Hello DNC, meet the BCS

On the last weekend in August, two similar institutions will be at two different stages of their season. The race for the Democratic nomination for the 2008 Presidential Election will finally conclude. At the other end of the spectrum, the college football season will begin its annual march to the Bowl Championship Series National Championship. The comparisons between the Democratic National Convention and the B.C.S. are uncanny, each maintains distinct authority despite a murky, and often flawed process.

• Both the DNC candidates, and BCS teams embark on what is really a year and a half march to ultimate victory.
• Many years the outcome is certain early on, due to the dominant performance of one program
• Other years, there are several deserving candidates, and dissent arises.
• In these years, a close call between two deserving candidates is decided by a mysterious, yet powerful entity.
• Whether it's Super Delegates, or BCS ranking algorithms, no one really understands the details.
• The delegates, much like the BCS-influencing voters, are separated into two distinct groups.
• One group is the pledged delegates/Coaches Poll, they oftentimes predetermine their stance, and practice homerism.
• The other group, unpledged delegates and AP Voters, earn their seats just by being current or former party officials. They can announce their decision early, or wait and cast a passionate vote at the end.
  
• You can have a better record in the regular season, win the head-to-head matchup, and still not be chosen as the best by a committee.
  
• Blowout victories in meaningless contests help sometimes. To illustrate, A.P. #2, Hillary is struggling, but fortunately she had a November home game Tuesday against a MEAC payout victim. It might not have mattered, but hanging a 77 on the scoreboard sure energized the fan base.
  
• The BCS committee/Super delegates don't necessarily have either of the teams/candidates best interests in mind, but rather their own larger interests
• Those interests include which team would have greater mass appeal, and which could generate the most money.
• Historically the candidates were from prosperity, but not lately. Think of Obama and Hillary as Hawaii and Boise State, each challenging for the top, something their ancestors could never have dreamed of.
• Each institution, the BCS and the DNC, will forever be decried by the disenfranchised.