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More Elitist: Lacrosse or NCAA Football?

KellenMooreMany of us on the LAS staff are avid college football fans.  What’s better than a little BBQ before your alma mater kicks off againt a key conference opponent on a Saturday afternoon?  But slightly burnt bratwursts and a cold beverage aside, is the game elitist?

There’s very little debate over whether or not the BCS is a flawed system, and one of my biggest gripes about the sport is how far it goes out of its way to keep the little guy down.  If you weren’t part of the old boy’s club twenty years ago, good luck getting in now.  Take a look at this article from the Idaho Statesman last Wednesday.

Several high-profile programs have turned down a chance to play a home game against Boise State in 2011, WAC commissioner Karl Benson said Tuesday.

Boise State – with help from ESPN, Benson said – has been shopping for a game to fill out its 2011 schedule.

Benson isn’t sure of the exact number of schools that have said no, but figures it is close to 10. The Broncos aren’t asking for any games in Boise in return, he said.

The most common complaint over a small school like BSU reaching as high as #4 in the BCS is that they don’t schedule tough opponents.  According to this article, however, tough opponents don’t have any interest in playing them, even when the Broncos offer to travel to their place, no strings attached.

And why would they?  Playing the Broncos is a lose-lose situation for most BCS Conference schools.  You win…so what.  Congrats, you took care of a team from the WAC.  Lose, and chances of playing for a national title are all but over (still crossing my fingers for Oregon).

Lacrosse may still be growing, and its availability may not have reached many pockets in America, but at least the little guys have a chance every single year.  Chalk one up for the creator’s game.