New Year's Day football a pale shadow of its former self

Back in the hey day of college football--before BCS--New Year's Day used to be a National Event.  From the Sugar Bowl in the morning, to the Cotton Bowl at noon, to the Rose Bowl in the afternoon, to the Orange Bowl at night, college football was on full display.

Then what happened?  If I remember correctly, the Fiesta Bowl wormed its way in there somehow, which upset the homeostasis of the system.  It wasn't long before we had games after January 1, which was a really big deal because that could be a National Championship Game, which some people felt we absolutely needed to have. 

For those who might not remember, once upon a time we didn't have a way of determining the college football National Champion.  Verily, the nation was in anguish, and "the word of God was rare in those days (1 Sam 3:1)."

Bowl games between great teams, held in historic venues, with established traditions, just weren't enough.  Everyone wanted to know:  Who's number 1?  Many said-to-be-serious people considered this an important question.  Eventually, the BCS came into being.  Where, back in the old days, the best team in the country was debated by informed opinion, it is now "settled" by a "system."  This was alleged to be an improvement.