Does The House Really Need To Pass Two College Football Resolutions?

By John Bresnahan

(The Politico)  The House is taking up two resolutions today to honor college-football teams, which in my opinion is at least one too many.

The first resolution (H. Res 933), offered by Rep. Richard Baker (R-La.), honors the Louisiana State University Tigers for beating Ohio State University by 38-24 in the BCS national championship game. Fair enough - LSU was the best team in the toughest conference (SEC) and therefore deserves passage of this non-binding resolution. Fair enough. Go Tigers!

But the seocnd resolution (H. Res. 938) by Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.) for winning the Fiesta Bowl is just unnecessary and unneeded.

Mollohan, like all WVU fans, are pissed off that the University of Michigan lured away the Mountaineers' former coach, Rich Rodriguez, before the Fiesta Bowl. Lots of bad feelings here (and legal action), and I don't blame WVU fans for wanting to blear Rodriguez's eye after their team stomped the Oklahoma Sooners in the Fiesta Bowl.

But the assertion in the resolution that the WVU had to "overcome adversity" to win the Fiesta Bowl doesn't really make it for me.

As one Crypt colleague pointed out, if there was one team that really overcame some adversity this year, it was the Virginia Tech Hokies, whose campus saw the horrific murder of 32 students and teachers in April 2007. Virginia Tech came back and almost won the national championship this season. West Virginia, meanwhile, choked horribly in a Dec. 1 loss to the Pittsburgh Panthers. which cost the Mountaineers a chance to play for a national championship. Not good.

So if WVU, which is a great school with a great football program, deserves a resolution honoring it's bowl victory, let the House also pass resolutions honoring the other 30 bowl champions. Fair is fair.