There’s No Crying Over Split Championship

The BCS “national championship” trophy presented to LSU perfectly described and summarized both the victory and the composition of the crystal football itself:

Hollow.

Mark J. Featherstone

Windsor Hills

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On Sunday night, we watched LSU beat an Oklahoma team riddled with trophy winners but, from its performances over the past two games, clearly overrated.

I actually feel badly for LSU because an asterisk should be placed next to its name more prominently than was associated with Roger Maris. LSU won a trophy that can only be associated with beating Oklahoma.

The AP crowned USC its national champion. The coaches would have also crowned USC their national champion if they could’ve voted. The fact that three coaches rebelled was clear that if the others had a spine, USC would be a unanimous champion and that crystal ball Coach Nick Saban held up would just be an expensive gift not worth the display it will be placed into.

Geno M. Apicella

Burbank

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As a young sports fan growing up in the Valley, my best buddy’s family was full of raving Trojan alums. I quickly became a Bruin fan. The arrogance of Trojans during the John McKay and early John Robinson era was palpable.

Fortunately, 25 years of football mediocrity tempered the sentiment and then came the quirky circumstance of the last several weeks: I was actually pulling for USC! Surely other Bruins loyalists were also.

Why? Because the only thing more repulsive than a pompous USC ego is a hypocritical BCS idiot. The college presidents and BCS commissioners deserve pure scorn. A football Final Four takes away class time? Ridiculous. Three extra games would cause travel hardship and taint the bowl contests? Give me a break. Boise State beats Hawaii and the Pac-10 is overlooked again? Fraud.

At least lawyers can take comfort. The BCS people are the new laughingstock of the American landscape. Try this one: “How many BCS officials does it take to realize the lightbulb needs changing?”

Rick Wallace

Malibu

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The only problem with people declaring the USC Trojans national champions is that ... they aren’t.

Are they a good team? Absolutely. Would they beat LSU? No one knows. But what we do know is that LSU is the national champion. It may not be right, but that’s the way it turned out.

You see, people seem to be forgetting that the BCS was created because the two polls were inept at picking a national champion. The BCS created a “national championship game” between the top two teams in its system. Now, tell me if I’m wrong here, but I believe that LSU and Oklahoma came out as the top two teams in this system.

USC may have deserved it, but the fact remains that they did not make it.

Maybe next year, boys.

Tim Dietrich

San Marino

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It might be consolation to the Trojans to know that they won “the popular vote,” but they don’t share the title. The rules don’t allow it. Ask Al Gore.

Ron Sharp

Montrose

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Who’s No. 1? Why all the confusion? Isn’t it obvious?

LSU barely beat Oklahoma.

Kansas State beat Oklahoma soundly.

Ohio State beat Kansas State.

Michigan beat Ohio State.

USC pounded Michigan.

The No. 1 team is ... Cal!

Robert M. Imm

Sunland

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If LSU, the winner of the Sugar Bowl, was automatically declared the BCS national champion, why do we need a coaches’ poll?

Joe Lyou

Gardena

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Hey, USC alumni, I think we need to start raising a fund to pay Sports Illustrated not to put the Trojans on the cover of the 2004 college football preview.

Thomas Hamlett

Van Nuys