College football shaking up

It's the wild and woolly college football. We all get excited about it every late summer/early fall. We love it. But this year a new dimension is added. The talk of super conferences is hot and heavy right now. One of the conferences that has been a mainstay throughout the years is the Big 12(formerly the Big 8). It's starting to breakup. This year Colorado moved to the Pac-12 and Nebraska to the Big Ten. That situation has been eased into quite well without too much notice.

Now Texas A&M has decided it wants to move to the SEC. The SEC has given its permission on condition of no lawsuits against A&M or the SEC. Lowly Baylor has stepped in and objected on grounds that it ruins the football culture Texas is very proud of. Their arguments are based upon the football tradition in Texas.

Valid argument? The football tradition in Texas has been around longer than your grandparents or mine. The Southwest Conference began in 1915. Charter members included Oklahoma, Oklahoma State (formerly Oklahoma A&M), Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech, six of the ten remaining teams of the later created Big 12. So Baylor has an argument that breaking up what's left of the Big 12 would tarnish Texas' long 96 year rich tradition.

Add to this the fact that now the traditional Red River Shootout is in jeopardy. Yes, this traditional rivalry that that has existed forever as far as my memory is concerned is being threatened by the superconference dynamic. For many Texans, this could be on the edge of sacrilege. It's just about tantamount to having the Dallas Cowboys sold and moved to another state.
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"That would never happen", you say. Well, twenty-five years ago that might have been  the reaction when a suggestion that the traditional Oklahoma-Nebraska game should end. Now it's reality. The thought of maintaining the tradition is giving way to whatever talks the most and the loudest--in this case, money, money, money.

The Big Ten managed to maintain its primary rivalry between Ohio State and Michigan by putting them in different divisions within the newly realigned conference. The powers that be there realized that this game is not just about the Big Ten. It is a national rivalry that people all across the country watch every year regardless of won-loss records. I have grown accustomed to it, though I have never lived for more than a year in either area.

Same thing with the Rose Bowl every year. Until the BCS, it touted the two best teams from the Pac-10(now 12) and the Big Ten. Many people would watch this because the game would prove to be very good, and it's the granddaddy of them all.

And so no Texas-Oklahoma yearly matchup at the state fair? Unheard of!!!! Preposterous. It, like Ohio St./Michigan, is a national rivalry. It doesn't just belong to Texas or the Big 12. It belongs to all of us. Because of tradition? Absolutely, without question. How dare the college football world would even think of eliminating this traditional matchup between two traditionally strong football schools? It's like tearing out a vital organ in our body and saying we could live without it.

Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops likens the elimination of the game to when Nebraska-Oklahoma tradition was ended. It's okay by him. He feels its a reflection of adapting to change. Oklahoma was fine after its split with the Cornhuskers. It'll be fine with the split with Texas. No problem. WRONG!!!
The Sooners have been tied to the fabric of football with Texas for close to 100 years.

Unfortunately, money speaks louder than tradition these days. That's the sad reality of all this. Conferences don't listen to their fans anymore. Sold out stadiums, screaming fans, bands playing fight songs, fans holding signs in support of their teams, programs, concessions, et al are not enough to drown out the call of multi-billion dollar contracts.

A sport that should be driven by competition and tradition has gone the way of the pros. It's too much of a business now. That ruins the "feel-good" atmosphere college football used to engender. It was nice to go to a game where the hometown team play against a rival from a nearby city or state. It brought a sense of community to us. It brought excitement to our hearts as we cheered for our team against an opponent that might take away our chances for the championship. Excitement breeds joy and good feelings.

Elimination of this aspect of traditional games will only make us indifferent to our community, taking away its strength and friendliness and replacing it with contempt and discord.