College Football HQ

C-SPAN caller disrupts Trump inauguration show, blasts CFP for leaving Alabama out

One caller into C-SPAN during its inauguration coverage just couldn't hold back from criticizing the College Football Playoff from keeping Alabama out of the field.
James Parks|
Inauguration Day festivities weren't enough to keep one fan from complaining about Alabama being left out of the College Football Playoff.
Inauguration Day festivities weren't enough to keep one fan from complaining about Alabama being left out of the College Football Playoff. | John David Mercer-Imagn Images

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Alabama Crimson Tide

The coverage of Donald Trump’s inauguration as President on C-SPAN was briefly disrupted by a caller who still hates the College Football Playoff for keeping Alabama out of the field.

While the caller opened up by saying he was disappointed in his fellow Americans for their pick in the election, that was just an overture for the real reason he called in.

“I’m a bit more disappointed in the selection committee for not picking Alabama for the College Football Playoff finals,” the caller said.

He added: “Accepting interior teams like SMU and Indiana... Truly dark times in America.”

As you would expect, C-SPAN quickly and discreetly ended that phone call and moved on with their coverage of the inauguration.

The call was definitely not the usual fare you expect to hear on C-SPAN, where that kind of talk is usually more suited to the kind of commentary you hear on The Paul Finebaum Show.

Alabama being left out of the College Football Playoff was one of the most talked about developments around the debut of the first-ever 12-team field.

Alabama fans, and others from around the SEC, thought the Crimson Tide had a better output with wins against Georgia, LSU, and South Carolina.

But ultimately, the selection committee judged its three losses, including against unranked Oklahoma and Vanderbilt on the road, to be disqualifying performances.

Alabama fans were even more upset about that decision after watching the other teams that made it in their place, SMU and Indiana, get convincingly beaten in their first round games.

Still, the Tide’s arguments fell on more deaf ears after their own team lost in the postseason, falling to 7-win Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl despite being big favorites.

But there’s no doubt that, whoever wins the national championship game between Ohio State and Notre Dame, Bama fans will still think they could’ve beaten either team.

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James Parks
JAMES PARKS

James Parks is the founder and publisher of College Football HQ. He has covered football for a decade, previously managing several team sites and publishing national content for 247Sports.com for five years. His work has also been published on CBSSports.com. He founded College Football HQ in 2020, and the site joined the Sports Illustrated Fannation Network in 2022 and the On SI network in 2024.

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