Winning Isn't Everything

For the first time in my life, I don't care about my favorite team winning. This is the end result of the entire Big 12 fiasco; a mind-numbing cash grab between rich universities that has left such a trail of disgust amongst the Midwest, that I find myself actually wanting Kansas to join a mid-major. In the words of David Byrne, well, how did I get here?

When Missouri first started threatening to move to the Big Ten, I was one of the few Kansas fans to say good riddance. Hey, I love history and tradition as much as the next guy, but I'm not married to it. The inability to move beyond tradition is what has made college football such a joke and ideas like the BCS a reality. I love the rivalry, but I can move on. No big deal.

And when Colorado and Nebraska jumped ship for greener pastures, leaving the Big 12 dangerously close to collapsing, I heard very few voices of optimism. The fear was to be left out of a BCS conference, which would cripple every Big 12 team not named Texas, leaving them basically incapable of winning a football championship and hurting their respective basketball programs.

Nobody stopped to think about anything other than winning. Every radio host and internet columnist (and newspaper columnist, if you still hold on to that archaic tradition as well) looked only for the pros and cons in terms of the Big 12 schools' athletic success. Nobody asked the question: couldn't this be sorta fun?

As a Kansas fan, I'm tired of playing the same schools year in and year out. I find it exciting that there's a possibility of forming new grudges, whether that be with UCLA in the Pac 10, Boise State in the Mountain West, whatever. I want sports to be fun again. A fresh start in another conference, even if it does hurt Kansas' chance of competing for titles, would help. I'd get to learn about new schools, new coaches, new fan bases. What's so wrong with that?

Everyone is so obsessed with winning that I feel they have lost sight of things. College athletics is fun even when your team isn't very good. This isn't professional sports, where athletes are paid millions to win. These are college kids, who you can always root for, good or bad.

But it's going to be hard to root for the Big 12 10 when I'll always be aware that this conference is really just the Texas Ten, with the only reason for its existence is the fear of being left behind. Texas is getting the cash, their own network and an even bigger advantage.

Every Saturday I'm going to see Colorado and Nebraska in their new conferences, happy as can be. It's like seeing your ex-wife once a week having a great time with her new husband, while you're stuck with a fat girl from the South who bullies you around.

I say bring on the Mountain West. I'd rather be in a fair conference that wants my team than a league based solely on making Texas more money. This isn't college athletics, it's big corporate business. This is not why I watch sports. I'm willing to sacrifice winning for enjoyment. But sadly, just about everyone disagrees with me.

To quote Mr. Byrne again, it'll be the same as it ever was.