Scarlet Seems To Best Suit Big Ten

The Big Ten, finally awakening to the idea that football after Thanksgiving isn't such a bad idea, is ready to admit a 12th school, giving the conference the 12-team, six-school conference set up to enable a conference playoff game.

This is indeed a big step for the Big Ten. Dating back to the 1969 season, the winner of the Michigan-Ohio State game, or whoever else happened to win the conference, usually went into hibernation by losing their bowl game and then staying asleep until the cup cakes came out the following September, just like Yogi Bear. Save a for a few exceptions, the Big Ten has largely failed to capitalize on what could have been 40 years of absolute domination within college football's porch of big dogs. The Big Ten admitting it needs a title game and thus admission of a 12th school is significant.

Admitting you have a problem is the first and most important step, right? Enter the Scarlet Knights from Rutgers University.

Yes, Rutgers.

Rutgers brings the Big Ten something no other school mentioned can: A real link to the New York City media market. I never realized how special the Big Ten was until I didn't live in her considerable shadows. The East Coast looks at the midwest's fervor and passion for college football the same way most of us alpha-males look at Erin Andrews. I live in the backyard of one of college football's great institutions for history, tradition and pageantry, but the Navy's Midshipmen, save for the games against Air Force and Army, elicit little more than a seasoned fall cheer. Maryland's Terrapins, save for annual dates with Boston College, Florida State and Virginia Tech, don't push past that mark much further.

If the New Jersey turnpike (what exit?) doesn't excite you, maybe the glare and specter of New York City's media market will, and because of this reason and the long tradition in the creation and cultivation of college football's meager beginnings at Rutgers, this is the most sensible choice for the conference to make for inviting a 12th school.

Now, allow me to punch mercilessly through the over-inflated ideas that have already been circulated as arguments for why other schools make more sense. The Big Ten had already extended itself to Notre Dame 10 years ago. Yes, the football and basketball programs in South Bend would fit nicely into the fabric of the conference (long, storied histories; significant underachievement of recent lore) and academically, the school is a fine place to go to school, but that's about it. South Bend, not a destination town by any stretch to begin with, is too close to a handful of Big Ten schools, namely Northwestern, Illinois, Ohio State and the two Michigan schools.

The other reason Notre Dame doesn't make sense is they've already flubbed their chance, which ironically is a bit of a Big Ten football tradition, but they did over the past 10 years without being admitted as a conference member, also ironic. So, with apologies to Sean Avery, I think now we all can admit that 10 years later, Notre Dame is indeed sloppy seconds. Besides, Comcast just bought NBC, so what's the big deal about that TV deal anyway? All the carpeting and furniture will be replaced at 30Rock soon enough, regardless of who's playing on Saturday afternoon.

Missouri and Iowa State are securely nestled into the heartland's Big 12. There's nothing further to be gained towards furthering the conference's stature nationally by passing more cornfields and mid-major media markets at the noontime hour. Yes, St. Louis is a significant media market but it doesn't hold a torch to the Big Apple.

The conference all but admits the move east makes the most sense. Therefore, Pittsburgh and Syracuse is no different than Missouri and Iowa State. What differentiates Pittsburgh from St. Louis (Missouri)? Not much. Urban in orientation, both re-made into wholly-different versions of their former selves but not a huge departure from other mid-level cities like Milwaukee, Detroit and Cleveland from the Rust Belt.

Syracuse and Iowa State are alike, too. Ames, Iowa is surrounded by rural landscape and Syracuse is a good eight hours from the island of Manhattan, isolated on the New York State Thruway. The Orangemen would be a great fit in football and basketball in terms of tradition, history and success -- the last 10 gridiron years notwithstanding -- but the media market of the tri-state footprint and upstate New York is like comparing apples and oranges, figuratively and literally.

Which brings us back to Rutgers, the school that played Princeton in 1869 as college football's first game, which fits nicely with the fertile proving grounds provided, historically speaking, at Ohio State, Michigan and Illinois.

That the Big Ten could claim a legitimate rooting interest in games played in Ann Arbor, Columbus, the Nittany Valley and East Lansing from New York City would be worth more bounty than any conference title game in football or basketball could produce.

If the Big Ten is smart, get ready for the Scarlet Knights.

Regards...

~ T.C. Cameron is a two-time author and full-time writer, husband and father living in the Mid-Atlantic.

Comments

[Mike]

No chance

[This guy]

Dude, you pathetic...