So the Mountain West wants everyone to take the league seriously. They say Utah should be a national championship contender. They say BYU is one of the top offenses in the country. TCU puts one of the best products out there each season.
All you have to do is give them a chance and watch a game and you will be convinced. Tonight is one of the biggest games of the season as Utah gets set to take on BYU. Great, I am ready to watch.
What channel is the game on?
How can a league expect anyone to take it seriously if the only network that is covering its biggest contest is The Mountain. That sounds more like a type of beer than it does a television network. I wouldn't even had known the network existed had the Bearkats not played a game on it last season. I remember a producer calling me telling me he was from The Mountain looking for video of our basketball. I guess he assumed I know what The Mountain was.
Utah is ranked No. 7 in the BCS and they can earn a bid to one of the four BCS games with a victory. There are people who are trying to argue a case for Utah to play in the national championship if things fall right.
I can't argue one way or another, because I haven't seen them play since they beat Michigan the first week of the season. That game is looking less impressive with every passing day. A few weeks ago TCU was playing Utah and it was being billed at the time as the biggest game in the Mountain West history.
I get home that night to watch it on TV and can't find it. I start flipping through all the usual stations and I find World Series of Poker on ESPN2, some Division II game on ESPNU and none of the family of Fox networks had the game.
I see the score running on the bottom line so I know the game is on. I decide to get online to look it up and see The Mountain is carrying it. How can you expect people to take you serious if no one can see you play.
Right now I can make a better case for Ball State to be in the national championship picture than I can Utah because the Cardinals are on ESPN damn near every week. I know what we are getting with them because the MAC made it a point to get its games on national TV and get some exposure to the league's teams and players.
While the teams in the MAC may not be as good as the top teams in the Mountain West, I have a better feel for what they are capable of because the opportunity is there every week to watch them play. I come to work, and people stick their head in my office and say "Hey did you see that game in the fog last night."
Because it was on ESPN there were people watching. I don't think anyone all season long has asked, "Did you catch that Wyoming game last night?"
If you want to be a serious player on the national football landscape then you have to start acting like one. If that means some Tuesday and Wednesday night game, so be it. The big boys all play on ESPN. It is about time you did to.
Someone call me and let me know who wins this one.
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