Big victory last night for the Horns in Houston. I was unfortunately unable to see it, because I was busy tearing my hair out over a devastating loss by the Cowboys, and, unlike burntorangenance, I only have one TV.
This brings up an interesting point that AW alluded to in his initial thoughts. The tension between a justly decided champion and an exciting regular season. I'm now aware that I should have been watching the Horns game, judging from your comments on the open thread, but how was I supposed to know? And furthermore, though the game was exciting, the prospect of the game, to many fans, is mediocre.
Many will question what effect this win will actually have on the Horns' chances at the Final Four. The seeding in the tourney depends more on recent play, and, while one could argue that it gives the young team valuable experience, that would probably have been true even in a loss.
Now I certainly would have watched the game had there not been another one of my teams playing, but that's not the case for everyone. I'm a lazy college student, who can afford to spend a Sunday night watching a basketball game the outcome of which probably won't have a quantitative effect on my team's championship hopes, but surely Texas has fans out there with better things to do. They probably also don't have time to read this blog, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.
I don't think anyone will argue that this game was anywhere near as important as an early season football game, so the question becomes: how much excitement in the early regular season are fans willing to give up for the sake of a playoff in football? Personally I'd be willing to sacrifice the tiniest bit to get a 4-team playoff, but some might be willing to go further, and though there are many calls for playoffs few agree on what the format should be.
Just a thought.
--AR--