I watched a lot of sports this weekend - college football, pro football, and so on. It was hard to pry me off the couch. And no matter what I watched, I was reminded that we've returned in both the college and the pro football game to someone's idea of the "good old days".

Think about this. My hometown Cincinnati Bengals are 4-0 for the first time since 1988, the year they played in one of the most exciting Super Bowls ever. So what that the teams they've played are the NFL equivalent of St. Rita's School for the Deaf (which used to regularly beat my junior high basketball team, by the way). They're 4-0. Other teams that haven't been heard from in years are also on the mend. The Redskins are 4-0. The Buccaneers appear to be back.

Sure, the Steelers, Eagles, and Colts never left, but there's a very definite late 80s kind of feel to the game right now.

In college ball, it's even more so. I went online today to look this up. It's fascinating. It's the early 70s again. Check out this article from the LA Times that notes the stunning rebirth of four "traditional" football programs - all of which have been away for a good while.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dufresne3oct03,1,4293192.story?coll=la-headlines-sports

When you're done, check your google and look at the AP poll from the early 70s, when Our Man in LA was in the process of being born and learning to crawl.

Some will argue that a lot of teams at the top of their game in college football never went away. Indeed, Michigan's seemingly been in the Top 25 since the mid-40s (much as it burns me as an Ohio State fan). But for the most part, these traditional teams had receded for a few years here and there. Schools from Florida rose up; the usual powers receded. It wasn't that long ago that places like Ohio State, Texas, USC, and Oklahoma were struggling to make bowl games.

I like the tradition of it all. For my money, every year the Rose Bowl should pit the winner of the Ohio State-Michigan game against the winner of the USC-UCLA game (with Iowa, Wisconsin, Washington, or Arizona State occasionally getting in for variety).

Likewise, the Orange Bowl should always have Nebraska or Oklahoma playing Florida State or Florida. The Sugar Bowl should always have Georgia, Tennessee, LSU, or Bama playing the winner of the ACC or Big Least. The Cotton Bowl should be major again, and it should always have Texas or A&M playing Notre Dame. I don't know about the Fiesta Bowl - throw whoever's left out there.

Why not? It couldn't be any worse than the pissing and moaning that goes on in the BCS.

Anyhow, I'm glad to see the traditional powers back. I hope to wake up some day 30 years from now and see them all still around, beating each other over the head for my entertainment.