Sports/CFB have moved from competition to entertainment.

Sports/CFB have moved from competition to entertainment. In the entertainment model, competitiveness is only important so long as it promotes ratings. The competition model loses favor when it negatively impacts ratings.

That’s why poor officiating is never remedied. The conference administrators aren’t interested in competition or fairness. They are interested in ratings. “Blue bloods” ensure ratings.

That’s why the rankings are skewed beginning in preseason to favor teams who typically get better ratings and have bigger fan bases. They have to lose their way out of the rankings. Everyone else has to win their way into the rankings.

There is a tipping point, however. The power brokers must ensure the illusion of fairness and competition. If the illusion is broken, the entire sport suffers.

That’s where we are right now.

This year has been the worst. It began with the Western Michigan University debacle, and hasn’t let up over the entire season.

Maybe people have realized it’s like the WWE. Maybe they’ve accepted it and just enjoy the game for purely entertainment purposes. But I wonder about the legality of it all, especially considering gambling influences and how many millions and billions of dollars are won and lost.

I watched hundreds of football games over my lifetime. There have been times I’ve questioned calls. I’ve wondered if there’s been bias. But this past Saturday is the first time I’ve ever known without any doubt that a game was rigged.

I understand Texas fans think it’s funny. I understand people will defend the indefensible. But you can’t rig a game and call it competition.