As tempting as it was, I didn't want to be the 356,759th person to write about the Bowl Championship Series this week, so from here on out, there will be no mention of the BCS.
Every sports fan loves parity. The fact that any team can beat another on any given day (unless you're the Gopher basketball team) makes watching sports fun. It's what makes March Madness one of the most popular spectacles in the United States.
It's why Saturday was a great day for college basketball, as DePaul beat then-No. 5 Kansas and then-No. 9 Marquette lost to North Dakota State. Most college football fans smiled as John David Booty's interception and Aaron Perez's incredible 63-yard punt sealed USC's fate on the same day. And the NBA's Eastern Conference may have the most parity of any conference ever, as the Toronto Raptors, at 7-10, not only are occupying the No. 8 playoff spot, but are tied for first in their division.
But there is such a thing as too much parity. The NFL is usually my favorite league to watch, but college football has stolen that title this season, as the NFL is a total mess right now. Minnesota and San Francisco are still in the playoff hunt at 5-7 and San Diego looks like the only team that is worthy of a Super Bowl berth right now.
Fantasy football teams are likely in ruins unless they have the good fortune of having Larry Johnson, LaDainian Tomlinson or the random running back that scores four touchdowns that week (see Joseph Addai and Reggie Bush). The most accurate kicker in the history of the NFL has no job right now, and his replacement kicked a game-winner Sunday.
Now I suppose I can live with a couple of these things, but the two teams that have pushed me over the edge are the Cowboys and Packers.
If the Cowboys are truly ""America's team,"" you'll find me in Vancouver before too long. With the numerous arrests and laundry list of hated players over the past 15 seasons, I love to see Dallas lose. So when the Terrell Owens/Drew Bledsoe/Bill Parcells/Mike Vanderjagt whine-fest had sent them to an ordinary 3-3 record with a quarterback controversy after all the preseason hype, I was giddy.
But then Tony Romo came out of nowhere and ruined everything. Owens is happy again and prognosticators are seeing the Cowboys in their Super Bowl crystal ball. This is not going according to plan. And it wouldn't be that bad, if not for a certain team from Green Bay playing only one quarter of good football the past three games.
The Packers have one of the most die-hard loyal fan bases in the land, but fans can only take so much. Booing has not been heard in Lambeau in a long time, but Sunday's fiasco against the Jets brought out the boo-birds. And why not? The frozen tundra mystique has completely disappeared. Take away the Arizona game and the Pack are 0-5 on their home turf, being outscored by the hefty margin of 156-57.
Yet with the terrible, terrible NFC, and an easy schedule ahead (San Fran, Minnesota, Detroit and a game against the Bears where starters might be resting), Green Bay could still make a run. They have not been the same since the fourth-and-26 Donovan McNabb throw that is still breaking cheesehead hearts. I can't name one big game they've won since that playoff loss, but with all the parity that's going on, they'll go on an eight-game winning streak and beat the Jets in the playoffs.
But who am I kidding, that's as ludicrous as Boise State and Wake Forest being in BCS bowls while No. 6 Wisconsin looks on!
Oops.
To get Zach to stop whining about the Packers, simply send an e-mail to zlkukkonen@dailycardinal.com.
