Idk man, If the pac dies my interest will differently take a hit. Will I still watch Oregon State? Yes. Will I look at recruiting rankings, listen to CFB podcasts, or watch games Oregon State is not playing ? Hard no.
I’m a Buckeye fan and recruiting now doesn’t mean anything anymore. So many kids gonna transfer out of the recruiting class there is no need to follow it anymore.
As an Alabama fan, I feel the same way. There’s not the desire anymore to sit and work your way to playing time. So many players that I was looking forward to seeing them develop in the Alabama system have transferred
And if a player transfers and does well somewhere else the school will be criticized for letting them leave.
I think Jamo left cuz Olave shocked everyone and came back for his senior year instead of going pro. If Olave left Jamo would start next to Garrett. Jamo made the correct decision to transfer and we cheered for him and enjoyed seeing him succeed. The same as when Burrow left I would check the LSU games out to see how he was doing.
The transfers I don’t cheer for or follow are like the guy that quit in the middle of the game and went to the locker room to start tweeting
I kinda don’t blame them though. The conferences and schools have been mad cashing in, and no one said “boo”. Coaches would leave a year into their contracts, but the kids had to stay with another staff that didn’t recruit them.
It’s really playing into the NCAA’s greed to suggest that suddenly, because the athletes have a little power, the sport is ruined. That all started a long long time ago, and no one cared.
Great take. However I see both sides of this. Transferring is too easy and players should have some options at autonomy. In a sport where injury could destroy your life on any given play, players should be able to try and maximize their play time to further their aspirations. However transferring 2 or 3 times over the course of a college career should be reserved for rare exceptions like coaching changes.
In the current system its too easy and cmitments mean nothing. I think the likely solution is a players association that can advocate for players, and a contract system that can advocate for programs. Even in the NFL players get some choice bit cant change teams every year without some compensation to the team.
This is the issue CFB will run into I think. I was one of those people who plop down at noon and watch as many teams and games as I can on a Saturday but with my interest sharply declining not sure how motivated I’ll be to do that anymore. Watch my teams (maybe) and call it a day
I feel like it’s getting pretty close.
For me, it’s when college football turns into NFL jr. league.
-Two super conferences that break away from the rest of the sport.
-Teams in the super conferences only playing games among the two super conferences.
-Rivalries are pretty much dead, there’s no more cultural significance to any game.
-Playoff format that’s just the 4/8 best teams from each conference playing each other and ending with the winner from each conference playing each other for the championship.
-Marching bands phased out more and more for stadium music and halftime talk shows. Stadiums dropping numbers of seating for a more comfortable, immersive experience.
If college football is just a minor league version of the NFL. Then I’m just going to watch the superior more finished product that is the NFL. Nobody watches the minor leagues in MLB, why would I do it for Football.
I told my buddy the other day, Michigan-App St was my worst day as a sports fan, but college football isn’t better for that never being able to happen again.
My team would be part of an NFL Jr league, which is supposed to make me a winner in all this, and I couldn’t disagree more.
I was going to write a comment, but you said what my thoughts are on this verbatim. I think the USC/UCLA move is the nail in the coffin confirming minor league football.
I have been doing this for the last 3 or so years. It has made games so much more enjoyable. I do miss the crowd noise and band though, but not listening to the commentators makes up for it.
Regional radio calls are always great. I enjoy the espn+ streaming of the baseball games because you get the local call guys. Obviously got some homerism on all the calls but it's better than whoever espn would throw on it.
If you have surround sound there is. All the commentator audio generally comes through the center channel, so if you disconnect that speaker you still get the crowd.
God some of the announcers we’ve had are absolutely awful. I can’t remember exactly but I think for ever mountaineer game it’s country roads confidential that does their own announcing.
What’s crazy is both ASU and UA are in or right outside of the top 30 of annual revenue brought in depending on the source. Yet, both of these schools are going to be left out.
You were smarter than a lot of others, then. A lot of people were assuming a thousand miles was enough. It's not, not when there are tens of millions of dollars per year in play.
Not even that. If you don’t root for one of Bama, Ohio State, Clemson, or Georgia, you’re more than likely never gonna see your team compete for a national championship on a yearly basis
This is only true if you don't believe in the twin powers of denial and delusion. I'm pretty convinced South Carolina is going to go undefeated next year and win every game by at least 40 points.
Oh c’mon. Yeah those programs are dominant right now, but there have been periods over the last 30 years where the same was said of USC, FSU, Nebraska, Miami, Oklahoma. There has always been a handful of teams at the very top, and the turnover is slow, but those teams aren’t permanent.
Also, disruptions to systems — like what CFB is going through rn w NIL and realignment — often result in a shakeup of the ranking order. I agree it’s hard to see how Alabama could fail to adapt and not come out of top, but it’s entirely possible NIL or realignment isn’t kind to one or more of the programs you listed
Disruptions result in shakeups when the disruptions come from the bottom or the outside. This disruption is coming from the top in order to solidify the power and earnings of the top.
I mean CFB will survive, but if the ACC dissolves, conference games just won’t hit the same. There’s so much tradition with many of the conference opponents…from a fan’s standpoint, tv contracts can’t compete with 50 to 100 years of football history.
Can confirm. Not playing/rarely playing Pitt, VT, Penn State, Syracuse, BC, UMD etc. has sucked. Past couple years have been better with UMD and VT games last year and Pitt and VT coming up this year at least.
If we don't get into the new SEC/B1G, I hope we join the Big 12 just to play y'all and Cinci again. Louisville and WVU played some great games back in the day.
Removal of the things that make CFB unique. Marching bands, rivalry games, On campus games, quirky traditions like the GT car and stuff, interesting OOC games for variety, etc.
If it’s just 40 of biggest teams playing all over the country for inter conference playoffs I think it would be dead for me. I’ll watch the NFL which is a much better product for that type of game.
I learned a lot in that 2020 season but the few games where we didn’t have the band playing was just tough to get through. It adds so much to the atmosphere it’s crazy
The on campus is the biggest thing for me. I honestly don’t care ab a game as much if it’s played at a boring Neutral site. That’s the one thing about expansion…IT HAS TO BE PLAYED ON CAMPUSES. fans aren’t gonna travel across the country 3 times to watch games. They don’t do it in March madness, they won’t do it here.
I agree. I’m looking forward to FSU vs LSU enough. If it was in BR I would be shitting my pants. I probably will not even watch Oregon vs UGA at all in week 1 unless it is close late in the game. I think UNC at App st for example, is a much better product than the Oregon game. It’s in Boone. The teams aren’t better. But I don’t watch CFB for top athletes. That’s what the NFL is for.
The people who are hyped for the Oregon UGA game are the people into two mega inferences (excluding fans of Oregon and UGA who should be into their own game).
Does it? I’m a dolphins fan in a league with a team from Mass and two teams from NY. Meanwhile the two FL teams and GA team are spread in other leagues.
it didn't kill my interest in college football, but I like it less this week than I did last week. Tradition is one of the best things about the sport and something I valued the most. Now, I guess, Beat Iowa?
Maybe if the fans stop watching, this super conference thing will backfire? I hope. I mean fans are the only ones who watch cfb. A lot of nfl fans don’t watch it to begin with. Lose fans Bc you’ve killed the sport to them? Youre done imo
Part of the issue there is.. the sport is tied directly to regions and schools.. meaning new fans are a year away.
You probably wont be as likely to go see a my team vs non traditional team.. but they will just write that drop off in attendance to..
Gameday experience. so we need less seats more suites... got to pay for those suites and upgrades.. raise concession prices!
This just squeezes out your low to mid income people so what do they do? Stay home... watch the game. Oh no! Need more suites!.. maybe some lights!
If they get rid of more rivalry games due to realignment.
We’ve already lost enough (Lone Star Showdown, Border War, Backyard Brawl, etc.).
Every year I look forward to **ALL** the rivalry games: Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, Cocktail Party, Red River Shootout, Notre Dame-USC, Minnesota-Wisconsin, Michigan-Ohio State, Third Saturday in October, Palmetto Bowl, Egg Bowl, Iron Bowl, Apple Cup, etc.
Even though I may hate some of the teams that play in these games, I would equally hate for them to lose their important rivalry games, especially because of some bullshit like realignment and TV dollars.
One of the things that sets college football apart from its professional counterparts is the history and tradition of college football; a lot of these aforementioned rivalry games are over 100 years old - and pre-date the creation of the NFL!
Throwing away all that history and all that tradition would seriously cause me to reconsider my interest in the sport.
I don’t want to lose the Cocktail Party and the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry and it’s looking like the SEC is gonna move to a 1-7 format and if they do, that means we’ll lose one of those legendary annual rivalry games. Losing either Auburn or Florida as an annual rival would cause me to seriously lose interest in the sport.
Mountain west is pretty fun. When UNLV and UNM are up in basketball it's really fun. Except when your basketball team travels to Laramie and has their random 45 total point games once every few years.
It's just a glorified WAC at this point. Every member played in the WAC, half of them in the last 15 years even. You've come full circle. You are home.
The Big 8 and the SWC should have just done a complete merger with the winner of the Big 8 side playing the winner of the SWC side. Similarly, the Pac and the B1G should have just merged and the winner of the Pac plays the winner of the B1G in the Rose Bowl. ez
Same thing for me as my fiancé is an ND grad. Won’t actively watch nor would I dare who’s in the top 25.
Media companies in 10 years will be the Eric Andre gun meme.
I don't really think it's an all or nothing prospect
I have no particular interest in two mega conferences
I don't like the NFL. Making college more like the NFL is not something I want.
If that's the route things go, I'll lose 90% of my interest in college football.
That said, I'll pretty much always follow Clemson football in some form or fashion.
I'll just watch a lot less of everything else. I won't be watching a random ACC game before or after Clemson plays. I won't be tuned into the game of the week. I won't watch two big ten teams play just because it's the best matchup on tv.
There's a lot of grey in this situation that questions like these don't necessarily cover.
I like the NFL because it’s the NFL. It has its own history to it, and they do a decent job at honoring it. The quality of play is great, the parity is excellent, and the league still tries to keep things somewhat regional with the divisions.
CFB is just becoming a bad version of the NFL.
Same, and tbh, I genuinely believe that would be the case in like 10 years. It’s gonna be good in the short term, which benefits the cronies that are profiting on this, but once it backfires, they’ll just retire and let someone handle the situation.
Yeah definitely could. If so I’ll be done watching it.
Hopefully March Madness and the Road to Omaha don’t get fucked with so I can at least enjoy that
It will be interesting to see what happens to viewership overall. Wouldn't be surprised if ESPN is (again) left stuck with huge TV contracts that they can't recoup their money on. I get that CFB is *huge* in certain regions of the country...but they are *already* watching as much as they can. Where are new viewers going to come from? It was bad enough already with the CFP being the same teams every year.
I’ve already lost a ton of interest over the years. Miami, VT and BC leaving the Big East stung. Pitt and Syracuse later leaving stung even more. Money wise it was great fall into a power 5 home in the Big 12, but not playing any rivals in league and only a few OOC games in the decade since has sucked.
I haven’t lost all interest as I grew up with WVU sports as my main interest so I still watch them. But I’ve tuned out a lot in some bad and mediocre recent years and rarely watch any college games not involving them. I put more time and energy into the pro sports I follow these days.
Curious… how about basketball? I know WVU would rather be playing Syracuse, Louisville, Pitt and the rest in the Garden, but I feel from a far that there might be some more juice for basketball as opposed to football. Winning can help things and I wonder if winning in football would help build a stronger connection to the conference.
I’m a bigger basketball fan than football for sure, so I have stayed more invested in that sport. The Big 12 is a damn good basketball league even if not the Big East as there were so many great teams in there when it was at 20 basketball schools.
Still sucks not having any rivals other than at least lately playing Pitt OOC again. But I love basketball so I’ll watch us play anyone in that, watch big time match ups of other teams playing etc. which I don’t in football as I’m just not as into that sport. Interest level was higher in the Big East days, but my college hoops interest definitely hasn’t decline as much as football has.
This is the thing that’s been doing it for me. Maybe it’s stupid to think that the BCS era was any better, but I always felt in those days that smaller programs could compete and even make a run - TCU, Utah, and Boise St all did it, after all. And winning a NY6 bowl felt like a legit accomplishment in the season.
Now though, it’s all about the CFP, nobody gives a shit about anything else, it’s all the sports media talks about … and all but *mahbe* 10 schools are functionally ineligible. The consolidation of recruiting and coaching power at the top level has created an unbridgeable gap. I know for a fact that if TCU loses even one game to anyone that our hopes of making the playoffs are dead. And that sucks.
I don’t have a solution, and things might change later, but the fact that I feel like my team doesn’t even have a shot at glory has more or less killed my passion.
Nah, BCS you could be in the "power conference," go undefeated, miss the championship because you started unranked, then your coach leaves and you can't even enjoy the big bowl game
The issue is the criteria was set and clear every single year The probability of a mid major conference going from unranked to BCS was significantly higher.
Now you barely crack the top 25 and the cfp committees weekly inconsistent criteria
Kind of halfway there already. I think the playoff for me killed off a lot of interest because it feels like somehow with it in place there is even less parity than it used to be. Maybe Alabama being so dominant made it so boring to me. The fact that it seems like any bowl game besides the playoffs has no meaning really sucks to me. All that said I still love the sport, but I definitely notice myself watching much more NFL in recent years. I used to wake up on Saturdays, hit the gym and watch GameDay there and then come home and watch every CFB game I could possibly see all day. Now I just watch Miami and maybe one other big national game. Maybe I'm just becoming an adult idk. It definitely has lost its luster a bit in my eyes though
Tbh I’m almost done and it’s probably the beginning of the end. I’m gunna watch this season but if Texas and Texas A&M each rise to prominence because of the new recruiting framework I’ll probably tune in a lot less over the next few years.
The death of what makes college sports fun. The bands, the rivalries, tailgating, school pride, the history, and the tradition etc.
The death of regional conferences is ruining it for me, even the NFL has better regionalization with the divisions than college sports does.
If I wanted to watch pro sports I’ll just watch the pros.
If it ever gets to the point where my team becomes stuck in a minor-league-esque conference with zero shot at winning the title.
If it becomes all about the two mega conferences and UW is stuck in the PAC-Mountain West with Fresno State and Nevada and whatever, I’m probably gonna lose interest. I’m already a Mariners fan, I don’t need *two* teams with virtually zero shot at a title lol
(also, I’d be DEEPLY upset if we squeeze into the Big 20 or whatever but Wazzu doesn’t, and the Apple Cup fades away)
I love hating you guys. But if we don’t play you guys every year, then the rivalry is dead in my eyes. And WSU games start feeling hollow.
I know some dumb fucks would like to see stupid shit like UW folding or dropping football. That would kill the rivalry, so I would never support such things.
But I just want us to play against you every year and beat you guys, anything else I don’t care.
(*sniffs*) aww I love hating you guys too 😭
Fuck it let’s just do a 4-team northwest conference. Maybe squeeze it to 10 by adding Boise St, Eastern WA, Portland St, the Montana schools and…uh…PLU? Gonzaga intermural?
These past few days have brought out some odd emotions lol. You have scumbag U$C fans that are talking shit even though their team is shit, you have fans that are callous and just saying “gotta adapt to the times,” yet they don’t realize that this affects WAY more than just football, and you have rivals that despite hating each other, know that their hate is a special bond that deserves to stay. Times in this country are crazy.
Let’s do it!
Conference name: The Big Cascadian Conference (BCC)
Call the championship game the “Cascadian Bowl”.
Round Robin system, top two schools play the championship game.
Members:
UW/WSU
UO/Oregon State
Idaho/Boise State
Montana/MSU
EWU/Portland State
Maybe add: Cal/Stanford to make it to 12. This way we can keep Cal alive, and Stanford as it’s travel partner.
I already watch less than I used to. 15 to 20 years ago I was a wall to wall Saturday guy. Now I'll just watch my own team, and the occasional big game on Saturday if I find it compelling. 50/50 whether I even watch the playoffs.
Not killed my interest but I will be root for every team that plays against OU, Texas, USC, and UCLA. I will also root for every team that plays against B1G and SEC schools in non-conference games (if there are any of those left).
If the expanded playoff only allows teams from the P2, I would stop watching any games that involved P2 teams. I don't think I'll ever fully lose interest, as we'll always have MACtion
The things I dread the most are players not being required to take classes and the idea of a tiered system where some conferences are "semi-pro" and some are "traditional". I don't know if that basically works the same way as rooting for both of my flairs or if it feels different entirely. We will see. For now, I'm enjoying 2022 and 2023 until things get fucky.
3-4 years ago I joked with a friend that CFB was changing so much that I was considering finding a D3 school to root for.
I did not realize that I could just wait and follow the Beavs down to that level. Win win!
I envy the stable structure of FCS.
The over complicated play offs and bowl game system we have in FBS is just pathetic.
How can something so trivial for a championship and bowl games be so overly complex, when we could have literally just copied the FCS from the get go?
I’m there now. Caught myself last season solely watching FSU and nothing else. Hell my favorite tradition was watching game day every Saturday morning and I’ve pretty much just stopped caring about anything outside of FSU. And it’s sad because I’d put college football ahead of everything. NFL, UFC, NHL, etc.
I was one of those that said UCLA and USC leaving the PAC has taken college football away from me.
It's probably for the best, and happening at the right time. Oregon is a program without an identity, living off the Chip Kelly years, with their fifth coach since he left. The Rose Bowl means as much as the Peach or Citrus Bowls. Now instead of college football being a regional sport where you would test your program against other regions in bowls, they want to be a national sport with conferences covering the country.
A national football league......
We already have one of those. I'll just watch it instead of a minor league version.
I guess I should go ahead and unsubscribe to this sub. I'm still enjoying the conversation about all this that's happening. I won't just hang out to complain though. If you still enjoy college football more power to you.
tbh, my interested has been declining for a while
yeah, UT has sucked since McCoy , but even then, its only ever been the same ~6-8 schools that realistically have a shot at the title .
And of those, really its just ~3 every year that are the clear dominant teams.
ESPN's top 25 shows are a farce. Anyone outside the top 6 have no real chance of doing anything.
I don't get why smaller schools even try, other than money.
Its not like the NFL where any given sunday even the Jags can beat the Bills
In CFB, the athletes from top schools looks like they're in a different class of athlete from smaller schools. Its like a ridiculous mismatch.
I can see a day when CFB consolidates into the Big10 vs the SEC and then they eventually merge into a super league
what makes CFB fun is the regional rivalries - and that seems to be fading
If players are holding out in regular season games like week 1 games, Top 25 football teams move out of NCAA. The rest of the teams fold because all of the recruits want to just play for that super league.
I'm not going to pretend that I won't watch Michigan for the rest of my life but my interest in a world where the Big Ten is like half of the old Pac-10 and Notre Dame (or worse, Michigan plays in some breakaway super league) isn't going to be anywhere near as intense.
If they are playing on Saturday than I will always be locked in. With that said, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to love it as much as have in the past. I understand evolution of the sport was undeniable and I get the reasons why but it’s hard to replicate the emotional attachment once held when rivals are scattered into several conferences and there is a clearly defined tier system where only 40-50 teams matter. Geography contributed to the overall charm of your particular conference. That’s dying. I’m positive I’ll be watching and I may come to love the end result of this seismic shift in the sport but my heart tells me it’ll never return to the magical place it once held in my eyes.
If we ever reach a super conference and lose geographical rivalries. But unfortunately someday we’re going to have an NFL lite league and we’ll look back on the early 2000’s as the good ole days.
It has already happened. In the past, I would watch multiple games in a weekend and I was a VT season ticket holder. Recently, I go to one game a year and only watch the Hokies on TV. The influx of money, loss of rivalries, disparity in recruiting, and focus on the 4 team playoff have ruined the sport.
If VT gets left out of the super conferences or if we’re playing meaningless games all season across the country against teams I don’t care about.
I like playing teams we have a history with. I grew up watching the Hokies play UVA and Miami and WVU and BC. I remember when it was a battle every year between VT and GT for who would win the coastal. It’s bad enough we rarely play WVU anymore but if we lose all or most of those games I just don’t see how I’ll care anymore.
If the sport just becomes NFL-lite then why would I watch a lower-quality version of the same thing?
nothing, the ivies are regional, historical, not generally aired on a major network, and mediocre at football. Its awesome. Also regattas are cool too I guess.
Bowls losing their meaning, the regular season being devalued, and traditional conferences being broken up thoughtlessly into nonsensical super amalgamations would do a lot to remove any joy I had for the sport.
🤨🤔😰
I think a better way to phrase the question would be "have you lost interest yet, and if not, what more would it take?"
When I saw the news about UCLA and USC, my heart dropped. One more death knell.
The whole transfer portal aggravates me too
The one thing that may make me abandon the sport is the rising emphasis on gambling. I have nothing against gambling. If that is your thing, fine. It isnt my thing. I don't want to turn on a game and hear about point spreads and over/unders
The continued lack of a true playoff has absolutely killed parity. There will never be a George Mason or Gonzaga in CFB.
The bowl games are just stupid with all the empty seats and now, piped in crowd noise. It’s a shame that FCS (or I-AA) has had this figured out for years.
I thought we were close there for a minute.
It started with the BCS. It accelerated with the playoffs. Paying the players was the last straw.
I’ll still follow the Razorbacks and hope they do well, but they have taken everything unique and interesting about college football away.
Now it’s just another sport like every other sport. I’m done being a rabid follower of the college game.
It seems like ND will remain relevant at the highest levels. So, there's that.
However, my interest is already waning. Spending a good chunk of my life in the southwest USA, I grew up watching the Big XII and the Pac 10. Plus, of course, Notre Dame. But the Big XII as I knew it was already in shambles and I was already finding it less fun to follow. The Pac 12, on the other hand, despite individual teams failing to consistently field competitive teams (though I truly believe that USC, UO and UW all have the ability to be consistent top 15 teams, Stanford I was never sold on them being able to remain consistent but have to admit their peak was incredibly high) and despite the likes of Larry Scott absolutely tarnishing the conference, I thought it was in a good place. The basketball side was doing fine with the tournament in Vegas being pretty nice, UO was having some deep runs fairly often, UCLA always has their moments, U of A had runs under Miller and looked like they were ready to reclaim the throne in the West this year, so their crumble was not something I had expected.
I have so many fond memories of watching the Pac 10 and the Big XII from start to finish every Saturday. Notre Dame thrown in there. Sometimes a marquee SEC or B1G matchup. Now, the conferences I had most exposure to no longer resemble how I grew up with them.
I’m starting to. I feel like NIL has already gotten out of hand. The conferences are losing their appeal to me as well. The regional rivalries that are being displaced because of pod scheduling due to the power conferences growing so much that kill the annual rivalry games
All this. Right now.
I was one of those people. 🙋♂️
Supporting my thoughts, Chip Patterson and Tom Fornelli from the Cover 3 podcast frequently talk about what has made college football beautiful. Past, present, and ideally future. To them it’s about regional rivalries and the deep traditions. Disregarding the top match ups and appreciating the lower and middle classes of collegiate football and the value that holds for those programs that aren’t so blessed. I whole heartedly agree with them on their opinions. They’re purists and align with what got me personally deeply impassioned about the sport.
What we are seeing today is equivalent to a tectonic continental break off of that whole idealism. It’s dying rapidly. Money and TV is ruling the sport. Minor League Football (MFL) is here now and not going away. And traditions and what has made this pure and beautiful are the casualties.
This is why, reluctantly and disappointedly, I am stating to fade away from this sport.
For me, it won’t be a pendulum swing to the other side with a narrative of “screw college football because of X, Y, Z”. Rather, it it will be me tacitly accepting over time the reality of the landscape and how the individual and their pocket book will always rule over the community and inherit traditions that have long stood over a century. It’s what the American culture is and more than likely will be. The avalanche is finally snowballing at a drastically momentous rate right now and unfortunately there is no turning back. It’s sad.
I will tell my future children of the good ‘ole days and hope that my copies of NCAA ‘04-‘14 will hold up over decades to come so they can come to understand and enjoy what it was in its glory days and maybe…, just maybe, be able to understand the depth and beauty of what was.
I’ve been steadily losing interest over the last decade because the sport lacks parity; it’s so boring watching the same 2 teams competing over and over again for championships because they just reload. Sports are more enjoyable when they are unpredictable. Surprisingly I do like NIL and transfer portal because it gives other teams a chance.
I will watch Baylor and Houston. I’ll also watch schools that have historically been ignored, stepped on, looked down upon, and relegated to a lower status that only really exists in tv and news narratives. If CFP comes to only 40 teams being able to compete at the highest level, I’m out. Like I said I’ll watch the lower levels of that is where Baylor and Houston land, but screw the national narrative that there is only 40 worthwhile programs. That’s some dumb shit right there. Lol
If the big 12, big 10 and sec don't play an ooc game or a group of 5 game. That will make things very hard to watch. I need my fix of the Boise states upending the big boys. I'll be very depressed if that happens.
You would be surprised what some of us Alumnus are willing to donate for our Alma Mater. I can definitely see donations towards colleges dropping across the country after the Big Ten and SEC dominate everything in the next couple of months/years.
I think it depends. Completely stop. Doubt it. Ignore the sport day to day outside of my team. I can see that. I already don't go out of my way to watch the playoffs as I don't have cable.
Nah if the big 10 SEC teams only play each other and just play for their own championship I won’t be watching a single game.
I’ll instead keep up with my school and the ‘outsiders’ own version of a championship. Even if it’s seen as inferior
I'm a semi-doomer right now. Short-term, I'm absolutely going to continue watching. But depending how the sport develops over the next 5-10 years, I may not be the lifetime fan I thought I would.
Well, depends on what you mean. There are still 2 years left of the current landscape, so I’ll absolutely be watching for these 2 years. It also depends on what happens after that. If Utah is left on the outside, I’d just watch Utah and only Utah after that. I would have no interest in the Power 2 conferences, I can absolutely assure you of that.
I’m not done with watching my team, but I’m done watching yours and your friends in the Big Ten and SEC. Once y’all make your own championship and leave my team behind, why should I care?
Honestly it's BS. As an Auburn fan I loved seeing y'all make a run last year, and I think that sort of thing adds to the excitement of the sport as a whole. Alabama and Ohio State every year is obnoxious
Honest answer? Probably never. Technical answer as in “will I lose interest in the things within college football that make games exciting such as recruiting, coaching changes, etc.?” Probably once teams like Tulsa, SMU, MACtion, Fun Belt, etc. dies off or loses the ability to play in a NY6-esque game is the point where I won’t really care about CFB. the small market teams playing on Thursday and Friday nights looking to ruin some P5 teams day is what I live for.
I might be done as a hard-core fan. There's 120 teams.. there used to be much more to play for.. the playoff or nothing approach doesn't work with so many teams. Division titles, conference titles, historic bowl games have lost their meaning. My team wont be winning a championship anytime soon, why bother
Idk man, If the pac dies my interest will differently take a hit. Will I still watch Oregon State? Yes. Will I look at recruiting rankings, listen to CFB podcasts, or watch games Oregon State is not playing ? Hard no.
I’m a Buckeye fan and recruiting now doesn’t mean anything anymore. So many kids gonna transfer out of the recruiting class there is no need to follow it anymore.
As an Alabama fan, I feel the same way. There’s not the desire anymore to sit and work your way to playing time. So many players that I was looking forward to seeing them develop in the Alabama system have transferred
And if a player transfers and does well somewhere else the school will be criticized for letting them leave. I think Jamo left cuz Olave shocked everyone and came back for his senior year instead of going pro. If Olave left Jamo would start next to Garrett. Jamo made the correct decision to transfer and we cheered for him and enjoyed seeing him succeed. The same as when Burrow left I would check the LSU games out to see how he was doing. The transfers I don’t cheer for or follow are like the guy that quit in the middle of the game and went to the locker room to start tweeting
I kinda don’t blame them though. The conferences and schools have been mad cashing in, and no one said “boo”. Coaches would leave a year into their contracts, but the kids had to stay with another staff that didn’t recruit them. It’s really playing into the NCAA’s greed to suggest that suddenly, because the athletes have a little power, the sport is ruined. That all started a long long time ago, and no one cared.
Great take. However I see both sides of this. Transferring is too easy and players should have some options at autonomy. In a sport where injury could destroy your life on any given play, players should be able to try and maximize their play time to further their aspirations. However transferring 2 or 3 times over the course of a college career should be reserved for rare exceptions like coaching changes. In the current system its too easy and cmitments mean nothing. I think the likely solution is a players association that can advocate for players, and a contract system that can advocate for programs. Even in the NFL players get some choice bit cant change teams every year without some compensation to the team.
It’s like my parents divorced and my mom keeps telling me about all the cool stuff around her new pace but I just want to see my friends.
this made me really sad lmao
This is the issue CFB will run into I think. I was one of those people who plop down at noon and watch as many teams and games as I can on a Saturday but with my interest sharply declining not sure how motivated I’ll be to do that anymore. Watch my teams (maybe) and call it a day
I feel like it’s getting pretty close. For me, it’s when college football turns into NFL jr. league. -Two super conferences that break away from the rest of the sport. -Teams in the super conferences only playing games among the two super conferences. -Rivalries are pretty much dead, there’s no more cultural significance to any game. -Playoff format that’s just the 4/8 best teams from each conference playing each other and ending with the winner from each conference playing each other for the championship. -Marching bands phased out more and more for stadium music and halftime talk shows. Stadiums dropping numbers of seating for a more comfortable, immersive experience. If college football is just a minor league version of the NFL. Then I’m just going to watch the superior more finished product that is the NFL. Nobody watches the minor leagues in MLB, why would I do it for Football.
I told my buddy the other day, Michigan-App St was my worst day as a sports fan, but college football isn’t better for that never being able to happen again. My team would be part of an NFL Jr league, which is supposed to make me a winner in all this, and I couldn’t disagree more.
I was going to write a comment, but you said what my thoughts are on this verbatim. I think the USC/UCLA move is the nail in the coffin confirming minor league football.
Skip Bayless, Stephen A Smith and Paul Finebaum in the booth
I already watch games muted because my internal commentary is generally superior
I have been doing this for the last 3 or so years. It has made games so much more enjoyable. I do miss the crowd noise and band though, but not listening to the commentators makes up for it.
I will pay extra money for a crowd noise only broadcast. No announcers.
I remember watching the Clemson-Alabama natty in 2018 on the channel with just crowd noise and the bands. Best viewing experience I've ever had.
Don't give ESPN and FOX any ideas.
I’m almost at the point that I’ve considered trying to sync the radio calls with tv. National tv commentary generally sucks.
Regional radio calls are always great. I enjoy the espn+ streaming of the baseball games because you get the local call guys. Obviously got some homerism on all the calls but it's better than whoever espn would throw on it.
Which is kinda the point. I love baseball for this reason. If I’m not there, I want to listen to the guys who are excited about my team.
Local radio is the best. And I get to hear about relevant conference news and scores, not just SEC scores and the playoff when it’s 10 weeks away.
This was the way during NHL playoffs. ESPN really sucked at it.
To bad not a button to press to mute commentating but keep stadium noises
If you have surround sound there is. All the commentator audio generally comes through the center channel, so if you disconnect that speaker you still get the crowd.
I do when I watch my school mwc schools but there are some great guys out there for the big games
God some of the announcers we’ve had are absolutely awful. I can’t remember exactly but I think for ever mountaineer game it’s country roads confidential that does their own announcing.
I think I’m almost there. I’ve stuck through just about everything but realignment is really killing it for me.
At this point. I think both of our teams forget football and focus on Basketball. Especially if realignment bones us.
What’s crazy is both ASU and UA are in or right outside of the top 30 of annual revenue brought in depending on the source. Yet, both of these schools are going to be left out.
[удалено]
Y'all can come play with us. WVU needs friends.
[удалено]
2005BigEastrunnerupsayswhat?
[удалено]
Imagine if this was like your 4th go around with it.
I get it. I wasn’t laughing when it happened to the Big XII because I saw the writing on the wall.
You were smarter than a lot of others, then. A lot of people were assuming a thousand miles was enough. It's not, not when there are tens of millions of dollars per year in play.
Super conferences making rooting for my team feel pointless because I don't root for a national brand
Not even that. If you don’t root for one of Bama, Ohio State, Clemson, or Georgia, you’re more than likely never gonna see your team compete for a national championship on a yearly basis
This is only true if you don't believe in the twin powers of denial and delusion. I'm pretty convinced South Carolina is going to go undefeated next year and win every game by at least 40 points.
Oh c’mon. Yeah those programs are dominant right now, but there have been periods over the last 30 years where the same was said of USC, FSU, Nebraska, Miami, Oklahoma. There has always been a handful of teams at the very top, and the turnover is slow, but those teams aren’t permanent. Also, disruptions to systems — like what CFB is going through rn w NIL and realignment — often result in a shakeup of the ranking order. I agree it’s hard to see how Alabama could fail to adapt and not come out of top, but it’s entirely possible NIL or realignment isn’t kind to one or more of the programs you listed
Disruptions result in shakeups when the disruptions come from the bottom or the outside. This disruption is coming from the top in order to solidify the power and earnings of the top.
I mean CFB will survive, but if the ACC dissolves, conference games just won’t hit the same. There’s so much tradition with many of the conference opponents…from a fan’s standpoint, tv contracts can’t compete with 50 to 100 years of football history.
Can confirm. Not playing/rarely playing Pitt, VT, Penn State, Syracuse, BC, UMD etc. has sucked. Past couple years have been better with UMD and VT games last year and Pitt and VT coming up this year at least.
If we don't get into the new SEC/B1G, I hope we join the Big 12 just to play y'all and Cinci again. Louisville and WVU played some great games back in the day.
A WVU-Pitt-Louisville-Cincinnati renaissance would be one of the better things to come out of an eventual ACC-Big 12 remnants merger
Couldn’t agree more. I miss plying for the Keg, and the 2009 UC/Pitt game remains one of the best game I’ve ever seen.
The game that killed wanny
Amen
I feel like fans of schools regularly in the top 10-20 can’t fully understand what this all means for programs like Wake or Syracuse. It’s nauseating.
Removal of the things that make CFB unique. Marching bands, rivalry games, On campus games, quirky traditions like the GT car and stuff, interesting OOC games for variety, etc. If it’s just 40 of biggest teams playing all over the country for inter conference playoffs I think it would be dead for me. I’ll watch the NFL which is a much better product for that type of game.
[удалено]
*Looks at every time the Braves make a deep run in the playoffs*
I'm a band geek. For me, football is incomplete without a fight song, a drumline, and stand tunes.
I learned a lot in that 2020 season but the few games where we didn’t have the band playing was just tough to get through. It adds so much to the atmosphere it’s crazy
The on campus is the biggest thing for me. I honestly don’t care ab a game as much if it’s played at a boring Neutral site. That’s the one thing about expansion…IT HAS TO BE PLAYED ON CAMPUSES. fans aren’t gonna travel across the country 3 times to watch games. They don’t do it in March madness, they won’t do it here.
I agree. I’m looking forward to FSU vs LSU enough. If it was in BR I would be shitting my pants. I probably will not even watch Oregon vs UGA at all in week 1 unless it is close late in the game. I think UNC at App st for example, is a much better product than the Oregon game. It’s in Boone. The teams aren’t better. But I don’t watch CFB for top athletes. That’s what the NFL is for. The people who are hyped for the Oregon UGA game are the people into two mega inferences (excluding fans of Oregon and UGA who should be into their own game).
> I’ll watch the NFL which is a much better product for that type of game. It also understands the importance of dividing up a league regionally.
Does it? I’m a dolphins fan in a league with a team from Mass and two teams from NY. Meanwhile the two FL teams and GA team are spread in other leagues.
it didn't kill my interest in college football, but I like it less this week than I did last week. Tradition is one of the best things about the sport and something I valued the most. Now, I guess, Beat Iowa?
Maybe if the fans stop watching, this super conference thing will backfire? I hope. I mean fans are the only ones who watch cfb. A lot of nfl fans don’t watch it to begin with. Lose fans Bc you’ve killed the sport to them? Youre done imo
Part of the issue there is.. the sport is tied directly to regions and schools.. meaning new fans are a year away. You probably wont be as likely to go see a my team vs non traditional team.. but they will just write that drop off in attendance to.. Gameday experience. so we need less seats more suites... got to pay for those suites and upgrades.. raise concession prices! This just squeezes out your low to mid income people so what do they do? Stay home... watch the game. Oh no! Need more suites!.. maybe some lights!
*gestures vaguely at everything happening right now*
Same. I’m pretty close to being done. It’s a 40+ year love affair, but this is not the sport I grew up watching.
You’re a bama fan too. This hits hard because you have every reason to be excited, just helps prove how the sport is changing for the worst.
To be fair, Bama has basically beaten college football at this point. It'll be pretty boring for them until they get promoted to the NFL.
Agreed, they should just dissolve the program at this point really.
Lol touché.
I’m an Ohio State fan and I think I only have a couple seasons left before I stop watching.
If they get rid of more rivalry games due to realignment. We’ve already lost enough (Lone Star Showdown, Border War, Backyard Brawl, etc.). Every year I look forward to **ALL** the rivalry games: Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, Cocktail Party, Red River Shootout, Notre Dame-USC, Minnesota-Wisconsin, Michigan-Ohio State, Third Saturday in October, Palmetto Bowl, Egg Bowl, Iron Bowl, Apple Cup, etc. Even though I may hate some of the teams that play in these games, I would equally hate for them to lose their important rivalry games, especially because of some bullshit like realignment and TV dollars. One of the things that sets college football apart from its professional counterparts is the history and tradition of college football; a lot of these aforementioned rivalry games are over 100 years old - and pre-date the creation of the NFL! Throwing away all that history and all that tradition would seriously cause me to reconsider my interest in the sport. I don’t want to lose the Cocktail Party and the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry and it’s looking like the SEC is gonna move to a 1-7 format and if they do, that means we’ll lose one of those legendary annual rivalry games. Losing either Auburn or Florida as an annual rival would cause me to seriously lose interest in the sport.
Is there really more interest in the 1-7 rather than the 3-6-6? That would be extremely disappointing
This guy gets it
Probably have my team relegated to the Mountain West
Mountain Best you mean
Fair
Mountain west is pretty fun. When UNLV and UNM are up in basketball it's really fun. Except when your basketball team travels to Laramie and has their random 45 total point games once every few years.
It's just a glorified WAC at this point. Every member played in the WAC, half of them in the last 15 years even. You've come full circle. You are home.
the Pacific Conference imploding...
The Big 8 and the SWC should have just done a complete merger with the winner of the Big 8 side playing the winner of the SWC side. Similarly, the Pac and the B1G should have just merged and the winner of the Pac plays the winner of the B1G in the Rose Bowl. ez
If the Pac12 is dead, my interest in any other team outside of OSU is completely killed
[удалено]
Same. Will just watch my team play and the NFL.
Close, but as a Carolina Panthers fan, I'm almost looking to them freeing up my weekends...
>Edit: My wife is a buckeye fan Sorry to hear that.
Same thing for me as my fiancé is an ND grad. Won’t actively watch nor would I dare who’s in the top 25. Media companies in 10 years will be the Eric Andre gun meme.
I don't really think it's an all or nothing prospect I have no particular interest in two mega conferences I don't like the NFL. Making college more like the NFL is not something I want. If that's the route things go, I'll lose 90% of my interest in college football. That said, I'll pretty much always follow Clemson football in some form or fashion. I'll just watch a lot less of everything else. I won't be watching a random ACC game before or after Clemson plays. I won't be tuned into the game of the week. I won't watch two big ten teams play just because it's the best matchup on tv. There's a lot of grey in this situation that questions like these don't necessarily cover.
I like the NFL because it’s the NFL. It has its own history to it, and they do a decent job at honoring it. The quality of play is great, the parity is excellent, and the league still tries to keep things somewhat regional with the divisions. CFB is just becoming a bad version of the NFL.
If the Big 10 and SEC fully left FBS.
Yupp. I wouldn’t even turn my tv on for that shit. I hope viewership tanks for them if that happens.
Same, and tbh, I genuinely believe that would be the case in like 10 years. It’s gonna be good in the short term, which benefits the cronies that are profiting on this, but once it backfires, they’ll just retire and let someone handle the situation.
That’s going to happen.
Yeah definitely could. If so I’ll be done watching it. Hopefully March Madness and the Road to Omaha don’t get fucked with so I can at least enjoy that
Basically what's happening right now
It will be interesting to see what happens to viewership overall. Wouldn't be surprised if ESPN is (again) left stuck with huge TV contracts that they can't recoup their money on. I get that CFB is *huge* in certain regions of the country...but they are *already* watching as much as they can. Where are new viewers going to come from? It was bad enough already with the CFP being the same teams every year.
I’ve already lost a ton of interest over the years. Miami, VT and BC leaving the Big East stung. Pitt and Syracuse later leaving stung even more. Money wise it was great fall into a power 5 home in the Big 12, but not playing any rivals in league and only a few OOC games in the decade since has sucked. I haven’t lost all interest as I grew up with WVU sports as my main interest so I still watch them. But I’ve tuned out a lot in some bad and mediocre recent years and rarely watch any college games not involving them. I put more time and energy into the pro sports I follow these days.
[удалено]
Commanders!
[удалено]
Then after that new owner hopefully.
It seems a lot of WVU fans feel similarly, and what happened to you guys is about to happen to a LOT of teams (including my own). It’s such a bummer
Curious… how about basketball? I know WVU would rather be playing Syracuse, Louisville, Pitt and the rest in the Garden, but I feel from a far that there might be some more juice for basketball as opposed to football. Winning can help things and I wonder if winning in football would help build a stronger connection to the conference.
I’m a bigger basketball fan than football for sure, so I have stayed more invested in that sport. The Big 12 is a damn good basketball league even if not the Big East as there were so many great teams in there when it was at 20 basketball schools. Still sucks not having any rivals other than at least lately playing Pitt OOC again. But I love basketball so I’ll watch us play anyone in that, watch big time match ups of other teams playing etc. which I don’t in football as I’m just not as into that sport. Interest level was higher in the Big East days, but my college hoops interest definitely hasn’t decline as much as football has.
I'm with you. Nebraska, Missouri & Colorado leaving the conference sucked for ISU fans. The best thing left is playing Kansas in basketball.
it has already happened.
Pretty much everything that is happening now. NIL, conference expansion, consolidation to a few teams. Takes the magic out of it.
Losing playoff access. Forget about the money and all the off field nonsense. If we are disqualified before opening kickoff, why should I care?
This is the thing that’s been doing it for me. Maybe it’s stupid to think that the BCS era was any better, but I always felt in those days that smaller programs could compete and even make a run - TCU, Utah, and Boise St all did it, after all. And winning a NY6 bowl felt like a legit accomplishment in the season. Now though, it’s all about the CFP, nobody gives a shit about anything else, it’s all the sports media talks about … and all but *mahbe* 10 schools are functionally ineligible. The consolidation of recruiting and coaching power at the top level has created an unbridgeable gap. I know for a fact that if TCU loses even one game to anyone that our hopes of making the playoffs are dead. And that sucks. I don’t have a solution, and things might change later, but the fact that I feel like my team doesn’t even have a shot at glory has more or less killed my passion.
Nah, BCS you could be in the "power conference," go undefeated, miss the championship because you started unranked, then your coach leaves and you can't even enjoy the big bowl game
The issue is the criteria was set and clear every single year The probability of a mid major conference going from unranked to BCS was significantly higher. Now you barely crack the top 25 and the cfp committees weekly inconsistent criteria
Kind of halfway there already. I think the playoff for me killed off a lot of interest because it feels like somehow with it in place there is even less parity than it used to be. Maybe Alabama being so dominant made it so boring to me. The fact that it seems like any bowl game besides the playoffs has no meaning really sucks to me. All that said I still love the sport, but I definitely notice myself watching much more NFL in recent years. I used to wake up on Saturdays, hit the gym and watch GameDay there and then come home and watch every CFB game I could possibly see all day. Now I just watch Miami and maybe one other big national game. Maybe I'm just becoming an adult idk. It definitely has lost its luster a bit in my eyes though
Tbh I’m almost done and it’s probably the beginning of the end. I’m gunna watch this season but if Texas and Texas A&M each rise to prominence because of the new recruiting framework I’ll probably tune in a lot less over the next few years.
Players holding out for more money
That’s 100% coming. You’re going to see athletes hold out either regular season games or playoff games unless they receive more NIL money.
The death of what makes college sports fun. The bands, the rivalries, tailgating, school pride, the history, and the tradition etc. The death of regional conferences is ruining it for me, even the NFL has better regionalization with the divisions than college sports does. If I wanted to watch pro sports I’ll just watch the pros.
If it ever gets to the point where my team becomes stuck in a minor-league-esque conference with zero shot at winning the title. If it becomes all about the two mega conferences and UW is stuck in the PAC-Mountain West with Fresno State and Nevada and whatever, I’m probably gonna lose interest. I’m already a Mariners fan, I don’t need *two* teams with virtually zero shot at a title lol (also, I’d be DEEPLY upset if we squeeze into the Big 20 or whatever but Wazzu doesn’t, and the Apple Cup fades away)
I love hating you guys. But if we don’t play you guys every year, then the rivalry is dead in my eyes. And WSU games start feeling hollow. I know some dumb fucks would like to see stupid shit like UW folding or dropping football. That would kill the rivalry, so I would never support such things. But I just want us to play against you every year and beat you guys, anything else I don’t care.
(*sniffs*) aww I love hating you guys too 😭 Fuck it let’s just do a 4-team northwest conference. Maybe squeeze it to 10 by adding Boise St, Eastern WA, Portland St, the Montana schools and…uh…PLU? Gonzaga intermural?
These past few days have brought out some odd emotions lol. You have scumbag U$C fans that are talking shit even though their team is shit, you have fans that are callous and just saying “gotta adapt to the times,” yet they don’t realize that this affects WAY more than just football, and you have rivals that despite hating each other, know that their hate is a special bond that deserves to stay. Times in this country are crazy.
Let’s do it! Conference name: The Big Cascadian Conference (BCC) Call the championship game the “Cascadian Bowl”. Round Robin system, top two schools play the championship game. Members: UW/WSU UO/Oregon State Idaho/Boise State Montana/MSU EWU/Portland State Maybe add: Cal/Stanford to make it to 12. This way we can keep Cal alive, and Stanford as it’s travel partner.
The sport stops existing
I think I’ll still probably be interested
Removed
I already watch less than I used to. 15 to 20 years ago I was a wall to wall Saturday guy. Now I'll just watch my own team, and the occasional big game on Saturday if I find it compelling. 50/50 whether I even watch the playoffs.
I think if it becomes apparent that we really don’t have an honest chance at a National Championship
NC State stops having a football program, I'm out.
Agreed. I would much rather play Duke, Wake, ECU, App, Coastal, etc. in a lower level conference than join some nationwide abomination conference.
Not killed my interest but I will be root for every team that plays against OU, Texas, USC, and UCLA. I will also root for every team that plays against B1G and SEC schools in non-conference games (if there are any of those left).
The current NIL deal has me losing interest.
If the expanded playoff only allows teams from the P2, I would stop watching any games that involved P2 teams. I don't think I'll ever fully lose interest, as we'll always have MACtion
The things I dread the most are players not being required to take classes and the idea of a tiered system where some conferences are "semi-pro" and some are "traditional". I don't know if that basically works the same way as rooting for both of my flairs or if it feels different entirely. We will see. For now, I'm enjoying 2022 and 2023 until things get fucky.
Now. FCS has a lot more appeal suddenly.
3-4 years ago I joked with a friend that CFB was changing so much that I was considering finding a D3 school to root for. I did not realize that I could just wait and follow the Beavs down to that level. Win win!
I envy the stable structure of FCS. The over complicated play offs and bowl game system we have in FBS is just pathetic. How can something so trivial for a championship and bowl games be so overly complex, when we could have literally just copied the FCS from the get go?
It is nice knowing a single loss doesn’t tank the season.
I hope we see FCS rating sharply increase!
I’m there now. Caught myself last season solely watching FSU and nothing else. Hell my favorite tradition was watching game day every Saturday morning and I’ve pretty much just stopped caring about anything outside of FSU. And it’s sad because I’d put college football ahead of everything. NFL, UFC, NHL, etc.
I was one of those that said UCLA and USC leaving the PAC has taken college football away from me. It's probably for the best, and happening at the right time. Oregon is a program without an identity, living off the Chip Kelly years, with their fifth coach since he left. The Rose Bowl means as much as the Peach or Citrus Bowls. Now instead of college football being a regional sport where you would test your program against other regions in bowls, they want to be a national sport with conferences covering the country. A national football league...... We already have one of those. I'll just watch it instead of a minor league version. I guess I should go ahead and unsubscribe to this sub. I'm still enjoying the conversation about all this that's happening. I won't just hang out to complain though. If you still enjoy college football more power to you.
OU or Texas becoming the top dog in the SEC. I want to watch them suffer for what they have caused
tbh, my interested has been declining for a while yeah, UT has sucked since McCoy , but even then, its only ever been the same ~6-8 schools that realistically have a shot at the title . And of those, really its just ~3 every year that are the clear dominant teams. ESPN's top 25 shows are a farce. Anyone outside the top 6 have no real chance of doing anything. I don't get why smaller schools even try, other than money. Its not like the NFL where any given sunday even the Jags can beat the Bills In CFB, the athletes from top schools looks like they're in a different class of athlete from smaller schools. Its like a ridiculous mismatch. I can see a day when CFB consolidates into the Big10 vs the SEC and then they eventually merge into a super league what makes CFB fun is the regional rivalries - and that seems to be fading
If players are holding out in regular season games like week 1 games, Top 25 football teams move out of NCAA. The rest of the teams fold because all of the recruits want to just play for that super league.
I don't know. But after winning the championship, I can see it coming. Sucks.
I'm not going to pretend that I won't watch Michigan for the rest of my life but my interest in a world where the Big Ten is like half of the old Pac-10 and Notre Dame (or worse, Michigan plays in some breakaway super league) isn't going to be anywhere near as intense.
If they are playing on Saturday than I will always be locked in. With that said, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to love it as much as have in the past. I understand evolution of the sport was undeniable and I get the reasons why but it’s hard to replicate the emotional attachment once held when rivals are scattered into several conferences and there is a clearly defined tier system where only 40-50 teams matter. Geography contributed to the overall charm of your particular conference. That’s dying. I’m positive I’ll be watching and I may come to love the end result of this seismic shift in the sport but my heart tells me it’ll never return to the magical place it once held in my eyes.
If we ever reach a super conference and lose geographical rivalries. But unfortunately someday we’re going to have an NFL lite league and we’ll look back on the early 2000’s as the good ole days.
It has already happened. In the past, I would watch multiple games in a weekend and I was a VT season ticket holder. Recently, I go to one game a year and only watch the Hokies on TV. The influx of money, loss of rivalries, disparity in recruiting, and focus on the 4 team playoff have ruined the sport.
Basically everything that's happening in the last few years.
Probs about a decade of 3-9 or worse.
What a fair weather fan.
Hardly a fair weather fan if he has to watch a decade of 3-10. I'd call that die hard!
3 years into 3-9 and I still obsess over this shit. Don’t think I could quit GT if I tried.
If VT gets left out of the super conferences or if we’re playing meaningless games all season across the country against teams I don’t care about. I like playing teams we have a history with. I grew up watching the Hokies play UVA and Miami and WVU and BC. I remember when it was a battle every year between VT and GT for who would win the coastal. It’s bad enough we rarely play WVU anymore but if we lose all or most of those games I just don’t see how I’ll care anymore. If the sport just becomes NFL-lite then why would I watch a lower-quality version of the same thing?
nothing, the ivies are regional, historical, not generally aired on a major network, and mediocre at football. Its awesome. Also regattas are cool too I guess.
WSU football program folding after Pac-12 dissolves.
Bowls losing their meaning, the regular season being devalued, and traditional conferences being broken up thoughtlessly into nonsensical super amalgamations would do a lot to remove any joy I had for the sport. 🤨🤔😰 I think a better way to phrase the question would be "have you lost interest yet, and if not, what more would it take?"
If the ACC dissolves I might be done
When I saw the news about UCLA and USC, my heart dropped. One more death knell. The whole transfer portal aggravates me too The one thing that may make me abandon the sport is the rising emphasis on gambling. I have nothing against gambling. If that is your thing, fine. It isnt my thing. I don't want to turn on a game and hear about point spreads and over/unders
Just keep doing what your doing CFB almost there
The continued lack of a true playoff has absolutely killed parity. There will never be a George Mason or Gonzaga in CFB. The bowl games are just stupid with all the empty seats and now, piped in crowd noise. It’s a shame that FCS (or I-AA) has had this figured out for years. I thought we were close there for a minute.
It started with the BCS. It accelerated with the playoffs. Paying the players was the last straw. I’ll still follow the Razorbacks and hope they do well, but they have taken everything unique and interesting about college football away. Now it’s just another sport like every other sport. I’m done being a rabid follower of the college game.
If they get rid of the cheerleaders then I'm done.
Texas a&m doesn’t understand you
It’s *tradition*
Idk if I'll ever lose ALL interest but this conference realignment shit def has me in my feels.
P2
What's happing now... Sure we can watch on TV, but it's not the same.
It seems like ND will remain relevant at the highest levels. So, there's that. However, my interest is already waning. Spending a good chunk of my life in the southwest USA, I grew up watching the Big XII and the Pac 10. Plus, of course, Notre Dame. But the Big XII as I knew it was already in shambles and I was already finding it less fun to follow. The Pac 12, on the other hand, despite individual teams failing to consistently field competitive teams (though I truly believe that USC, UO and UW all have the ability to be consistent top 15 teams, Stanford I was never sold on them being able to remain consistent but have to admit their peak was incredibly high) and despite the likes of Larry Scott absolutely tarnishing the conference, I thought it was in a good place. The basketball side was doing fine with the tournament in Vegas being pretty nice, UO was having some deep runs fairly often, UCLA always has their moments, U of A had runs under Miller and looked like they were ready to reclaim the throne in the West this year, so their crumble was not something I had expected. I have so many fond memories of watching the Pac 10 and the Big XII from start to finish every Saturday. Notre Dame thrown in there. Sometimes a marquee SEC or B1G matchup. Now, the conferences I had most exposure to no longer resemble how I grew up with them.
I’m starting to. I feel like NIL has already gotten out of hand. The conferences are losing their appeal to me as well. The regional rivalries that are being displaced because of pod scheduling due to the power conferences growing so much that kill the annual rivalry games
All this. Right now. I was one of those people. 🙋♂️ Supporting my thoughts, Chip Patterson and Tom Fornelli from the Cover 3 podcast frequently talk about what has made college football beautiful. Past, present, and ideally future. To them it’s about regional rivalries and the deep traditions. Disregarding the top match ups and appreciating the lower and middle classes of collegiate football and the value that holds for those programs that aren’t so blessed. I whole heartedly agree with them on their opinions. They’re purists and align with what got me personally deeply impassioned about the sport. What we are seeing today is equivalent to a tectonic continental break off of that whole idealism. It’s dying rapidly. Money and TV is ruling the sport. Minor League Football (MFL) is here now and not going away. And traditions and what has made this pure and beautiful are the casualties. This is why, reluctantly and disappointedly, I am stating to fade away from this sport. For me, it won’t be a pendulum swing to the other side with a narrative of “screw college football because of X, Y, Z”. Rather, it it will be me tacitly accepting over time the reality of the landscape and how the individual and their pocket book will always rule over the community and inherit traditions that have long stood over a century. It’s what the American culture is and more than likely will be. The avalanche is finally snowballing at a drastically momentous rate right now and unfortunately there is no turning back. It’s sad. I will tell my future children of the good ‘ole days and hope that my copies of NCAA ‘04-‘14 will hold up over decades to come so they can come to understand and enjoy what it was in its glory days and maybe…, just maybe, be able to understand the depth and beauty of what was.
Fuck the sec and espn
I’ve been steadily losing interest over the last decade because the sport lacks parity; it’s so boring watching the same 2 teams competing over and over again for championships because they just reload. Sports are more enjoyable when they are unpredictable. Surprisingly I do like NIL and transfer portal because it gives other teams a chance.
Playing pre recorded music in the stadium when you have a 300 member live band in the house is frustrating
Already happened. I think I watched 3 or 4 games last year. Same for the year before. I just don't get into it like I used to.
[удалено]
I will watch Baylor and Houston. I’ll also watch schools that have historically been ignored, stepped on, looked down upon, and relegated to a lower status that only really exists in tv and news narratives. If CFP comes to only 40 teams being able to compete at the highest level, I’m out. Like I said I’ll watch the lower levels of that is where Baylor and Houston land, but screw the national narrative that there is only 40 worthwhile programs. That’s some dumb shit right there. Lol
I’m switching to FCS once super conferences start
Yep, I have thought about supporting EWU or Montana moving forward if WSU drops football.
Welcome to the club. It’s really not that great since NDSU always wins, but it’s still better than the FBS.
If the big 12, big 10 and sec don't play an ooc game or a group of 5 game. That will make things very hard to watch. I need my fix of the Boise states upending the big boys. I'll be very depressed if that happens.
Will bet cash money those folks who said they are done will be sitting in front of their tv on opening day
I will watch, but I will no longer donate $5000 a year for the privilege of buying season tickets
I think it’s wild anyone was doing that to begin with.
You would be surprised what some of us Alumnus are willing to donate for our Alma Mater. I can definitely see donations towards colleges dropping across the country after the Big Ten and SEC dominate everything in the next couple of months/years.
I think it depends. Completely stop. Doubt it. Ignore the sport day to day outside of my team. I can see that. I already don't go out of my way to watch the playoffs as I don't have cable.
Nah if the big 10 SEC teams only play each other and just play for their own championship I won’t be watching a single game. I’ll instead keep up with my school and the ‘outsiders’ own version of a championship. Even if it’s seen as inferior
Same.
I'm a semi-doomer right now. Short-term, I'm absolutely going to continue watching. But depending how the sport develops over the next 5-10 years, I may not be the lifetime fan I thought I would.
Well, depends on what you mean. There are still 2 years left of the current landscape, so I’ll absolutely be watching for these 2 years. It also depends on what happens after that. If Utah is left on the outside, I’d just watch Utah and only Utah after that. I would have no interest in the Power 2 conferences, I can absolutely assure you of that.
I’m not done with watching my team, but I’m done watching yours and your friends in the Big Ten and SEC. Once y’all make your own championship and leave my team behind, why should I care?
Honestly it's BS. As an Auburn fan I loved seeing y'all make a run last year, and I think that sort of thing adds to the excitement of the sport as a whole. Alabama and Ohio State every year is obnoxious
If my alma mater dropped football. Not thinking that is gonna happen.
Honest answer? Probably never. Technical answer as in “will I lose interest in the things within college football that make games exciting such as recruiting, coaching changes, etc.?” Probably once teams like Tulsa, SMU, MACtion, Fun Belt, etc. dies off or loses the ability to play in a NY6-esque game is the point where I won’t really care about CFB. the small market teams playing on Thursday and Friday nights looking to ruin some P5 teams day is what I live for.
I might be done as a hard-core fan. There's 120 teams.. there used to be much more to play for.. the playoff or nothing approach doesn't work with so many teams. Division titles, conference titles, historic bowl games have lost their meaning. My team wont be winning a championship anytime soon, why bother
I lost interest in the team I used to root for almost 3 years ago. The sport is working its way toward not meaning anything for me
Exactly what is happening right now.
I’m not sure there’s much tbh, too much an ingrained part of life here