College football’s traditional rivalries – They won’t last

For those old enough to remember Joni Mitchell’s song "Big Yellow Taxi," it states:

Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you got
Til it’s gone

Kinda like an empty bottle of fine wine.

Fans who make the trip to Amon G. Carter Stadium this Saturday afternoon should heed this ballad’s wisdom.

You see, those lucky enough to end up with one of the 32,000 seats for the 91st edition of SMU-TCU should stop and at least take it all in, even if just for a minute. Because that’s how long it takes for the “powers that be” in college football to kill off some of the game’s most prized possessions. This week, Texas and Texas A&M have all but made it official that they won’t play anymore after the Ags truck it on down the road to the SEC. The storied rivalry, Nebraska vs. Oklahoma, is already buried out back. Bring flowers.

Speaking of Oklahoma, when the Sooners were so sure they were headed to the Pac-12 to “hang 10” three weeks ago, Bob Stoops said that’d be the end of Texas-OU.

"I don't think it's necessary. No one wants to hear that, but life changes," Stoops said. "If it changes, you've got to change with it to whatever degree.”

What? No you don’t!

Oklahoma and Texas have been playing since well before they were conference rivals. They first met in 1900 and have been playing every year at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas since 1929. This year's game will be the 106th meeting between the teams. The teams split the revenue on 92,100 tickets whose face value is $100+, garner national television exposure and get bonus money from the City of Dallas for keeping the game at the Cotton Bowl (the real one, right next to Big Tex.) I thought I’d throw in the mention of money, since that does mean something. No offense, but I think Coach Stoops should stick to the X’s & O’s.

College football’s popularity has been built on grass roots interest spawned by regional rivalries and the games that, each year, reinvent the intensity and lore that lasts another 364 days until the next game. Rivalries produce games and interest throughout the land and keep the game at the forefront of fans’ minds. Rivalries are like Macy’s on the day after Thanksgiving – it’s a deal you can’t miss.

Unfortunately, it seems this is lost on those who would realign college football and rearrange it for the benefit of television networks that are going to pay out huge sums for rights to telecast college games that have high level of appeal. My question is, aside from being bad for the game and its fans, what network in its right mind would agree to pay for a college football schedule that has no Texas-OU, no Michigan-Notre Dame, no OU-Nebraska, no Texas-Texas A&M?

Hold those rivalry memories close, college football fans. The day is coming.

And if you’re lucky enough to be in Amon G. Carter Stadium on Saturday, be sure to take an extra sip. You’ll be glad you did.

Kick ‘Em High!