Texas Tech & Arkansas Prove That Bowl Games Must Change Or Die

What is even the point of a bowl game that is not a championship?

A Comparison

Let's start in the area of my actual expertise, and that's music. Have you ever seen a cover or tribute band? Some are unbelievable, carbon copies of the original artists. You can be exhilarated, rock and out and have the best night of your life, but there's always that one thing missing; the soul of the original group. You could have player who can play twice as fast as Eddie Van Halen, but he's still not Eddie Van Halen, so it's just doesn't hit right.

It's Not The Team

I don't know the actual number, but between Texas Tech and Arkansas, there were somewhere around 45-60 players or more missing from the teams that got them into the Liberty Bowl. Instead, what you got was players who dressed and acted like them. Again, there's no shame with the new guys, but they aren't the teams we wanted to see.  I actually expected to see the usual bile from the toxic section of the Texas Tech fan base online, but it was muted. Again, why get mad at a team that isn't really the team?

Could This Solution Work?

I did come to the table with a solution and it could work. Of course it would never happen due to the way things are institutionalized in sports, but think about it; all bowl games should be flipped to the beginning of the season and played as "Kickoff Classic" type games. This way we could see the team we'll be seeing through the year and get an idea of what they're all about. The team would also be playing "for" something. There's only one problem, bowl games are traditionally thought of as "one last hurrah for the seniors on the team". Well, as we're seeing, a lot of those guys are opting out, and it's time we recognize the change.

Extra Point

Maybe the idea of bowl games at the start of the season is ridiculous, but it sure seems like something needs to change and it's time we had a conversation about it. It's really hard to get too excited about watching a team, or cover band that lacks the soul of the original.