Perhaps Corruption Means Something Different To Me

We've all heard about the corruption from a couple of the major bowls. It started with the Fiesta Bowl, the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl also got noticed for mega expenditures. This whole deal has led to the massive outcry of folks taking this corruption and making the leap to saying it is the BCS' fault.

It has become, instead of a study of wrong doing by individuals running a non-profit, a mere footnote in the continuous fight for a playoff from that group's supporters. As we saw during our talk with Jeff Passan, the exposure of corruption could help win more champions for the playoffs cause because it would help prove "the cartel" was bad. So much like the very well researched book Death To The BCS we see articles from writers who are quite well respected by myself and the greater college football world grab their pens and write about bringing the BCS down. How it is the fault of the system, that this corruption is to be blamed on the system.

THE SYSTEM IS DOING IT!

Now to be clear I'm not in love with the BCS, I don't believe there is anyone out there who doesn't want to see adjustments to the system. I'm not a playoff junky and admittedly the idea of seeing the two best teams square off for a title every year is one that I definitely agree with. That said this is less about shilling for the BCS and being absolutely tired of people taking something that is a real issue and using it only as a means to serve their cause. It is as if there is less actual care about the corruption and more of a "good something bad about the BCS, I can use this to get a playoff."

Corruption and misappropriation of funds isn't new. America has got plenty of experience of people in leadership positions acting up, taking advantage of loopholes and lack of monitoring and overall gaming the system to their own personal benefit. We've seen it in government, we've seen it in other legitimate non-profit businesses and we've seen it at the corporation level.

When there is corruption, you fix it, you don't just throw away the system.

You clean house, you tighten up policies, you enact procedures to ensure that this rampant and reckless action doesn't take place again.

We saw it with United Way of Central Carolinas in 2008. They didn't get rid of United Way, they didn't decide that all non-profits should be thrown out the window in favor of another system of raising money. They got rid of the persons involved with the corruption and worked to rebuild their image.

We saw it with Rod Balgojevich after the election of President Obama. We didn't get rid of democracy. Not after that corruption was spotted or any of the other myriad of times we've found corruption and bribery in the system.

My point here is using this as a reason to throw out the system is just an argument to advance your cause and it doesn't work that way. There is a real issue here; someone is being hurt by this and instead of addressing those hurt by the corruption we're just debating playoff vs BCS while schools, kids, hospitals and other charities are caught in the middle.

I'm as bothered by the disappointing news as anyone, probably more so because it isn't just another arrow in my quiver to fight against the BCS. I actually am upset that the organizations who could use that cash in Arizona, New Orleans and Miami didn't get the maximum money they could have received. I am actually upset for the schools who had to pay out of pocket when the bowls could have subsidized the expenditures from their own coffers.

That's the issue here, what are you actually mad about? Blaming the system is, simply put, just using a real problem as a means to an end. More specifically a means to your end. Fight for a playoff all you want, I'm always open to discuss and debate the merits of any post-season system but don't try to sway me by pretending to care about corruption then focusing on how or why to start a playoff.

It is about as genuine as the military leader who exposes the kings corruption to win allies and implement a dictatorship. It isn't about those who are hurt, it is about getting what you want, by any means necessary. Let's fix the corruption, get it out of the game and the bowls, if the schools decide along the way a playoff would work better than so be it but don't use post hoc reasoning to push your own agenda.