Just vote and get it over with already

Folks, I’m tired.

The Big Ten won’t play football this year. The decision is final. Then, after weeks of pushback from coaches, players, media, fans and more, maybe they are going to play after all!

It’s exhausting. And if you’re angry and confused over everything that has taken place, I totally get it. We all are. At this point, many of us are just waiting for a confirmation of the plans and when and where it all winds up taking place. For those of us that work in media and are plugged into social media throughout the day, that is hard to do.

There are entire columns that can be written and already have been written about how badly the Big Ten has botched this entire operation. The original decision to postpone could still very well have been the right one with the data that was available, but the messaging (or lack thereof) in the aftermath was a complete shit show. When coaches and players still do not have answers they are looking for after a month of prodding for information, that is a bad look. And that’s when protests and outcry happens.

There might be people who read our site and wonder where all of the coverage about the Big Ten’s potential return to play has been. We have done our best to follow the story, but continuing to post on every single rumor and minute detail is not something we have much of an interest in. When there is pertinent and “need to know” information out there from reputable and respected sources, we will discuss it.

With all of this said, it does appear that there is momentum for the Big Ten to come back as early as mid-to-late October. November is still on the table, as is January in a worst-case scenario. But if they are going to play before the spring, the heavy-hitters in the conference want a shot at the College Football Playoff. With enhanced testing and contact tracing protocols as the pitch that presidents and chancellors must approve, it seems like the pitch is about as good as its going to get at this point.

So just vote. Get this over with. The damage to the Big Ten’s reputation has been pretty bad throughout the last number of weeks. The sooner they come to an answer one way or another, the better it will be for everyone involved. The rumors and reports continuing to leak out are doing nothing but getting fans riled up and pushing agendas.

The Big Ten will need nine votes from the school presidents in favor of playing in the fall. It does feel like there may be schools that choose to opt out, but I do not expect Michigan to be one of those schools. Multiple media outlets say that a vote could come within the next 48-72 hours or so. “Could” is the key world here.

We will see what happens. But for goodness sake, just do it already.