College Football Championship: Fantastic finish - I missed it and I didn't care

At 7 o'clock, I watched Jeopardy.

At 7:30, I watched the last half of Love It or List It. By the way, I would have listed it.

And at 8 o'clock, I dutifully turned on ESPN to watch the college football championship. I listened to Fowler and Herbstreit build the drama, raise expectations, and tell us how big this game was.

And by 8:40 I found myself making notes in and reconciling my checkbook, checking broadcast channels to see what was on (I actually watched about 15 minutes of Man With a Plan). And by the beginning of the second half, I decided Alabama-Clemson just didn't have my attention. I went to bed.

Yeah, I know. Guess I missed a great game, a great finish.

I love football. Really love college footfall. I mean, I listen to random PAC 12 or SEC games on Sirius XM on my way home from officiating games.

But this one just didn’t do it for me. Maybe I just needed to wait it out more?

Maybe these teams are too good. Maybe Nick Saban is just such a crazed, devil incarnate that I don't want to associate with him. Even through the TV.

I watched the NFL games over the weekend. How are Clemson and 'Bama any different from those teams? In the CFP game, the players (we assume and are assured by the NCAA) don't get paid. If a runner falls down in college, he's down even if not touched by an opponent - that's different from the NFL. Defensive pass interference is 15 yards, not a spot foul (thus giving the Packers a 31-yard penalty). That's different, too.

But could Clemson or Alabama beat the Browns? Or the 49ers? Okay, I’m digressing more than I intended.

My point, I guess, is that the national championship game had nothing that drew me in. No "Cinderella", no drama, no surprises. It wasn't March Madness, where watching Duke-Cleveland State somehow has intrigue. I feel ya, Dave.

People say every sport needs a villain, a team everyone hates. The Yankees, the Patriots, Michigan (for Big Ten fans). Is Alabama that team? Clemson certainly isn't. I couldn't even watch to see if Saban & Co. would lose.

Did I run out of steam this season? I didn’t watch that many bowl games to tire me. Did 2-10 do me in?

Or did Rutgers Wrestling distract me? (Okay, I realize that might impress about 5,000 people in the world but....)

College football is over for 2016-17, and I am a bit sad, a bit empty. But we’re 22 days away from signing day. Pitchers and catchers report to Port St. Lucie in 33 days.

Yeah, I missed the ending of the Clemson-Alabama game. But that wasn’t the end of the world and I’m okay.