Tuesday, November 9, 2010

A Letter to Two Sports


Dear MLB:

Do not change the playoffs. No. Please don't. We have just witnessed one of the greatest seasons of baseball history. The crazy competition kept many fans and teams on the edge until the very last day of the season. The level of competition became fiercer than ever as even usually-laughable franchises like the Nationals and the Orioles saw rays of hope throughout the year. And now, there is talk of expanding the Wild Card system. Well, the reason that MLB has the best playoff system is because its so exclusive, and the teams that are in truly deserve it and did not just pick up scraps (See: 7th/8th slot in NBA). Just 4 teams each league is perfect, especially after such a grueling 162-game season.

The only reason why you've even considered expanding this was because of the firestorm that was the AL East, which consisted of four playoff-caliber teams that were wiping the floor against the other Wild Card wanna-bes (and potentially because nowadas the lower-market teams are outplaying, outperforming, and outright destroying the big-market teams, but that's another story/conspiracy theory). The only reason you've even thought about expansion is because of the evil that is known as the Rays-Yankees-Red Sox destroying the hopes of the other AL teams (even though the Rangers did actually wind up in the World Series, but I partially blame that on terrible fanbase (Rays), bad managerial decisions (Yankees), and the fact that the opponents were darn tired (Rays and Yanks)). We don't want to spend anymore time on the playoffs and turn it into a potential travesty like the NBA Playoffs (Which runs from April through June, which is 1/3rd of a baseball season). While the NFL's format isn't too bad (6 teams each), baseball relies much more on momentum than football, which may mean the 1st round bye-teams have a much stronger chance of getting upset.

The current format is the most fair, the most just, and the most reasonable for the teams and the fans watching them. There has been far too much exciting playoff and near-playoff baseball in the past decade for a change to happen. So, I repeat, please don't change near-perfection.

k thanks

Sincerely,
Big Rays Fan,

Milton



Dear BCS:

Die. Immediately. Disperse. Change. Do something. Anything. Please. If all professional sports went by your playoff format, we would see the same two high-profile, heavily-populated, bandwagon-crafting, over-spending, overrated big city teams in the finals every single year by default. We would always see the Yankees-Phillies, Lakers-Celtics, Patriots-Cowboys, USA-England, Federer-Nadal finals, because this is the money-making finales that all professional sports want to see. If we went by your format, then the truly deserving teams will never have a shot at the title, if they don't have the mainstream appeal that you desire. This is ridiculous.

How many more big games does Boise State have to win to finally gain that deserving #1 ranking? How many more undeserving teams are going to jump past Boise State for some inexplicable reason? How many more games does the Gators have to lose before dropping out of the top 25? When are the NCAA/BCS/Higher-ups of college football going to step up to the plate and announce a playoff? That is only fair, and would be totally beneficial to a professional organization that can be the top money-maker amongst all sports, if they actually give all teams a clear shot. I still find it insane that so many teams with perfect seasons never had its opportunity to become a champion. That is like not having a shot at the honor roll even though you got all As.

One of two things should happen: you still rank teams halfway in the season, but give the top 64 (or 32) teams a tournament in which they have a shot at the finals. Or, you can take all the teams (32 or 16) teams with the best records and pit them all in a tournament. The point is, something had to be done, this ranking nonsense has to stop. Boise State has been amazingly quiet throughout all this, but as someone who believes in fairness, I am very enraged. This is my first year in which I was actually following the college football teams (Go Boise State! Go Green! What the #*(& UCF is ranked??!!?!) and may be my last year since this ranking thing makes me want to throw large items around. The point of this is: make a playoff. Now. Immediately. Stop denying great teams a chance.

Go Boise.

Sincerely,
Disgruntled Sports Fan

Milton

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