With the Big Ten becoming bigger and better, one might expect the victors of the Big Ten Championship to receive a trophy that reflects the opulent pride — bordering on arrogance — that comes with besting 11 other teams.
It seems that despite the recent addition of Nebraska to the burgeoning Big Ten, though, those in charge of the trophy design have opted for a delightfully-understated, yet cutting edge aesthetic that channels a classy and simplistic piece of art in lieu of the oversized embodiments of hubris seen in other conferences.
Perhaps it’s the downtrodden economy cutting frivolous spending money from the Big Ten budget, but the conference has crafted a product that, without the football topper, could easily be found in upscale Hollywood homes as an accent piece or in highbrow museums where it would be lauded as a bold statement in modern beauty.
No matter the reason, it is nice to see a trophy that is not impressive just because someone managed to fix an LCD TV to it, but impressive because it is a sophisticated symbol of decades of rich history and hundreds of hours of hard work for deserving athletes.
