The BCS is so detested that it felt compelled to start up a twitter account defending itself. And then a website. And the BCS is now on Facebook. Each social network experiment has been a resounding failure, primarily because the BCS is an inadequate, unfair, pathetic end to the college football season. This is nearly unanimously agreed upon, except for a handful of traditionalists and the greedy suits who profit handsomely from the dozens of meaningless bowl games.
Even the highest profile media defender of the BCS, Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated, is changing allegiances.
Ive long been anti-playoff (albeit wanting a plus one), but these @InsidetheBCS tweets may be the straw that turns me the other way.
The media, the President, bloggers, and twitterers - have battered the BCS mercilessly. Guess who has been strangely quiet on the BCS front this year?
ESPN.
Amazingly, this is the only piece we could find on ESPN.com about the BCS and social media. It was penned by a freelancer and may as well have been written by a member of the vaunted BCS PR team.
Why wouldnt ESPN chime in on the hot-button topic in college football?
ESPNs baseball writers talk about Bud Seligs postseason blunders. Its NFL writers have debated the merits of an 18-game season. Its college basketball reporters write about the silly minority that wants to expand the NCAA tournament.
Why nothing on the BCS?
ESPN is the most powerful brand in sports. It has a deep group of college football columnists, reporters, and bloggers
and very few (if any) are railing against the BCS. Ivan Maisel wrote a column that got some front-page play about how the season has been a letdown
it doesnt even make mention of the BCS. An ESPN.com search for Bill Hancock (the new BCS executive director) turned up a few AP articles and very little else. Meanwhile, Hancock is going on radio shows around the country attempting to defend the BCS.
Could it be that ESPN owns and operates a handful (best we can tell, five) of bowl games? Or that ABC/ESPN will be televising 27 bowl games this winter?
Sigh. Maybe we shouldnt be hopeful about ESPN getting the fans, players, and coaches what many of them seem to want - a playoff.