There was a time when the holidays and college bowl games went together like Burns and Allen, Martin and Lewis, Abbott and Costello, Laurel and Hardy. Unfortunately, (and thanks to the Bowl Championship Series), the college football bowl games may soon go the way of those great comedic teams. Slow death.

I remember a time when I watched all the major bowls. From the Sugar, Cotton, Gator, and Rose, to the night game at the Orange Bowl – they were all a major part of my holiday season. For football nuts, it was must-watch television. Not so today. Oh, I did catch a couple minutes of a few games – but only as I bumped into them while flipping channels. To be honest, I didn’t even know when the bowls were scheduled. Hell, I even had to check again as to when the Championship game is being played. (January 8th? What’s that all about?)

It’s time the NCAA and their BCS system wake up to the reality of modern day sports and develop a playoff system. From their comments, NCAA officials believe all sports leagues ruin their regular season by having a playoff system, which includes their other NCAA sports. And, the thought of “saving the integrity of the bowls” – whom are they kidding? Did they see the empty seats at many games? Having the bowls be part of a playoff system would add more importance to them – not less.

Developing a playoff system utilizing the bowls is not rocket science. We can’t bring back Abbot and Costello, but we can revitalize the bowls before corporate sponsors bury them by pulling sponsorships.

Wake up NCAA and bowl organizers – your bowl games are on the road to nowhere.