For better or worse, Joel Klatt has seemingly become college football’s voice of reason. So it was only a matter of time before he commented on the hysteria around Cam Ward sitting out the second half of the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
While coverage from across various networks doesn’t inspire confidence, nor does it seemingly have a conscience, the Fox Sports No. 1 CFB analyst stands in contrast.
And while his takes on Cam Ward weren’t exactly out on an island, he went where others wouldn’t.
“Unfortunately, we’re not just talking about this idea that Cam Ward had this incredible career in college football — one of the best we’ve ever seen, setting records, ” said Klatt. “No, no, no, the discourse is gonna be about that Cam decided to not play the second half in that Pop-Tart(s) Bowl. And it’s like, OK — I immediately, my antenna perked up because I’m like, ‘Wait, wait, wait, who are the people complaining about this?’ And as usual, the people that are complaining aren’t necessarily the ones that you would expect to be complaining.
“You see, you would expect that this would be coming from the Miami fanbase and teammates and coaches. And yet, that’s not the case… I don’t sense that’s the case with the Miami fans. I sense that the people that are frustrated with what happened in the Pop-Tart(s) Bowl with Cam Ward sitting out the second half, are the same people that like to yell about everything in college football.”
Hmm… Who could Klatt be referring to?
“And they just want to point when anything happens that they don’t like; this is the old guard,” Klatt continued. It’s like the last of the water circling the drain in the bathtub that’s just circling and swirling, and they get louder and louder. You know how it’s all calm when the water’s draining, and then at the very end, it gets all rough. This is the very end for the old guard in college football because things are changing – and things are changing in a great way.
“But, what you hear is the noise. And everything that the old guard doesn’t like, they scream about, and they get on Twitter… ‘What is this?’ ‘Play for your teammates.’ All that stuff, and it’s like, OK, what do his teammates say? What do his coaches say? What does the fanbase say? And I’ll tell you this: if I’m a Miami fan, I’m thankful that Cam Ward chose Miami because we didn’t have nearly the season we were going to have if he wasn’t there — not even close.
“Look at what this guy had to do and overcome from a defense that was giving up copious amounts of points, in particular, in the middle of the year [in] games against Virginia Tech and Cal and so on and so forth. And yet, he kept them in it. And what an incredible run — and by the way, it was real at Miami. You had a chance. You had a real chance at the College Football Playoff; that’s exactly what they wanted from Cam Ward, and he delivered on that.”
Klatt clearly wanted to hammer home here that the loudest voices in college football are often the ones most resistant to change, fixated on the past while the sport evolves around them.
“You see, he gave Miami what they expected. And tell me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think I am, I don’t think they care about the second half of the Pop-Tart(s) Bowl,” Klatt added. “I just don’t. I just really don’t. And so again, I always think of it — and I would encourage you all, too — really take a look at the people who are complaining. Are they the last of the water in the bathtub, circling around, being as loud as they possibly can, because they don’t like change? They’re sinking.
“College football is going in a different direction. Bowl season will look different in the future. There might be a situation where we don’t have conference tie-ins, and so we can have a tiered bowl system outside of the Playoff that actually could be pretty cool. It actually could be pretty cool. We need to expand our minds, get outside the box, and don’t listen to the water that circles the drain at the bottom of the bathtub.”
Get in, loser; we’re going shopping for a new college football.
And the future of the sport will be shaped by those ready to embrace it, not cling to a past that’s quickly fading.
