It is worth disclosing that we were rooting for Utah to beat Alabama tonight. Not only do we find Nick Saban particularly loathsome, but we appreciate any chance for the BCS as a staff, label and as a motherfuckin' crew to get clowned, and this was far more decisive than any number of trick plays for Boise vs. Oklahoma. Boise was an upset. Utah was an ass-kicking. And the Orange Bowl was an abortion.
But one curious aspect of the situation has been the Ohio State fans' reaction. They seem absolutely delighted by Alabama's predicament, and for the life of me, I can't imagine why.
Imagine, if you will, this scenario. BCS Conference team makes a habit of winning more games than most figured they would, especially with some uncertainty at the quarterback position. When faced with a game against the top team in the conference, they lose a tough, close game (in which they led in the 4th quarter, mind you), but their overall record of dominance was enough to land them a BCS spot.
Am I talking about Alabama? Or Ohio State?
Aha! Nobody will deny Bama's worthiness in this fucked-up 10-team system and doomed-to-failure two-team playoff. But then there's Ohio State, who limped in so feebly to the BCS that you'd think they'd protect every avenue they used to get in.
Those thoughts would be wrong, however; here are the only three OSU sites we saw tonight, titles and content complelely within the implied context. As if it were debatable anyway. Try to find the common theme:
Our Honor Defend: LOL Tide LOL
Eleven Warriors: Come Delight With Us In Bama's Misfortunes
Men of the Scarlet and Grey: aLOLbama
Yeah, it's obvious. And it doesn't make any sense in the big picture.
Look, in this whack, fucked up, unfair setup of a BCS system, Ohio State walked into the last BCS spot (and got all that BCS cheddar) over Boise State. The reasoning was that 1) Ohio State will sell more tickets (true, we'll assume, until any shred of evidence suggests otherwise) and that 2) the Buckeyes would present a better fight than Boise State, who was 12-0 before losing a profoundly entertaining 17-16 fight against TCU.
While #1 is probably more pertinent, it's less enjoyable to gloat on; if bowl selections were purely football-related, jNW would have beaten out Iowa for the Outback and we really couldn't have protested much. Resorting to ticket sales is an admission that your team doesn't win on the merits, and arguing pocketbooks is a strictly joyless venture after that. So Ohio State should have wanted every reason to be picked over the Broncos because, well, Ohio State earned it, right? Is that not the CW?
So, then, why in god's name would a team like OSU not root like hell for Alabama? Why in the HELL would OSU fans rather root for an undefeated mid-major team to knock off a 2nd place, completely-at-large BCS conference team when they're about to be on the other side of the seesaw and they've engendered even less goodwill than the Tide? How is a fandom that short-sighted?! Look, if you guys really wanted to be taken seriously in the BCS (which when facing the first alternate for the tile is not exactly easy), the absolute LAST advisable course of action is rooting for a mid-major with impeccable accomplishments over a BCS team whose resume is much more like the Buckeyes'.
Or, put most simply, if you are an at-large BCS Conference team selected over a mid-major conference champion for the last BCS Bowl bid, you should really, really reconsider rooting for a mid-major conference champion to beat an at-large BCS Conference opponent. No surprise to those most familiar with OSU fans, but you're just embarrassing yourselves otherwise.