The college football playoff. Indeed, it was a long time coming, but keep your party hats, Ciroc vodka and celebratory explosives in the cabinet and out of reach from small children and fanboy trolls.
We know that the current BCS system had flaws, and I'm talking about ones more technical than the moral issues of money, greed and more money.
[RELATED: Check out the Arizona Republics investigative series on those issues that stem from the whole Fiesta Bowl scandal]
When the Old Man Committee NCAA presidential oversight committee announced yesterday that a four-team playoff would be tacked onto the current bowl system, it was a success for the biggest issue at hand -- determining a definitive national champion.
But the new system still fails to make the postseason in college football anything like the NCAA basketball tournament, where a larger field of teams includes mid-majors, giving the little guy a chance to topple giants. Of course, that's not as viable an option in football, both in physical limitations and in timing. The bowl season will inevitably land during the end of academic semesters, and considering the guise of the NCAA calling its players student-athletes, the label is still true to this extent.
Another issue is decision-making; who makes the four team playoff, and who will be on a selection committee in charge of choosing the final four?
Colin Cowherd make a good point Tuesday on Sports Nation, where he broke down a potential four-team playoff in the 2010 season. The final spot could have included a mid-major Boise State squad (they're out because of the competition they faced), the Stanford Cardinal (who were out because they had lost to the Oregon Ducks, who were in the final four) and three Big Ten squads -- Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin -- who had all beaten up on one another.
And that's the thing. There's no sound way to go about this.
The potential for a biased selection committee creates another film of confusion onto what is an already-complicated and controversial decision-making process.
Complaints will continue with this new system. There will never be anything objective, especially in a sport with so few games and so much relying upon the unscientific statistics of margin of victory and defeat.
Then again, at least we won't have two teams claiming they're champs.
So what do you think? Do you like the look of the new college football playoff?