Somehow I wake up every year hoping I won’t hear that damned song. Just remember that it doesn’t matter. Every year you’re going to wake up, hear those stupid morning DJ’s playing that same BCS song, BCS Andie MacDowell is going to reject your advances and slap you in the face, and that damn BCS gopher is going to drive your college football season pickup right into a giant pit.
___________________
I tried to get myself away from this nonsense. I tried to immerse myself in baseball. Their structure is pretty flawed, but not even Bud Selig on quaaludes could imagine a subjective nightmare like the BCS.

Surely, in a sport as popular as  college football, a team that didn’t even win its own division couldn’t appear in a national title game. I mean, there are 120 some odd teams. Couldn’t we pick a team that won its own conference? Don’t get me wrong, the SEC is a ridiculously good conference. But how much better can it be when Alabama only beat two ranked teams?
Forget the obvious national title game matchup (that I’ll again be boycotting), look at the Cotton Bowl. Then look at the Sugar Bowl. Which game offers a better matchup?
Once again we are faced with a subjective, terrible system. And what can we do about it? Nothing. College Football has shown that it doesn’t care what you think. It knows it has you by the gonads. They know how loyal you are to your team.
“What are you gonna do, sport?”, they might be saying. “You gonna watch the FCS playoff? We both know that’s a far better system with a true champion, but we care more about money, money and money to even consider something that actually resembles a definitive championship.”

Inevitably, we’re collectively to blame. We continue to consume the product and its sponsor. We vent on twitter, facebook and amongst friends and quiet down. Then we wake up the next year to Sonny and Cher.

Dr. Vox Humana
@drvoxhumana

A lot of this madness started for me in 1996. On a fall day the 21st ranked Kansas State Wildcats, led by a young 57 year old Bill Snyder, invited new conference member Texas Tech into the stadium I’d come to love. As a fan of the “classic” Big 8, I wanted no part of these Yosemite Sam Southwestern Conference teams. It was strange to think of a conference member from the state of Texas. I pictured most of the SWC’s fanbase looked like the Rich Texan character from the Simpsons. He’d come rootin’ and tootin’ into town on his horse, fire a few pistol rounds into the air and head back to his large ranch house adorned with cowhide television sets and longhorn lamps and fall asleep while whittlin’ on the front porch. Jesus I was a judgy prick.

I was a far more innocent sports fan in general in those days. Those 220 pound kids from Western Kansas that Billy and his saint-like coaching staff were turning into 280 pound behemoths was just a result of a “badass weight program” and a lot of “coaching them up”. I was, as I still am, quite satisfied with a run at a conference title every few years and getting into the stands and having a good old drunk time with my college cohorts. Listening to a college football program today I chuckle at the “sorry state” of Georgia football only winning 11 games a couple years ago.

I wish I had known then that growing conferences and cheating were about to become cutting edge in our beloved college football. As I sip on my beer we watch the demise of the Big 12 and are facing the impending mega-conferences, a concept that destroys regionalism in the Midwest. Several scenarios are possible, including absolute chaos also known as having to drive to Storrs, Connecticut for road games.

If not moving east there is the possibility of joining the Mountain West, which admittedly I would personally enjoy based on some of the road trips. However, how does Kansas State even compete in this scenario? Recruiting under the Snyder skeleton is pitiful as is. What happens when trips to the lone star state can’t frequently be promised?

Look, I’ve already resigned myself to the fact that it’s going to be a while, if ever, that I’ll see Kansas State Football contend for a conference title in the current conference landscape. If 57 year old Bill Snyder would see what this program is doing now I can’t imagine he’d be happy. I was against his rehire from the beginning. His 04 to 05 campaigns showed signs of a once-great coach being passed by the game he was years ahead of a brief decade before.

But let’s not kid ourselves, folks. We are witnessing an impressive era. An era where those things that seem more unsavory from the perspective of a fan like a K-Stater has likely never been seen. Rampant rules violations. The destruction of conferences. The even more apparent rise of the almighty dollar. The weak yet crooked arm of the NCAA handing out punishments more resembling going to your room without dinner for the economically powerful for offenses such as free houses, cars, tattoos, sex and a myriad of other enjoyable ventures.

In a recent interview with a local sports talk radio station, the author of the Miami story was asked how widespread the violations were at other universities. He responded something to the effect of “if I spend enough time at your school I will assuredly find violations”.  The more people close to college athletics who aren’t kidding themselves you talk to, the more will tell you every school breaks violations. It’s all a matter of degree now.

If you’re K-State you’re in quite a conundrum. Obviously some rules get broken regardless of your intent or awareness. So do you ramp it up in order to compete with the big boys knowing you’re a nothing on the overall landscape of college football and risk serious penalties?

The pockets of coaches, athletic directors and media executives are the clear winners in the modern college football machine. The losers are the players and the fans. Or at least the fans outside the of the iron giant circle of college football elites.

The only bit of solace I can offer you in times so wickedly dynamic is to appreciate every Big 12 game you get to witness, listen to or attend from here on out. Enjoy hating Bob Davis butcher-homer his way through a KU broadcast. Enjoy every missed assignment a Chris Cosh defense commits. Enjoy the whimsy of a disastrous Gary Pinkel game plan.

The path from here is uncertain and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it. Enjoy every win our Cats get. Even if it’s over Eastern Kentucky.

Dr. Vox Humana

editor: Your thoughts/comments?  Sound off here.

We hope you enjoy it.  Very nice job and well done, Winters.

This week we were able to take a look at the KU/NIU, KSU/BYU reviews and KSU/Xavier and possible KSU/Syracuse matchups.

Nick Wright brings his fame and deep analysis to the show and speaks at length on all these talking points.  His analysis was so ‘spot on’ that we did not even try to break that down the KSU/SYR game in the podcast ourselves.  Please enjoy the podcast and bring your commentary to the board.  Thanks!

For a better breakdown of all music/topics, please click the link below…

Intro – Wake up– Arcade Fire

Welcome to the third podcast, now named ‘pawedcast,’ sponsored by everymanawildcat.com
location(s) KC metro/Manhattan via Skype
Introduction – dr00d, Bookcat, dr. vox, chupa, winters w/ special guest…Nick Wright!
Skype – everymanawildcat.com
twitter – TheRealEMAW

Talking Points for this Podcast

Interview with Nick Wright

• KU/NIU game
• Biggest upset of the tournament ever?
• KSU/BYU
• KSU/Syracuse

Break – Custom Concern (Instrumental) – Modest Mouse

KSU/BYU breakdown

KSU/Xavier breakdown w/ predictions

Dr. Vox’s Top Shelf weekend material

Outro – Wildcat Victory! – KSU Band

Warning:  The following podcast does contain some brief adult language at times.

Click the link below for further information regarding the podcast.  Thanks and enjoy!

Intro – The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Welcome to the second every everymanawildcat.com podcast
location(s) KC metro/Manhattan via Skype
Introduction – dr00d, Bookcat, dr. vox, chupa
Skype – everymanawildcat.com
twitter – TheRealEMAW

Talking Points for this Podcast

Big XII Tournament

KU Game

Bracketology

Break – Ashamed – Deer Tick

North Texas

Florida/BYU

Outro – Radiohead – Reckoner

We do not have a set schedule for the podcast but did enjoy recording this podcast so we plan to make more in the future, although we don’t know exactly when that will happen.  Please enjoy and feel free to leave commentary on the board through the forums link above.

Warning:  The following podcast does contain some brief adult language at times.

Click the link below for further information regarding the podcast.  Thanks and enjoy!

This podcast contains:

Intro – Neighborhood #2 (Laika) by Arcade Fire

1. Review – Texas Tech game
2. Preview – Mizzou game

Break – Kiss With A Fist by Florence & the Machine

1. Frank’s contract talk
2. Bob and Brent
3. Big XII tournament matchups

Outro – Oscar Wilde  by Company of Thieves

I’m not going to promise a lot of user content on the frontpage, but you will not have to pay for it, either.   Some of the volunteer writers and I will do our best to come up with unique and creative ways to be informative and entertaining at the same time.

Commentary is welcome – feel free to use the Forum with the link above.

thanks!