OK, NIU lost to Ohio. And then they lost to Central Michigan.
Fair enough. NIU is not the best team in the MAC this year. And not the second best. But after that, I'd put NIU up against all mid-major comers. They finished 7-5 overall, and are still in the hunt for a minor or at-large bowl game. While I certainly respect Notre Dame for saying in advance that, with a 6-6 record, they would turn down a bowl invitation, well - that's Notre Dame. I've got nothing against a Tier 1 school like Notre Dame (except, perhaps that they've managed to turn the entire Chicago Sun Times sports section into their local cheer section, but that's not the school's fault). Hell, NIU isn't Notre Dame, and would never deem to be. But any excuse for a couple thousand NIU alums and students to gather around, down a few Goose Islands, and eat some brats and burgers in advance of even the most insignificant college bowl game (hmm - that would be last year) would be welcome. And a damned good party. Go Red and Black!
For all those bloggers and free-thinkers who opine that, well, anything less than a BCS bowl game is somehow "unworthy" (despite that perhaps 90% of them are not alums from BCS schools), all I can say is, well, f#ck you. It's a game, dammit, not the election of the new President. There are 128 Div-1 schools. There are 32 Div-1 bowl games, which mean exactly 1/2 of all the Div 1 teams get to play one extra game a year. Why are there so many bowl games now? Easy. They make money - big TV money. To assume that it's anything other than financial is foolish.
So a bunch of alums get to travel to a new city, laugh it up with friends, and watch their favorite mid-major team get rare national TV time knowing that their school will rake in some big bucks for a small, underfunded sports program. Don't like it? Too bad. Turn the channel and watch "Desperate Housewives", loser.
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