What's the Bigger Question

Asking What's the Bigger Question in about 250 Words

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If you’re perfect move on. I may not be much or be able to do much, but I won’t be silent as I seek What’s the Bigger Question.

  • NCAA Football Top 25 Vs Only Other Top 25 Teams

    I’ve always thought college football is a bit of a scam. Not that the athletes don’t work hard, or that the coaches aren’t good at what they do, but rather because there’s too much money in it for what we, as consumers, get. We deserve more and better.

    For example, when a top-ranked team plays an out-of-conference opponent from a smaller program, the game results in a blowout. Sure, the game can be close or end in an upset, but should those few occurrences overshadow the overabundance of lopsided contests? Do we enjoy cheering for the goliaths? Does it feed our passive-aggressive desire to become bullies, even if from the cheap seats?

    Or do we want more competitive contests that can improve ratings, drive interest, and solve other problems the NCAA has?

    One problem it will solve is portal transfers. With the best players wanting to play on the biggest stage, a premier league will provide that spotlight.

    A premier college football league will also provide a true national champion, and the playoffs will never be disputed again.

    Who gets into the league? Simple: the initial pool of 32, or whatever number, would be based on rankings. Then every year after, the worst 4 teams would drop, and the top 4 of the next tier would be promoted.

    Many might say this isn’t the way, but college football is semi-pro at worst. Athletes and coaches make millions as football further separates itself from academia. Not to say that scholarships aren’t important for new students, just that those are no longer relevant for football athletes. Other sports programs either survive on their own or quit being a burden on the university.

    As it still is, top-tier teams may also make enough money to fund scholarships, Title IX, and whatever else the university chooses to redirect from football, if it does, which honestly, it doesn’t pull as much funding as it could. Do we really need a coach who makes roughly a million dollars a game?

  • 9/11 Jumpers

    After 25 years, I’m still haunted by the jumpers.

    I try to put myself in their shoes and wonder if I could make the same decision. They had to balance the heat, the inferno, the hell over the skies, and the hope that their souls would be caught before their bodies hit the ground, because the impact would most definitely end their lives.

    Imagine hanging onto the building at the opening where a plane suddenly and forever changed your life. You have a view of the city that only you and your friends there have. You may even wave at the helicopters, pleading with them to send a rope and elevate you to the heavens. Or you look down and realize that it’s a long way down.

    At that moment, the bigger question demanded an answer before the fire could consume them. Then the answer came for some as they stepped off by themselves. Others held hands, clinging to someone they loved for the duration of the fall. Some possibly closed their eyes or looked at their fate with the courage most of us don’t have.

    Maybe some prayed, or chose to find peace with the fact that this would be their final act. At the same time, those of us on the other side of the country wished for a miracle.

    I recently heard a song by Bryan McPherson named ‘Jumper 9/11.’ It gives voice to those who jumped. If I’m around for the next 25 years, I’ll still be haunted by the images of the jumpers and play ‘Jumper 9/11’ on repeat throughout the day, like I did today.