This is Juan Apaza. He works every day of the month, and does not get paid. On one day of the month, he is allowed to go into the gold mine and keep whatever he can take out. This could be a worthwhile arrangement if he worked inside a standard hole in Dirtgaria, a country where soil is as valuable as gold - but he does not, and he usually leaves with nothing.
This is Pete Carroll. He works tirelessly on the recruiting trail, in charity programs, and coaching his USC Trojans. Carroll has lead USC to seven consecutive 11 win seasons; but only two of these seasons have produced National Champions. One of these titles was an infamous split with LSU.
This is Rich Rodriguez. He is the oft-criticized (by some) coach that has brought the Revolution to Ann Arbor. He may not be embraced by the populace at large until he hoists a tacky crystal football into the sky.
I am guilty of being brainwashed by BCS sponsors, ESPN, and other fans that BCS Championships are the true measure of a successful program. When we talk about the future of Comrade Rodriguez, even here, we are guilty of day-dreaming about BCS Championship appearances.
It is good to set out sights high for the future. As a high school sophomore girl once told me via her pink text on purple background AOL Instant Messenger profile : "Aim for the moon; if you miss, you'll land among the stars". Ignoring the interesting scientific challenges presented - (what if I don't escape the atmosphere and just land as a smoldering speck of flesh in the Indian Ocean? What if I never make it to the stars and instead land ainside of a quasar a billion light years away? Is a quasar a star? Would I know this if I hadn't dropped Astronomy 101 because the math problems scared me?) - the message is simple to understand. There's nothing wrong with aiming high and hoping for the best.
But when we discuss aiming high, we must remember the context. Bo Schembechler, as we are quick to point out here, won exactly zero national championships. Since 1936, the first year the AP awarded a title, only 36 programs have won a share of either the AP, BCS, Coaches/UPI National Title. Of those, there are a number of one year wonders - BYU, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Colorado, Washington, Texas A&M, for example - that have only one title to their credit. National championships are a rare and beautiful event, and should be immortalized as such.
In times of financial uncertainty the price of gold skyrockets. I personally have three bars of gold, or at least lead painted yellow, stuffed in my closet in preparation for the inevitable economic apocalypse that awaits us all in the coming months. I believe that increased uncertainty in the college football combined with increasing national exposure of all teams has likewise magnified the importance of winning what is still (in my mind) a mythical national championship.
Due to the system that has been imposed upon college football teams are scheduling more cupcake games and depriving us of compelling inter-sectional match-ups during the season. With the small sample size of past decades dwindled down even further, we are left grabbing at any possible evidence to prove that our team or conference is better than the barbarian hordes of other regions. ESPN and friends spend hours every week detailing the game from all corners of the nation now. Instead of being content with wins over rivals and conference championships, fans demand excellence on a national level. The crystal football has become the only overriding symbol of dominance as a football team, while traditional indicators such as Rose Bowl wins have slipped to the wayside - enjoyed, but not coveted in the same way.
Pete Carroll was ridiculed by some for his statement that USC was the best team in college football. The haters told Carroll that he should have taken care of business on the field. But the Trojans only lost one game to a slightly above average Oregon State team. Florida lost at home to a similar Ole Miss squad, Penn St. to a solid Iowa team, Utah to no one, and the team with arguably the best resume (OU) was nearly left out in favor of Texas. Trying to winnow down the field from the contenders at the end of the season is an inexact science. This is not a pro-playoff polemic; rather, just an attempt to show that it is rarely as easy as "taking care of business" on the field. Winning, nay, playing for the BCS Championship requires good fortune and timing.
Even in the context of an undefeated season there is luck involved. Our fabled 1997 Champions nearly lost to Iowa, and came within a few inches of throwing a potentially devastating pick six against OSU in our penultimate contest. Without Heisman Trophy winning Charles Woodson it is likely Michigan would have lost at least one game. In the same season, Nebraska needed a kicked ball pass completion to defeat Missouri. Rare are the teams that steamroll through a schedule and make an overwhelming case that they are one of the two best - rarer still are the years where both teams accomplish this feat.
In all of human history enough gold has been mined to construct a cube that fits easily underneath the Eiffel Tower. Or to fill two Olympic sized swimming pools. Yet it has been a constant symbol of wealth and power throughout the ages, and will remain so for many more years. The pursuit of gold is often damaging to the environment, exploitative of the worker, and offers little utility to the human population at large. An obsession with becoming BCS Champions can take a similar toll on a team.
We all want a shiny new crystal trophy for Schembechler Hall - and spoken or not, every team sets their sights on that goal at the beginning of the season. But let us not fall into the trap that has been set - Comrade Rodriguez can lead us to glory and happiness without ever winning the mythical "Big One". Let us return our focus to what Mr Carroll has learned is the only thing worth worrying about; a conference title and a victory in the Rose Bowl. Take care of that, and the Wolverines will always be in the conversation. From there, let the cruel gods of fate settle our destiny.
