I don’t even know who this sport is anymore. The rules have changed so much over the past five years, like the face of a steel sculpture rusting in the rain. First it was the time changes back in 2006 to try and reduce the length of the game. Meanwhile, the TV timeouts ran on longer than an Al Gore speech and bored fans to oblivion and some network fat cat could still put an extra wad of thousand dollar bills in his pocket. There’s nothing worse than seeing a grinding defensive stop followed by a monster punt return with the crowd on their feet and screamingonly to have the momentum thwarted because the officials are forced to take a TV timeout.

This is called the ‘Touchdown Play’. We have to score without using too much clock, works every time.

Never mind that offensive production, the certified empty seat filler, has taken a hit due to the time changes limiting the number of possessions and offensive plays. Unless you’re Virginia Tech or Alabama and can actually score touchdowns with defense, you’re scoreboard won’t be illuminating all its lights. Some teams were even able to exploit the rules changes like a young, naive country girl that comes to the big city for the first time. Brett Bielema determined he could sit on a lead by intentionally running off sides on kickoffs while the clock passes valuable seconds as soon as the ball hits the kicker’s feet. Automatic re-kick. Touché, Brett.

In 2008, the rules committee somehow, somewhere came up with the horrific notion to transform college football into a foo foo game of grab-ass. Four new situations warranted a 15-yard penalty and automatic first down. Remember that disclaimer kids used to have their parents sign at the beginning of football season? That’s a pretty good indication that it’s a dangerous game. These guys know what they’re getting into. Hell, in old days they used to play without face masks for the sake of Pete. There are clear voiolations when a situation escalated and a 15-yarder should be applied, but now too many rules give the referees an opportunity for a subjective judgment call. Aggressive football is a good characteristic, not one that should be punished by giving the opponent second chances with a fresh set of downs.

Most recently the NCAA authority has resorted to the dark ages where any show of emotion is chastised. Players better not dare celebrate a monster play. Never mind they’ve been working on the technique and schemes to get there since Spring Drills, battled through painful injuries, and persevered through beau coup difficulties. When the dust settles after a battle that was won in magnificent fashion the players involved should focus their eyes to the bench, walk nonchalantly until they get there, and allow the coaching staff to plug the charge cord into their power outlet. After all, that is how robots without feelings operate.

Forget this visual, we’re gonna take passion out back and shoot it.

Let’s face it, the raw emotion is a major reason the sport is so intriguing. Fans, players, and coaches all ride the emotional roller coaster that keeps us craving more. I want to see my team celebrate, likewise I want to see my team comeback and silence the opponent when they celebrate. I like when a player sprints through the end zone and chucks the ball at the stadium wall in mid-stride. I don’t know why, it’s just funny to me. It’s entertainment, IT’S A GAME!

I get that sometimes change is necessary to adapt to the changing times. The conference landscape is constantly changing, the number of games and postseason opportunities is constantly changing, the names and the faces are all always changing. All of those are exterior issues that dissipate once the opening kick-off is in the air. The age old cliché applies directly to the game itself and the actual college football rule book: ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. The rules were just fine before, so butt out NCAA.

Tags: College Football, NCAA College Football, NCAA Football

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 at 10:32 am and is filed under Authors Blogs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.