BCS poll is out, but games go on

Well the first BCS college football poll came out Sunday. My old school, Ohio State was overwhelmingly ranked #1. But a funny thing has happened since Sunday. Not a single game has been canceled. Michigan coach Lloyd Carr has not told that university’s faithful to expect to be blown out by 30 points in Ohio stadium on 18 Nov. The holiday bowl commissions across the country continue to plan to have games after the regular season. Even an unranked and undermanned Indiana football team is expected to show up in Ohio this Saturday for a noon kick-off against the #1 Buckeyes.

What the heck is the point of being ranked #1 in October if you have to finish your schedule? It’s a cruel trick. A conspiracy if you will against Ohio State. Everyone knows that OSU has the best team so they get ranked #1. But by making them play the rest of their games, the pollsters have placed a huge bull’s eye squarely between the Buckeye’s shoulder blades. Now everyone is just going to try that much harder to beat OSU.

Well on a different front the pollsters have predicted a victory so monumental for Democrats that Nancy Pelosi has already been seen measuring the curtains in Denny Hastert’s office. Can all of these polls be wrong? Well, historically, at this point in the election cycle, they have been. They always show the Republican down by double digits a few weeks out. Then as the election draws closer and with the pollsters’ reputations on the line, the races suddenly tighten. What was a safe Democrat lead is now suddenly within the margin of error. Oddly, Republican leads remain pretty consistent throughout the race.

So what to do? Well just like the Indiana football team is going to show up Saturday against all the odds, I’m going to show up on Nov 7th. And like the Hoosiers, I’ll have a bit more intensity. I’m going to make sure my wife shows up. I’m going to drive my wife’s father and his wife to the polls if they need ride. I’m going to baby-sit a friend’s kids so they can vote, if they need a hand. I’m going to do what I can and see where the chips fall. And like all Hoosier fans, I’ll be ecstatic if we win. But if we don’t, I’ll be happy if we can just cover the point spread. If the worst happens and we get blown out, I’m still not going to cancel next year’s season.