BYU football: Conspiracy theories regarding LSU game change

With all of the flooding that is going on in Houston, the BYU football team travels to New Orleans to play LSU. Depending on what you read, you’ll see different reasons as to why.

BYU football was scheduled to play LSU in Houston. But after the area was hit hard by Hurricane Harvey, ESPN relocated the game to the Superdome in New Orleans.

I can’t be the only one who thinks the move was… fishy. Firstly, ESPN clearly should have moved the game. After all, it is just a game – and the people of Houston and the surrounding areas need all the help they can get.

My theory centers around the new location, not in the change itself.

Having grown up in SEC country, I know all too well how football runs things.

I grew up in Northwest Arkansas. I lived about 20 minutes away from the University of Arkansas. Growing up, Arkansas Football was a religion. In fact, SEC football was a religion.

I remember going out with the LDS missionaries a few times on Saturday’s during football season and being treated like trash. You do not bother people during college football. Tailgating lasts all day on every game day. When you go to the game, you arrive to your seats at least an hour early.

In high school, I remember six out of my seven classes turning March Madness on the TV so that we did not have to miss either:

A) The Arkansas game or

B) The game of a potential Arkansas opponent.

My point is, sports are huge in SEC country. And football is the king.

Why they say they moved from Houston to New Orleans

The reports are telling you that the game is being moved to New Orleans for a few reasons, which include the following:

1. Moving the game anywhere else would be too far to travel. One report even suggested that LSU might not be able to get its equipment truck to Provo in time for a game at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
2. Almost all of the stadiums in Texas are already being used. While this is true, it wouldn’t be entirely unheard of to use the same stadium twice in one day. It might hurt tailgating and other fan-related events, but it is possible a lot more convenient to people who had already made travel plans.
3. The stadium is owned by the same company.

Why I think the game was moved to New Orleans

Okay, buckle up. We’re getting into conspiracy theories now.

I think ESPN and the NCAA are probably pulling for LSU to win this game. I don’t think the game is fixed, but it makes better business sense for LSU (and other SEC schools) to win a lot of football games.

Here’s why:

Firstly, there are a ton of people who would watch LSU play in a BCS bowl game. Way more than those who would watch BYU in a BCS bowl.

Sure, there are more BYU football fans than there are LSU fans. But there are more SEC fans than there are BYU football fans. It seems crazy, but that’s exactly what SEC country is. Crazy.

I got invited to parties every year a SEC school made the national title game. BYU football fans don’t have a conference affiliation, and are constantly ridiculed because of it. But SEC fans want to see the conference be successful, even if it was a rival team.

Why? Because it makes their own team seem good.

Secondly, ESPN knows that if they are covering LSU on their College Gameday program or any other program they are going to get more viewers. Having a ranked LSU team playing Alabama or Auburn is going to boost ESPN’s rankings a lot more than a ranked BYU football team playing San Jose State.

ESPN and the NCAA get a lot of money from the SEC. The more SEC schools that make a bowl game, the more money ESPN and the NCAA makes. Losing to BYU would almost guarantee that LSU is not going to a BCS bowl.

It just feels like LSU is the favorite here. Moving the game to New Orleans turned a 66-33 fan split in Houston to what will surely be something even more in favor of the Tigers. There’s nothing “neutral” about it.

Also, the same storm that is going through Houston right now is going to be in New Orleans later this week. I realize that it will not be the same catastrophic flooding, but what if the airports have to close down flights coming in for one or two days? You know the flights from somewhere like…Salt Lake City?