Overrated/Underrated: Sports Edition

Overrated: The BCS - Wow, I know, big shocker. It seems easy to pile on the ridiculous bureaucracy the BCS has become. The system is an absolute joke. No matter what the outcome, somebody is going to cry "foul" and bitch that they got the shaft. Hell ragging on the BCS could be deemed overrated at this point. Everyone knows a playoff system is the only way to legitimize the national title at college football's highest level, and yet it seems like we're stuck in this horribly flawed, archaic system for the unforeseeable future.

Underrated: The FCS Playoffs - Amazing! A 16 team playoff involving all the conference champions* along with some at-large bid teams? That's crazy how that works huh? Amidst all the overhyped drama of the rivalry games, the I-AA (now called the FCS) playoffs began. I encourage any football fan to tune into these games. Of course I have a rooting interest as a UNI alum, but I have to say the FCS playoffs provide for some highly entertaining football. And if you think the talent is lacking at this level, let me give you a list of NFL players that are I-AA alumni to show you otherwise: Joe Flacco, Tim Hightower, Tyler Thigpen, Laurent Robinson, Vincent Jackson, Tony Romo, Brian Westbrook, Josh McCown, Jared Allen, Robert Mathis, Stephen Cooper, Rashean Mathis, Yeremiah Bell, and Edgerton Hartwell just to name a few. Oh yeah, and I believe a certain Sultan of Stubble hailed from a I-AA school as well.

*Yes, I know not all the I-AA conferences participate in the playoffs.

Overrated: Notre Dame's bowl eligibility - Give me a freakin' break. The Irish finished 6-6. The six teams they defeated are a combined 21-49 on the season, and only one of the six had a winning record. For God's sake ND, join a freakin' conference already! The Big Ten was more than ready to bring you in. Although I'd much rather see the Irish join the Big East and have the Big Ten snipe one of the other schools like Pittsburgh or West Virginia.

Underrated: Boise State's bowl eligibility - You go undefeated yet again, but lose out on the BCS bid to Utah. So instead you're looking at...... the Poinsettia Bowl? Jesus.

Overrated: Arizona Cardinals - I'm surely going to draw the ire of a few members of the Pomp Culture Collective for this one. While they did pull out a win against Dallas ages ago, the Cardinals seem to be more the beneficiaries of an incredibly weak division than they are a potential NFC champion. They'll more than likely make the playoffs, even if it means with a 8-8 or 9-7 record. But with most of their wins coming either at home or against division foes, or sometimes both, I can't see Arizona going any further than the Wild Card round at best.

Underrated: Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Let me get this straight. A team with Jeff Garcia at QB and Warrick Dunn at RB is 9-3 and in first place in their division and it's not the year 2000? The Bucs have really flown under the radar this season, but with smart coaching and a solid defense they're now looking like a serious playoff team.

Overrated: Madden Tournaments - Call me old-fashioned but today's games have so many god damn features and options in the game play that you have to push a million different buttons to run one god damn play. Then you get paired up with the asshole that runs the same 3 plays anyway that you can't seem to stop for the life of you. This just seems like a Randall-sized hassle.

Underrated: Tecmo Super Bowl Tournaments - I'll say it. Fuck Madden. Tecmo Super Bowl was the greatest football video game ever created, and playing a tounament with TSB is 100 times more fun than Madden. The games are shorter, the playcalling simpler, and the nostalgia greater. There's no fooling around with defensive formations. You're forever stuck in a 3-4. If you wanna blitz, you guess the opponents play. To me it's much more fun to strategize and guess the other person's play. Of course you can still run into the douchebag that does the diving nose tackle trick on every play, but a simple gentlemen's rule beforehand can stop that. Above all you can get completely smashed while playing and still manage to play alright.

I've been invited to take part in a TSB tourney in two weeks. I'm sure a future post chronicling the events will follow.

Overrated: Quoting the Big Lebowski at the bowling alley - OK, I love that movie as much as the next guy, but there's only so many times you can shout "Over the line!" or "Shomer Shabbas!" or "Don't fuck with the Jesus!" before it becomes not that funny any more and you become the annoying SOB no one wants to bowl with. That's why I say mix it up and try something like....

Underrated: Quoting Kingpin at the bowling alley - Remember this movie? It was the main source for bowling quotes before Big Lebowski came out. Next time you're at the alley with your buds try doing some classic Ernie McCracken lines and put your Walter Sobchak to rest. Bonus points if you ask the barmaid passing by for a "Tanqueray and Tab and keep 'em comin".