Okay, someone explain this to me like i'm five if i'm not understanding this correctly.
So, the thing driving conference re-alignment is...network deals. The networks think "the television audiences are going to want to see this, so we are going to pay conferences big $$"
so, naturally, schools are going to want to be in the conferences that are going to lead to them getting the most $$
Okay, that makes sense and is all well and good...but is it possible that the networks have made their calculations based on a faulty premise? Right now, people love college football for XYZ reasons. But all this conference realignment is enevitably bastardizing at least a few, if not most of those reasons.
Is it inaccurate to think that eventually, the viewers at home - which is ultimately the source of the money the networks are paying to fuel the conference realignment - might just be like "okay whatever this is...is not the thing i loved so much and i've lost interest and won't prioritize watching this anymore"?
I mean i get that the SEC and BIG have set themselves up to where their schools are going to have the most incentive to care, b/c those are the conferences that are going to be getting the most teams into the playoff and thus have the best chance at winning nattys.
But like, even with the BIG for example...if michigan and ohio state don't play each other every year...then what's the point? but with all those schools they are going to have to give that up or essentially tailor the rules around michigan and ohio state...so to accomodate them that means other schools are probably going to get a fairly undesireable schedule as a result.
Maybe i'm wrong...maybe if you ask Penn St or Michigan St or Iowa fans what's important to them...maybe they all unanimously agree that what matters most is that michigan and ohio state play every year and they will take whatever goofy schedule has to happen as long as that remains true. But I dunno man...i guess i could see just equally as likely that the wisconsin and illinois fans are like huh okay...so, this season we are playing 75% of our games against teams with which we have no historical affiliaton or rivalry, on the other side of the country, that we don't really know or care about...and uh...yeah i guess i just don't really care all that much because why would i?
i dunno. maybe i'm underestimating the average football fan. maybe the average football fan will gladly accept whatever watered down bastardization of the game they used to know and they will do so with enthusiasm. But like, just look at facebook as a cautionary tale. My point is that even something so universally "beloved" or at least utilized can very quickly lose a whole crapton of its users when you let the focus become exclusively about monetization instead of the product, and people will move on to something else.
^if i'm just completely wrong about any of that please someone explain to me. like i'm 5.
