Check back today to read Sports Geek and Loyal Homer’s arguments.
March Madness is, arguably, the single best sports competition in America.
Bowl Week is a chance to see the college football powerhouses face off in separate but (mostly) equal battles for bragging rights.
Both of these post-season college events, orchestrated by the NCAA, are designed to play out as the epic climax of their respective sports following a build-up of drama, upsets, and excitement over the course of each regular season. Because these are college events, run by the NCAA, there is no money on the line. (And, if you believe that, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.) These events are all about bragging rights, the opportunity to earn glory for your beloved employer (I mean university).
The amount of money generated by these events is astounding. Both command national media attention, and both are coincidentally timed with some of the highest absentee rates in all of Corporate America!
The popularity of these events is enough to rival even the Super Bowl, which is generally accepted as the king of sporting events and is often regarded as an unofficial national holiday.
But wait a minute… aren’t we forgetting something? Like Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone, the scrawny, geeky, often overlooked College World Series (CWS) is left behind while it’s bigger and much cooler brothers get to run all over the country, creating excitement wherever they go.
The College World Series (which is going on right now, in case you needed reminding – I’m not joking, here’s some proof), contains the exact same formula for success that March Madness and Bowl Week have. Collegiate-level athletes, competing in a national tournament, complete with Cinderella Stories, all building up to the spectacle that is (or SHOULD be) the College Baseball National Championship.
So, where does the national championship take place this year? Who’s the favorite? Which teams are the likely Cinderella stories this year, and which teams are destined for a rude and painful fall from grace?
For those of you who know the answers to those questions (thanks for all your support, Moms and Dads of the players!), you can attest to the excitement that goes on at the CWS. To the vast majority of the population, though, you probably have no clue as to how those questions should be answered.
How is it that in this country where baseball is considered the national pastime, that the College World Series seemingly fails so miserably at attracting the excitement and fascination that March Madness and Bowl Week are able to realize? Thank goodness we have Sports Geek and Loyal Homer on our side to help us find out the answer to these types of questions.
The question we are debating today:
Is the College World Series the best sporting event with the fewest viewers?
Sports Geek will argue that the College World Series is the best sporting event with the fewest viewers, and that it commands the same excitement and drama as its basketball and football counterparts do with drama that many sports fans are missing.
Loyal Homer will argue that the College World Series, despite a formula for success, is just not that appealing. He will take the position that there are other sporting events out there which deserve the media attention more than the CWS, and that the fans know exactly what they are missing – they just don’t care.
So if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got Game 10 of the Bracket 2 Super Regional to watch, because my whole office pool is riding on a potential upset!!!
Posted by Bleacher Fan 
