We Lose When Lawmakers Play Foolish Games

If a knowledgeable sports fan were told that a bill had been introduced in Congress to force a college football playoff, he would make an instant guess that the sponsor was from Texas.

He would be right. Legislation introduced this week by U.S. Rep. Joe Barton of the Lone Star state seeks to make it a violation of federal trade law to market a postseason college football game as a "national championship" contest unless it was the culmination of a playoff.

The current system used by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, in which the title contenders are determined by polls and computer ratings, "consistently misfires" and thus deprives some worthy school of millions of dollars in bowl revenue in a given year, Barton says.

Left unspecified was one of this year's also-rans, the University of Texas, whose partisans are complaining it should have made the big game ahead of archrival Oklahoma. Instead, the Longhorns will trudge to a different major bowl, where millions also will be made as feuding fans across America refresh the bulging coffers of big-time college sports.

And this is a cause for Congress? Did we miss the resolution of the Big Three crisis and the conquest of terrorism? Should we let out an old-school cheer that our servants have knocked off the boring chores and earned the leisure to micromanage scholastic entertainment? Not to mention keeping student-athletes performing and out of the classroom for several additional weeks?

We ought to be used to this sort of grandstanding.

Whether it's the innocent indulgence of presidents welcoming sports champions to the White House or the embarrassing spectacle of congressional hearings into steroid use by baseball players, the urge to play to crowds and take a break from their real job can prove irresistible to elected officials. This is especially true when the fortunes of the home team are at stake — and when, as in the case of Texas football, devotion to that team approaches religious worship.

Lest we single out Barton for this latest episode, please note that the high-ranking Republican has bipartisan support. He can even claim the Democratic president-elect, an ardent sports fan who pledged during a "60 Minutes" interview last month to "throw my weight around" on behalf of a college football playoff. And we thought Barack Obama had a lot on his plate.

The bully pulpit is available for this pressing issue, we suppose. On the other hand, mandating internal changes by the NCAA, a private entity, is probably a non-starter, constitutionally speaking. Whatever the politicians do, they're playing games when there's work awaiting. The big show is doing fine without their sideshow.

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