I feel so let down. I feel like a boy dreaming of steamy, mind-blowing sex, only to get stranded at second base. The prettiest girl in school flirted with us the past few weeks, joined us for a couple of dates, then ultimately decided she wanted to try and work things out with her ex-boyfriend. Oh what could have been.
As an unabashed Pac-10 fan my whole life, I was getting so pumped up for a Pac-16 featuring powerhouses like Texas and Oklahoma, not to mention exciting programs like Oklahoma State and Texas A&M. There could have been two beautiful divisions — one to the West representing mainstays like the Washington, Oregon, and California schools, and one to the East involving the six new programs from the Big 12 and the Arizona schools.
We would have had seven games against intradivision opponents per season and two interdivisional games per year. There would have been conference title games featuring USC and Texas, Oregon and Oklahoma, and regular season games with Huskies against Aggies. And best of all, there would have been a conference television network to ensure we didn’t miss a minute of the action! After years of getting dumped on by the rest of the country, the Pac-10 would have finally received the respect it has rightfully deserved. Oh, what could have been.
Sadly, commissioner Dan Beebe put it all together at the last moment and turned the Big 12 into the Texas 10. The conference leveraged its way into more TV money from ESPN and FOX, and they’ve promised the Longhorns their own television network where it will be all Bevo all the time. The Big Ten comes away with Nebraska, the Mountain West picked up Boise State, the Big 12 South remains intact, and the Pac-10 … well the Pac-10 gets Colorado. Dude, that’s not even a consolation prize.
So you know what, Big 12, just take your damn Colorado back. You think we want those Buffs? Is this really what you all got me excited for? If we’re going to break up the perfect symmetry of the conference then it better be for something worthwhile, you know, like super teams Texas and Oklahoma. If that’s not what we’re getting then you might as well have your Buffaloes back because we sure as heck don’t want them, Denver TV market or not.
A Pac-16, four super conferences of 16 teams each, and an eventual eight team playoff that begins with division winners meeting to determine conference champions. All part of the ideal college football plan. All gone down the drain. TV money and the BCS wins again. Pipe dreams lose. Please don’t tell me that Utah is your answer, Larry Scott. Kick those Buffs back. Without the Cowboys, Longhorns, Aggies, and Sooners, they’re useless, and I don’t want them around bringing the conference down.
