At 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on New Year's Eve, the semi-final games for the College Football Playoff will be played. As most of you already know, New Year's Eve is kind of a big deal for most Americans, and the day/night's festivities usually involve leaving your homes to be with family and friends to ring in the new year. College football, however, has decided that these two games are important enough to cause everyone to change their plans in an effort to view them.
One of the reasons that the playoff and other big sporting events have so many viewers across the country, is that they are strategically scheduled as to be the main event of the entire day and night on which they occur. Even people who don't particularly care about the game or match end up tuning in because they are with someone who cares, or because there is simply nothing else on. That will not be the case on New Year's Eve.
The 4:00 game (Clemson-Oklahoma) is probably safe, sure. It's early enough in the day that people will still be at home to watch. The 8:00 game, though, is cutting things close. By that time, New Year's Eve coverage will have begun, or will begin during the game. Musical acts will begin to perform, delirious people in Times Square will be interviewed and the drinks will be flowing. Even with the intrigue that surrounds the match-up between Alabama and Michigan State, there will just be a lot of other stuff going on.
College football has essentially decided to bet on itself, but it seems unnecessary. Why try to create a new tradition within an existing tradition, when you could simply create a new tradition altogether? Instead of trying to convince people to divert their attention on New Year's Eve, why not just play the games on a day when they can completely dominate every news cycle?
But that's just my opinion. What's yours? Do you think the College Football Playoff games being played on New Year's Eve is a good idea or not? Why?