Obsidian Potency 3.0
The Big Ten Sucks.
posted Wednesday, 14 March 2007
Even as a Michigan alumnus, I can't deny the sad truth: the Big Ten is the most overrated conference of the past 12 months.
After the debacle of Michigan getting stomped AGAIN in the Rose Bowl by USC, watching the enjoyable obliteration of Ohio State by Florida in the BCS Championship, and reading half the sports journalists rag on every Big Ten basketball team (besides Ohio State) and rail at how the Big Ten is overrepresented in the NCAA tournament, I can only come to one conclusion:
It's a conspiracy. But not the one you might think given my affiliations.
Not a huge one, mind you. But collectively, the Big Ten probably (easily) represents the largest group of college students and alumni in the country. With the notable exception of Northwestern, Big Ten Schools are HUGE. Ohio State? 40,000 - 50,000 undergrads. MSU? 35,000. You get the idea. So it's in the NCAA's best interests to keep as many of those fans interested in college hoops for as long as possible, even though everyone can see the teams aren't as good as those in other conferences. The best way to do that is to overrate their teams. High ratings promote ratings and interest. Of course, you freeze out great tema swith smaller followings like Syracuse, but oh well.
Like I said, it's not a huge conspiracy. But it's a conspiracy nonetheless.
After the debacle of Michigan getting stomped AGAIN in the Rose Bowl by USC, watching the enjoyable obliteration of Ohio State by Florida in the BCS Championship, and reading half the sports journalists rag on every Big Ten basketball team (besides Ohio State) and rail at how the Big Ten is overrepresented in the NCAA tournament, I can only come to one conclusion:
It's a conspiracy. But not the one you might think given my affiliations.
Not a huge one, mind you. But collectively, the Big Ten probably (easily) represents the largest group of college students and alumni in the country. With the notable exception of Northwestern, Big Ten Schools are HUGE. Ohio State? 40,000 - 50,000 undergrads. MSU? 35,000. You get the idea. So it's in the NCAA's best interests to keep as many of those fans interested in college hoops for as long as possible, even though everyone can see the teams aren't as good as those in other conferences. The best way to do that is to overrate their teams. High ratings promote ratings and interest. Of course, you freeze out great tema swith smaller followings like Syracuse, but oh well.
Like I said, it's not a huge conspiracy. But it's a conspiracy nonetheless.
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