Whatever accomplishments Mike Slive wants to point to proudly as his legacy as SEC commissioner, I’m willing to bet the 2012 conference football schedule won’t be on the list. The good news is that there are so many flaws and departures from the prior norms that Georgia’s break in avoiding the top teams from the West – again! – kind of gets lost in the shuffle.
But that’s just short term. The real story is how going forward the conference is prepared to cede control over its scheduling to the networks. If you don’t understand how big a change that is, make sure you read this story. Money (heh) quote from Greg McGarity:
“I think what you may see there is a variation on when you may play certain teams, and that will obviously be determined at a later date once TV has a chance to weigh in and meet with the commissioner to find out what is best for all concerned. I don’t think there is going to be anything definite as far as when you play most of your teams.”
In the end, the only tradition these guys will stand firm on is raking in the bucks.
Get The Picture 
I’m just waiting for the season when the schedule is only made a few weeks at a time. The networks can change who plays who while the season is in flight to get the best matchups. I’m guessing it will happen in the next fifteen years.
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Even the NFL is scheduled out for the full season… the trick though is they have a certain degree of flexibility in moving games to different days during the week.
We could very well see our first ever Thursday night game be compelled by the television suits at some point, if we’ve really surrendered that much scheduling power
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Wait until Fla vs Ga is on a Wednesday night in September from Jerry Jones stadium in Texas at 10 PM. College football is on it’s death bed and there is nothing you and I and all the other fans can do about it.
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The one good thing about the WLOCP – including that it is in Jax, and besides the party itself – is that it has enough of a history on national TV to be marketable enough as “tradition” that I think it will not be moved too much. Maybe.
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As long as everybody in the SEC plays everybody else then a true conference champion emerges whenever and no matter in what order the games are played…wait…what?…we don’t do that and haven’t done that for many years?…….never mind…..
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Who cares? Winning an SEC title used to mean something. Last year changed that. LSU’s Championship Rings are a travesty.
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I always say that only the person who says or does a thing knows for sure why he says it or does it. But juries are permitted to draw inferences from facts presented at trial, and I believe reasonable football fans may do likewise. The facts are these: (1) CFB ticket prices are much more expensive; (2) CFB parking and tickets are more expensive; (3) one must travel farther than ever, especially each time a conference adjusts itself, to see away games, even “in-conference” games; (4) there are proportionally fewer compelling CFB match-ups; (5) age old CFB rivalry games are being extinguished at a mounting rate, despite tradition and fan fervor for such games; (6) the pace of the game has been slowed to a near crawl by more and longer commercial interruptions and interminable play reviews (really, try sitting through a DVRd game without fast forwarding); (7) coach and administrator salaries have grown well in excess of the rate of inflation; and (8) all at the expense of fans’ time, resource and cash. With the exception of (5), my alma mater seems to be “all in” on these developments, and I have little confidence they’ll stand firm on that. It is reasonable to infer from these facts that the doers of these things, including my alma mater, see the fan only as an exploitable resource, and not as an organism having intrinsic value worthy of respect. And even my value as an exploitable resource must often be understood indirectly, i.e., as a television or internet consumer.
Having dragged my feet to these conclusions, probably reached with much greater speed by others, I am also compelled to admit that the only way to respond to them is with the only things they really value–my time and cash. I haven’t yet mustered up the intestinal fortitude to do more than vow not to attend the cupcake games, but believing as I do in matching deeds to beliefs, I can tell already that I must begin searching for new past times for my autumn Saturdays. Any good ideas?
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The best months for fishing in Ga. are Apr and Oct. Make friends that have fish ponds, add a case of beer and some lightweight tackle, then stir in some bucket mouth bass. Let simmer under a warm Oct sun. Relax and enjoy.
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Thanks! I may sneak in a hip flash and cigar out of habit, too.
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Damn, you do know how to fish!
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The day I am floating in a pond while CFB or The Masters is on please call a vet and ask them to put me down…..please. Now the cigar will be lit in all months.
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Guess you never floated in a pond and listened to Munson?
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Been there. But the time I’ve spent chunkin’ a Trick Worm or a Baby Torpedo and listening to Skip Caray and Pete V-W is almost immeasurable.
And priceless.
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Nope, but spent many Saturdays with that golden voice giving me the picture. Sad, those days are all in the past.
Plus, there are dozens of games available every week, only about 14-15 Saturdays like that in a year. For those that like fishing there are another 350 to choose from. CFB, cigars, and single malt…they could do an Old Milwaukee commercial about that cause it just don’t get no better.
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The real horror in all this price escalation is that we are being herded into the welcoming arms of the owners of Section HD where we can watch all the football we can stand for the price of a cable subscription and be guaranteed a permanent parking spot.
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+1. That is one of those things that happens suddenly–one day everybody simultaneously says “enough” and quits going in person. The game is on TV and the beer is a whole lot cheaper in the fridge at home. What’s that about the golden goose?
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Surely these folks know everything we know…it appears when the goose is dead they will just move on to something else…one thing for sure, it will be easier to change the channel than deal with all the bs that accompanies season tickets. Can’t do this, can’t do that there, can’t park here, or tailgate there….nobody gives a fat rat’s ass about us anyway, not really….oh they’ll say they do, but they don’t.
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If ceding more scheduling power to the TV networks results in less cupcake games and more quality nonconference matchups, for all conferences but especially the SEC, I’m a fan – can’t get that done soon enough.
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Agree. The one positive from this we may get a nine game conference schedule due to pressure from the TV networks.
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True, the drive for more money isn’t all downside. If we get the 9th conference game it will be a cause for celebration and it will be directly the result of following the dollars.
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I’m a little late to the party on this post, so, sorry. But what this says to me is that this is the cost of us NOT going to 9 games. Basically the TV suits are saying we need the best games spread out, but only spread out when we are showing cfb. So Slive & Co move the GA/SC or whichever, to when it can be more of a feature broadcast.
I don’t see how this leads to less cupcakes. Just a more hodgepodge schedule that you can’t really anticipate very far in advance to plan for trips, etc.
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This post and the article were more about TV influencing when games are played during the season but in addition I think/hope the networks will push for the 9 game conference schedule so they will have more quality match ups in the inventory to choose from each season. When the SEC asks for more money to own the broadcast rights surely this will come up in the conversation/negotiations.
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