Yes, it's more action-packed in terms of player and coaching movement, and the big business/money side of things is interesting I guess if you're into that kind of thing, but is it still as fun/entertaining to be a college football fan?
(That being said, I probably notice these things way more because we suck. If Nebraska ever gets good again I'll proudly be a hypocrite and fully embrace the new ways of the world haha)
- The transfer portal has become de facto free agency – Players can leave at any point without having to sit out a year, and with NIL deals in the mix they can just always be on the lookout for the highest bidder. This is their prerogative, I get that we live in a capitalist world which means players deserve to be paid their fair share for what they do. But the current setup seems like it’s designed for cheap cash-ins with the usual sleazy underbelly stuff just moved out in the open. As a human I want players to be compensated and have freedom to change scenery as needed. As a fan looking for entertainment, I want players to stay for 4-5 years loving their team, earning playing time, and scrapping for their teammates while we follow their careers and cheer on their contributions. Hard to reconcile, and less fun.
- The coaching carousel is suddenly insane – It’s no longer seen as noble to stay loyal to a team, or vice versa, for decade(s) at a time. In the past coaches became legendary because they were synonymous with their teams, and they battled over years and years and years to improve and adjust and figure out how to win championships (this is not an argument for Frost by the way, you should have success to earn a career like that). With the amount of money being thrown around now, it’s all about going where the money is. Already coach at a blue blood like Lincoln Riley? Doesn’t matter, leave so you can follow the paycheck. Have a great chance to make the playoff THIS YEAR like Brian Kelly? Doesn’t matter, leave so you can follow the paycheck. Money rules all again, less fun.
- Conferences are meaningless – Back when conferences were strictly regional and conference championships carried any weight at all, rivalries and shared history defined college football. Now teams are spread all over the place, often playing teams they’ve only started playing within the past decade, and opponents feel interchangeable. Less fun.
- The Playoff is lame - Yeah I said it, I know this isn't a popular opinion. The main thing the Playoff has improved is the clarity of who is the national champion at the end of the year. And sure TV ratings are great as well. But college football as a sport benefitted with the old system because it kept the incentive of reaching whatever bowl your conference was tied into. For example, we always laughed at the Big Ten's Rose Bowl obsession, but at least with the old bowl system winning the Big Ten and getting to the Rose Bowl (or Fiesta Bowl in the Big 12 or whatever) was an achievement in itself, and a goal for the season, and fans all over the country would feel the interest of wanting to see these conference champions face off against each other in these grand matchups. And if things shook out the right way, achieving that goal could ALSO make you the national champion, if coaches or random voters decide to vote you in. SO chaotic and therefore fun!
- Now that the playoff is here, the same several teams take up all the oxygen with very few exceptions. And the barrier to that top tier is as difficult as it ever was in the bowl era. We've seen it before - you can go 12-1 and win the Big Ten, but if you end up in the Rose Bowl instead of the Playoff it’s a HUGE disappointment and players and fans barely care about the game. The pageantry and interest is totally taken away because it’s ONLY seen as a consolation. Nobody cares about bowl winners, the entire conversation is that you didn’t make it to the Playoff. I feel like that is driving so much of the other things on this list – now that only 4 teams per year can consider their seasons to be truly successful, players and coaches are much more likely to try to climb their own ladders to end up on those teams. The rich get richer, the goofy pageantry and traditions and wackiness that provide so much entertainment disappear, and 120+ teams get plunged into disappointment and turmoil at the end of every season. Not nearly as fun.
(That being said, I probably notice these things way more because we suck. If Nebraska ever gets good again I'll proudly be a hypocrite and fully embrace the new ways of the world haha)
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