Open Letter to John Lopez

NOTE: I sent the following e-mail to Houston Chronicle sports columnist John Lopez in response to his Dec. 22, 2006 column, which can be found at this link: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/lopez/4420145.html

John,

You wrote today that “bowls have lost their luster.” As evidence, you specifically mention four bowl matchups – 3 lesser bowls and the national championship game. Hmmm…interesting sample. True, there are lots of bowl games these days – 32 to be precise. And that necessarily means they can’t all be compelling matchups. But you overlook, intentionally I think, the fact that there are many great bowl games this year, as there are every year. Let’s take a look at a few. A&M plays Cal in the Holiday Bowl. You specifically asked about the Cotton Bowl in your column – Auburn vs. Nebraska. Not a bad game. Arkansas faces Wisconsin in the Capital One Bowl. And then there are the BCS Bowls, of course.

The only thing that has changed since the good ol’ days you pine for is the addition of more bowls. You can still gorge on the major bowls (now called BCS Bowls) and the so-called minor bowls – I’ve even listed a few interesting minor bowls to help you out. If you aren’t interested in the Rice/Troy game, then don’t watch it. But I fail to see how the New Orleans Bowl’s existence takes any luster off the USC/Michigan Rose Bowl matchup.

Yes, I understand the point of your article: College football would be better with a playoff system. Wow, another article whining about the bowls and pushing for a playoff system. Talk about a group shrug.

Regards,
Matt Bishop