Letter: True champions are proven on the field

Thursday, Jan. 11, 2007 | 7:03 a.m.

The main reason football is so popular in America is because of the very element of the game that allows every fan to have hope that no matter how obviously outmatched your team is, they still can overcome the obstacles and win the game. No amount of rhetoric can change the fact that on any given day a combination of sheer determination, will power and creative coaching can turn the tide against the seemingly invincible foe.

The irony of this year's Bowl Championship Series outcome is that the victory by Florida proves this point, since conventional wisdom had Ohio State clearly superior. Last year's playoff resurgence by the Pittsburgh Steelers to win the Super Bowl punctuates this point.

The only way the national championship can ever have real credibility is for the teams with the best records to survive a tournament. Right now, the NCAA Division 1 is enjoying the fan interest that the debate over the BCS is generating. Already, though, fans like me grow tired of the farce that is the BCS. I watched fewer bowl games this year than ever before. Next year, I may not watch any.

No matter which side of the argument you fall on, the only answer is to let the teams prove it on the field.

Frank M. Beaty, Las Vegas