Orrin Hatch, who made news last week by saying he is planning a Senate hearing into possible antitrust violations by the Bowl Championship Series, made an appearance Monday on 1280 The Zone in Salt Lake City. He continued to fire away at the BCS, saying it is based on "elitism."
"I like the word elitism," he said. "I was born in poverty. In my family, I had to earn everything. We didn't even have indoor facilities in my early part of my life. I had to fight for everything I've ever had. I was a janitor going through BYU. I'm proud of that."
He added: "Unfortunately as we've all grown up, we've found there are elite people who think everything should be done their way and not done in a fair way. And in this particular case, it [the BCS bowl system] isn't done in a fair way."
Hatch was just getting warmed up.
"It isn't fair. You have a team like the University of Utah [which was the nation's only undefeated team] that not only went to a lesser bowl, but kicked the daylights out of one of the best teams in the country that was rated No. 1 a number of times in the year."
Hatch complained that because of elitism, many said Alabama would "push the Utes right out of the stadium. Well, they had their heads handed to them."
Hatch also said he "got lambasted by the L.A. Times. ... Most people who think about it know I'm right. They know it's not fair, and its violative of equal treatment. They know it's a system where the best teams do not necessarily compete for the national championship."
You can listen to the interview by clicking here.
Anytime some politician comes in and says "it's not fair", look out. When they are done making it "fair", everything will be screwed up and nobody will be happy. Anyways, aren't there more important things for a politician to concern themselves with other than how a national championship is picked in college football?
Posted by: T-Bone | March 31, 2009 at 07:23 AM
It is the role of government to enforce anti-trust laws and NCAA football is a multi-million dollar industry.
I also mistrust politicians talking about making things "fair." However, in this case, I believe that, at least an investigation is warranted. There are a lot of shady relationships and deals going on over these bowls that have been reported on in the past. But, nothing ever changes. I don't see change ever coming from within that system. So, I applaud Hatch.
And any time some stodger at the failing LA Times lambasts a person, it's probably because that person is doing something right.
Posted by: wheaton4prez | April 01, 2009 at 12:26 AM