[More Cowbell]

I would just prefer the Bowl be in it's original format. But, you have to admit that the schools playing in the Bowl has gotten the PCB into the mess it is in. There is no other way around it. There would be no arguments for Valley to host or PC to get a marquee game if they had never been allowed to play in it in the first place. It was a chain reaction, they were given a game, now they want more. If they would have never had the game, they couldn't argue to host or play in headline games, could they?

It started (probably innocently, but nonetheless it did) a political coup. Instead of just being satisfied with the profit split, they wanted a game. Then when they got a game, they were not satisfied, they want to host. Then when one got to host, they weren't satisfied, they now want the marquee game.

My point is that if the PCB had just said "No" in the beginning, we would not be in the mess we are in. But politics got involved, people did not want to hurt feelings, and now the bowl is on the brink of failure.

You are completely right about the 2 teams coming in to play. The other games have no effect on their decision. But, that is not what I was arguing. I was arguing that the bowl is being ruined because now everyone wants something different and it looks like the benefit of the doubt is going to go to schools that did not even exist when the PCB started. This problem would not have been possible with that chain reaction. And it is not me being a county "hater". But IMO, this bowl means a lot more (just in terms of tradition) to Pikeville and Belfry (and probably moreso Pikeville) than any other Pike County school and I don't see how PHS and BHS don't have ultimate veto power in the end. It is saddening to see something that I really care about and have emotions invested into be treated the way it is because of the selfishness of a select few.

And I just want to say, if I come off in a bad way in my posts, I apologize. I really just am articulating my thoughts. It is not anger or anything like that, but I am passionate about this subject. I harbor no ill will towards any of the schools other than what I feel is being done wrong and hurting this Bowl.

It depends on what you mean by the bowl being "in a mess". My contention is that the bowl is flailing because of the lack of marquee matchups in recent years. And getting back to only having Pikeville/Belfry, isn't going to magically fix that problem.

I'm not angry or anything either. I'm a realist, and I know SV has no business hosting the PCB, or being in one of the headliner games. Neither does Pike Central. I still think that if you're going to have the PCB split over two nights, let Valley and Central each play an opening game against some outside team as an appetizer to the marquee game that night. But I wouldn't argue against going back to the way it used to be either, letting it be a one day event and rotating between Belfry and Pikeville as hosts.

I just get aggravated when I see posts that imply the reason for the drop in quality of the out-of-area opponents is because of adding the county schools. That is a separate issue, and one does not have nearly as simple an answer as some would believe.