A Rare Opportunity

I haven't posted anything in a really, really long time. To break the slump, I'll keep it short and sweet and go with something I know well: sports.

Today is a really good day to be a Utah Ute fan. Why? Because it's very rare that your team has the chance to play in a win-win game. Any sports fan will tell you that winning is all that matters, and that is just what makes today's game so weird.

Tonight my Alma Mater, Utah, faces off against the #4 TCU Horned Frogs in Fort Worth in one of the more highly anticipated Mountain West Conference match ups of all time. Utah has just one loss (at Oregon) coming off their perfect season a year ago and TCU is probably ranked the highest they have ever been. There are both conference and national implications riding on tonight's matchup. So how is it a win-win for Utah fans? Let me explain.

If Utah wins, they have the inside track to another MWC championship. They would continue to build a reputation as a top tier program which helps in both recruiting and garnering national attention. It would also be huge for the future of the team to have freshman QB, Jordan Wynn, go into a hostile environment, against a very good team, with all the hype of national media coverage, and lead his team to victory. Unfortunately for the Utes, due to the loss at Oregon in September, the benefits of beating the Frogs pretty much ends here.

If TCU wins, they have a perfect regular season practically locked down, with only contests against Wyoming and New Mexico remaining. TCU is currently ranked #4 in the BCS. Two of these teams (Florida and Alabama) still get to play each other, and the other (Texas) still has to make its way through the Big 12 Championship game. What all this means is that if TCU finishes their regular season perfect, they have a BCS game on lock, and a decent shot at the national title game. Imagine how big this would be for the Mountain West, a so called "mid major", to have yet another team making noise on the national stage come January.

Maybe even better than what it means for the MWC if the Horned Frogs win, is what it could do to the BCS. Let's think about this scenario. TCU finishes the season undefeated and ends up playing in the Sugar or Fiesta Bowl, while Boise State (yes, that hook n' ladder, statue of liberty, cheerleader proposal, punched in the face by Lagerette Blount Boise State) finishes its season unbeaten and winds up in the Liberty Bowl. There's no way the out of touch BCS lets two of these "mid major" programs in their club in the same year, they already feel begrudged to have one. After all, LSU or Iowa fans would travel better than Boise State fans, meaning more money for the hosting bowls, and that's what it's all about, right?

Games like this are weird to root for, but either way you look at it, there's something positive coming out of this for Utah fans. Enjoy the game, and Go Utes????