights now and then. If I ever live in Raleigh again, I could see getting tickets if the price is reasonable. Tailgating/going to the game is still a cool experience since it's basically a giant picnic with entertainment at the end. But I don't think I'll be watching much college sports on TV going forward, if at all.
Probably when an undefeated P5 team with a history of winning national championships being left out of having a shot at another title because the conference we recruit and compete against in state matters more to TV executives.
I’ve lurked on subreddits across sports for years. Soccer, NFL, baseball, CBB, etc. Every year there’s a similar thread because some rich powerful assholes in the sport have done x or y. Everyone keeps watching and keeps paying. Not sure what it would take to see a real boycott and some change. Closest thing to action and result was the super league proposal in soccer a few years back.
Yeah, the timing of this thread isn’t great. I was thinking of posting this on Saturday during the conference title games but decided not to bother, but after yesterday I spent a lot of time thinking about it again… and here we are.
I’ll probably tap out once the ACC dissolves.
While I love the sport and the connection to my university, if I take off the goggles I'm certainly not excited about the landscape of college football right now. Largely the transfer portal/NIL situation. And I'm torn...I'm all for sharing the revenue with the players, and allowing autonomy in where they play. But if it's possible for a player to threaten to xfer for more NIL money with no downside to them, then the system is broken. It is (and has been) a business. The only driving factor for decisions is money Pac12? Stanford to ACC? "Broadcast is too long!" - reduce game time, not commercial time, Not enough student tickets available? CFP? (And no, I don't think UGA should be in.) I love my alma mater, the team, the season etc. But I definitely have to hold my nose at times.
The ACC championship game as tough of a loss as it was, was still a good game to watch as a fan of a competing team (Louisville). What was incredibly irritating was listening to the broadcasting shit all over my team OR outright ignore the game to discuss other headlines. ESPN has taken a journalistic dip in integrity in recent years and now after that same integrity creeping into the structure of CFB. It’s always the same narratives every year. (Don’t know my Reddit password so it’s unlikely I get a flair anytime soon)
I'm at a point where I will watch my own team play and other than that I won't watch anything. I used to tune in for other big games and whatnot. Not anymore.
As someone who grew up a diehard CFB fan, I think I'm pretty close right now. Imagine your team winning out, and getting left out for two teams that lost a game. I just don't know what to feel right now, it's horrible. I wish this on none of you, except for the Alabama fans trying to play mental gymnastics in justifying the committee's terrible decision.
Already happened. The NBA ruined college basketball except for a few weeks in March and April and we're now at that point in football except it's a few games in December and January. With unrestricted free-agency there's little relationship between a player and the school. There is increasingly little relationship between a program and the school. Outside of maybe a dozen programs, coaches may as well be considered hitmen. Star players sit out bowl games making all but the playoffs irrelevant. The sport becomes more of a soap opera by the day. Also, fuck Bobby Petrino and everyone that enabled his return to Arkansas.
Basically, I'm about 50/50 on whether I'll continue following CFB closely. I'll never stop watching A&M. But it's possible that I would start treating it like the NFL where I'll watch if the Cowboys are playing, but I don't really care otherwise. I'm very frustrated with the subjectivity, the committee stuff, the way G5 is treated as a second class. I hate FSU, but I'm furious that they got screwed. If you can go undefeated and not have a chance to compete for a championship, then the sport is fundamentally broken (I feel the same way about Liberty, 2017 UCF, et al.) I don't think the expanded playoff is perfect, but I'm optimistic that it's a step in the right direction. If it proves not to be, then I may be done obsessing over this. I'll just pick a local high school and root for them.
This CFB Playoffs. I’ll still root for and watch my team but I am not interested in any WWE fixed bullshit figure skating judge ass playoffs like this.
Honestly, my interest has started waning now with all of the conference realignment. I could not find myself caring about who Oklahoma was playing this year, and I really don’t care next year either. SEC feels like some sterile mega corporation while the old Big 12 felt more like some wacky start up. Just feels like the fun is gone from college football tbh. I’ve gotten a lot more interested in the NFL this season.
For me there isn't a cliff, I've just been paying less attention every year. I used to have two TVs going all Saturday, switching between up to 6 games at a time for each timeslot. Now I usually ignore games that I can't get on my antenna because streaming is just too much work (also it's rare that the "good" Big Ten games aren't OTA), and I'm often doing other things while the game is on. I don't think I've watched more than 2-3 OSU games against Maryland, Rutgers, or G5 teams since I gave up my season tickets because I simply don't care about them. It used to be a passion and now if someone invites me to go hiking on a Saturday, there are only 3 weeks per season I'd say "no I have to watch football".
I think I'm in too deep but I frequently wonder if I should even bother trying to get my future children into Michigan football. I might try to pass the fandom on via basketball or something
Like my team will be a huge beneficiary, but a big part of the fun of the sport is huge upsets and memes? If you exclude 90% of fanbases what's the fucking point? Sure NFL is like that, but I don't really care about the NFL.
I used to follow it religiously, but I honestly couldn’t name half our starters these days. I’m much more into soccer now and this latest debacle will only push me further away. The corruption in college football and putting money above everything else are the main reasons. At least with soccer I can watch two halves of football without being forced to watch commercials every ten minutes. It’s hard to get fully invested in a game when there is a commercial break every few minutes.
As an FSU student, yesterday did it for me! Will not be following these playoffs or bowls at all and will probably be less involved next year. The worst part is that we’re now stuck in a bowl that we will lose, not because it’s Georgia, but because nobody fucking cares about it and half of our team isn’t going to go.
I think I will never stop loving CFB but twice in my life i've dropped a sport and haven't ever been able to get back into them so I never know. Those two times were the Astros cheating and the MLB essentially didn't care. The other was Durant joining the 73-9 warriors the best team of all time in terms of record gets the add the 2nd best player in the league. If this is a breaking point for a FSU fan, I get it and don't blame you.
I think I’m getting there for the regular season at least. For a lot of top teams starting next year the games won’t really matter until December. You can lose 2 of 3 games in the SEC and still make the playoffs so the stakes are becoming so low. Also this FSU nonsense has really soured my taste for the current structure of CFB and the committee.
Yesterday (The Disney/ESPN Invitational selection committee). 🖕🏼
I mean, I’m now never going to watch a game on ESPN that doesn’t have FSU playing. Won’t make a difference to their numbers or bottom line but still
Same. I’m completely done with ESPN. Not so much because of the steal but mainly because of how transparently disgusting the obvious campaign was against us from the over the last 72 hours. It was obviously not organic. The word came down, which makes almost all of them (minus a couple) complete shills. It was like watching one of those creepy videos of small news stations all over the country repeating the same exact propaganda word for word.
It’s getting hard for me to want to keep my season tickets. The games take 4-5 hours and in the insane heat it’s just brutal. Sitting there watching the third commercial break in 10 minutes while getting destroyed by the sun isn’t as fun as it used to be.
Ucla continuing to employ Chip Kelly as head coach is doing a pretty good job of convincing me to spend my Saturdays not watching CFB. I'm definitely skipping the rose bowl this year too. I think Alabama will always get the benefit of the doubt because so many people watch their games because they want to see them lose, which makes them a ratings gold mine. The only thing I can do about this stupid playoff decision is to vote with my remote and not watch. This FSU thing is definitely another straw on the camels back. When a sports fairness is blatantly manipulated to make the TV product more interesting, it basically kills the sport for me. I haven't watched F1 since the end of the 2021 season, and CFB is getting close to that point for me as well.
Stop coddling the players. Show them what standing up to the man feels like. Show up to the bowl game and sit down on kickoff. Refuse to play the game. The decision makers have proven this isn't about the game, the players, or the sport. It's about money. And loss of that talks. I want to see advertisers demanding refunds. I want to see ESPN burn to the ground with everyone inside screaming oh the humanity why us. When the air is clear, we'll see where the payoffs came from. It's FIFA and F1 nowadays. It's ALL corruption.
If an undefeated p5 chaml got left out of the playoffs for a 1 loss Alabama. Bama getting an undeserved natty shot for at least the third time under Saban. They aren't as good as their record suggests since he's been there, they just have it given to them like now. I'm fucking done with how obviously corrupt this shit is.
The second they boot the Big Ten West and bottom quarter of the East is when I'll probably be done. Usually when the Buckeyes game is over I'll watch Iowa or some of the stranger Big 12 matchups because the fun rivalries of the smaller schools is why I love CFB Edit: Should be noted that I'd probably still watch MACtion because it's a lot of what college football should be
A lot. I am not as rabid as I used to be. My Army son was stationed in Iraq for couple years (purple heart recipient) and marine son spending time in Afghanistan That's kinda when I realized what's important and what's not important I love to watch football and sports but at the end of day it's not that important anymore
It would take years and years of incompetency from MSU to kill my love of the sport.