Steve Czaban reports on politicians cooking up an FTC complaint on the BCS that it’s national championship game is false advertising. From the article:
“Well along comes this item. Rep. Joe Barton of (wait for it…..) Texas (!) is proposing legislation that would hopefully shoot the BCS right out of the sky.
He said the bill — being co-sponsored by Reps. Bobby Rush, an Illinois Democrat, and Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican — “will prohibit the marketing, promotion, and advertising of a postseason game as a ‘national championship’ football game, unless it is the result of a playoff system. Violations of the prohibition will be treated as violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act as an unfair or deceptive act or practice.”
Now as much as I would like to think the bill has a fighting chance of making it – it doesn’t, even I know that – it still warms my heart to think that somebody else is thinking of picking up the nearest blunt club (the FTC) and attacking the BCS that way.
However, a longtime sports nut/anti-trust expert advised me not to be so chippy about this “solution.”
Basically, the Barton bill would do what you suggested — make marketing the BCS as a “national championship” a violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act. Here’s what that would mean in practice: The FTC, a five-member independent commission much like the FCC, would be told to make rules regarding what is and is not a bona fide “playoff” system for purposes of Barton’s law. ”
OK so it’s a Texan leading the charge, but – no surprise – Illinios is right behind. Chicagoland politics is exactly the kind of “fight fire with fire” tactics we need to slay the BCS beast. Meanwhile Boise State – who beat Oklahoma in one of the greatest college football games in history – is undefeated and gets to got to a bowl game in – wait for it – BOISE!?!?
Joe Paterno was right. It is the BSC.
Great stuff Czabe. Just don’t pick the Lions right underneath it next time.
