This year has been different for me though. I increasingly find watching the game to be a waste of my time. This year, I cannot help but feel how I did as a kid when I watched the WWF. It was entertaining, especially for young boys relentlessly pursuing archetypes of uber masculinity, but deep down inside you knew the whole thing was a smoke and mirrors side show. That is what college football has become in my eyes and the last few weeks have been the proverbial backbreaking straw. I have lost the passion for the game. Not because of players, or hot headed and egomaniacal coaches, but because deep down inside I can no longer deny the obvious – this game has become little more than corporate entertainment.

College football today is as managed, polished, and scripted as a presidential campaign. And the most egregious failure in college football is not the existence of occasionally bad calls (those are inevitable) but the fact that the integrity of the entire game, not just a few officials, has been compromised.

I used to love Saturdays during the fall, but now I just find myself half-heartedly watching a game that used to stir so much passion in me. I do not know if conference officials are encouraging referees to lean in favor of one team or another. I do not know if referees are on the take due to the meager compensation they receive. I do know one thing for certain – college football is as commercially successful as it ever has been, and long-time loyal fans of the sport are paying the price.