Alabama this. Alabama that. If I see the "eye test" cited again, I'm going to scream.
The "eye test" is total bullshit. Don’t believe me? Google "Cinderella sports stories". Those are the ones we love, right? The come from behind...never stood a chance...can’t believe they won that game...fans storm the field stories.
I bet every one of you basketball fans can name a crazy bracket-busting team from the NCAA tourny. Some team that everybody wrote off and then watched with awe as they beat favorite after favorite. I think of the 1983 NC State Wolfpack team that went 17-10 in the regular season but won the ACC tourny and went on to beat Akeem Olajuwon to win it all. Or the 2011 Virginia team that was an 11-seed and made the final four.
It’s the same in college football. The 2007 Boise State team that used a Statue of Liberty play to beat Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl.
None of those teams met the "eye test". They were teams that improved all year and peaked at the right time. Good teams are dynamic systems...kids improve over the season. The coaches tweak lineups. Players get hurt.
Here’s what I mean...would the Iowa football team that beat Michigan lose to North Dakota State again? I don’t think so, because Iowa kept getting better.
The "eye test" is inherently biased by the owner of the eye. So a close win by one of your favorite teams is just them being the superior team. But a close win by a team you don’t know or isn’t a traditional power is a fluke.
And I love those stupid arguments that go: "Well this team would crush that team". Those arguments are pure "eye test" crap. Because on the day of the game, you and your team are nervous as hell. What if's go whipping through your head. Because on that day, something could go wrong. Shit happens...
But in the distance, we are certain in our bias. And it's crap. It’s the kind of bias that puts a shitty Notre Dame in the top ten of the preseason AP poll every year. It’s the same kind of bias that makes fans assume the SEC is the best conference in the land.
And it's why Alabama is the "clear" favorite to win the natty. This season, Alabama wasn't tested much. They consistently put up 30, 40, even 50 points on their opponents (lol USC). And thanks to their position atop the SEC, they are all but crowned national champs today. They are the undisputed winner of the "eye test" this year.
Just like Michigan before the season...(OMG Peppers and Butt and Chesson, Oh My) and they lost to Iowa.
Anyway that’s my rant. I'm sick of all things Alabama and SEC related. But what I need from you are questions for the mailbag. To start us off, I’ll leave you with my own "eye test" question...
Who wins the national championship?
Your Friend,
Townie