What are the rules for Millennium Bowl?
In December of 1998, at a house in Newtonville, IN, a star
was born. Matt and Mike, college football fans, decided that simply watching
bowl games was not enough.
We got our hands on the local paper (the Evansville Courier) and saw the entire
lineup of college football bowl games. We thought it would be fun to play the
entire schedule using EA Sports' NCAA
Football 1999 on the Sony PlayStation. We proceeded to play all 24 games over
the next few days, and while our efforts in playing the games were complete,
sadly the recordkeeping was severely lacking.
The next season brought exciting changes. The First Annual Bowl Season,
as it was known, was a moderate success, but we were not content to rest on our
laurels. Noticing the popular obsession with the coming of the next millennium,
or more accurately, the coming of the year before the next millennium, I had a
moment of clarity: our Annual Bowl Season would be hereafter referred to as Millennium
Bowl. Not only does this give elegance and importance to our ongoing bowl
seasons, but it also helps to emphasize the divide between the First Annual
Bowl Season and all future Millennium Bowls.
Further adding to the mystique, in December of 1999 there remained but one
small sheet of paper from the First Annual Bowl Season documentation;
this record has since been lost. The only fact regarding the lost text which is
agreed upon is that it contained the score of each of the BCS bowl games from
the First Annual Bowl Season, included among which is the infamous 1998
Orange Bowl.
The name was not the only new characteristic of Millennium Bowl,
however. First, the games were played using NCAA Football 2000 on the Sony
PlayStation. Second, we decided to much more extensively document the games. As
stated previously, our stats from the First Annual Bowl Season were very
shoddy. We recorded only the teams, bowl game, score, and which person
controlled each team. In Millennium Bowl, we planned to record the score
by quarter, leading rusher, receiver, and passer for each team, and any
miscellaneous comments we may have about each game. We also instituted a policy
barring others from directly participating in Millennium Bowls - a
decision which was not well received. In fact, this caused Millennium Bowl
to be referred to as - according to Nate - "horseshit." Nonetheless, the mistake of letting
external parties play Millennium Bowl games had the potential of
destroying the purity of the contest, much like the 1919 World Series scandal
could potentially have killed professional baseball in America.
Millennium Bowl was an even bigger success than the First Annual
Bowl Season. For the first time, there was hype leading up to a bowl
season, and while not everyone shared our enthusiasm, even the most vocal
opponents of Millennium Bowl grudgingly respected the warrior mentality
that we poured into it.
As the autumn of 2000 approached, there was a building level of interest in Millennium
Bowl III. The selection of this name was difficult. While this would be
only the second incarnation of Millennium Bowl, it would be the third
bowl season. We needed a name which encompassed not only the majesty of Millennium
Bowl, but one that also paid due respect to the First Annual Bowl Season.
The options "Millennium Bowl II" and "3rd Annual Bowl
Season" were unsatisfactory; the first could cause the First Annual
Bowl Season to be forgotten, the second fails to retain the power of the
name "Millennium Bowl." Using the name Millennium Bowl III is
a way to incorporate both the significance of the First Annual Bowl Season
as well as the power of Millennium Bowl. Now, the term Millennium
Bowl can be used to refer to a bowl season in general, or all seasons taken
as a whole. The versatility of the name Millennium Bowl is its prime
benefit.
On the horizon were some very crucial questions; questions that would direct
the future of every subsequent Millennium Bowl: How much of a spectacle
should it be? Are we content with our current system? Is Millennium Bowl
too much, or not enough? The answers? A big spectacle. No, we are NOT
content with the current system. And finally, Millennium Bowl, for all
its triumphs, was simply not enough. I liken it to the pre-Constitution
Articles of Confederation. Better than what preceded it, but not nearly strong
enough.
As Millennium Bowl III approached, plans were laid for yet another
improvement in the bowl season format. The level of statistical recording was
to be greatly increased: stats included each team's rushing, passing, total
offense, turnovers, 3rd and 4th down conversions, time of possession, and
penalties, as well as statistics for each individual ballcarrier, receiver, and
passer -- basically, every stat that the game kept track of.
When others heard of the plan, they dismissed it as too "over the
top"; what they failed to realize was the extent to which Millennium
Bowl III would be enhanced. In addition to extensive statistical
recordkeeping, we also planned to record every game on VHS cassette. By moving
the PlayStation output to the TV via a VCR, we were able to tape the games.
This was not enough, though; we also set up a camcorder to record us playing
the games. At first, we allowed a third party to be the Millennium Bowl
cameraman, but we quickly decided against it, a decision which may have been
erroneous.
What is next for Millennium Bowl? What changes will surface in Millennium
Bowl IV? Only time will tell, but make sure to check back for updates!