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Fansided

The CFP committee’s current debate is just silly

By Shannon Sickmon

Jan 11, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide players hold up championship signs after the game against the Clemson Tigers in the 2016 CFP National Championship at University of Phoenix Stadium. Alabama won 45-40. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 11, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide players hold up championship signs after the game against the Clemson Tigers in the 2016 CFP National Championship at University of Phoenix Stadium. Alabama won 45-40. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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Football isn’t about which school had the nicest players. It’s about statistics, schedules, and wins.

Apparently, there has actually been some argument in the CFP committee about the new system. The committee has a daunting task: they are expected to pick the four best teams in the country to compete for the national championship. The definition of the word “best” is under fire. Frankly, it’s ridiculous.

Yes, the committee’s picks are subjective, and they have their own biases. Teams that have had a great season are going to be omitted. Nonetheless to alter the definition of best to encompass those teams that are “most deserving” reeks of millennial hand-wringing. It’s this same focus on equity that hands out trophies to everyone at the end of youth sports seasons. If that whiny sense of fairness was indeed reality, the Olympics wouldn’t’ exist.

Life lesson–someone is going to be the best. Whether that team has a collection of missionaries and Rhodes scholars or if it’s a motley crew of unsavory characters. That simply doesn’t matter at the end of the season. If we only handed out national titles to the nicest teams, those Miami teams of decades past would have none.

I am not a fan of Nick Saban’s by any means. Yet the guy can recruit and he knows how to win games. He won’t be winning any congeniality awards anytime soon, but Alabama was simply the finest football team in the country last year. I’d have liked to see Clemson win. Dabo Swinney is one of the nicest guys in football and he runs a clean program. Did he deserve to win that game? If we are judging on the merits of the coach, then sure.

More saturday blitz: Building the Best CFB Team of All Time

Unfortunately, football has nothing to do with kindness. Football is about winning the most games in a good conference with a strong schedule. And there really isn’t any argument for that.

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