Bogate Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 I cant speak for the rest of the BIG but i bet if Nebraskas bowl game were held in Chicago or Indy against any southern team it would be packed to the rafters, surely a hell of alot fuller than the gater bowl was! and it would be 99% husker fans! Quote Link to comment
Husker66 Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 bowl games have mostly always been played in the south. and probably always well bacuase of climate and weather.this not new ofcourse..how many orange bowls did we go to playing a florida team? its always been a home or "kinda" home game with with the southern schools... back then, we got a lot of good kids to come here to play from the southern schools cause they wanted to be on tv...we no longer have that advantage, the distance the average division 1 athlete moves to go to school has come down dramatically in the last 20 years... I have been in Chicago this time of year many times and that wind comes in off the lake and blows throught those streets and right through you...Chicago can be damned cold this time of year. growing up in nebraska and northern iowa in the 70s and 80's when winters were far worse than today , i consider myself pretty hardy. i spend ALOT of time outside in the winter and i still would not be as interested in Chicago as I would be in Orlando or phoenix......all the bowls i have been to have been in warm places. one of the reasons i always thought nebraska fans travelled so well was because it was "a bunch of farmers " wanting to go somewhere warm and get out of the cold...those neraskans show up at the beaches when the locals think its too cold and leave with a terrible sun burns....locals would just shae there head in amazemennt....oh and you would see the same with all the big gold bird heads (hawkeyes) as well... Quote Link to comment
Creed Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 growing up in nebraska and northern iowa in the 70s and 80's when winters were far worse than today Off topic but I grew up in Ohio during this time period and I always remember the winters being much colder and lot more snow than the last 15-20 years. We had the blizzard of 1978 which shut down the area for a week or so. The freezer bowl in 1982 with Bengals vs Chargers. Every year it seemed we had 3-4 snowfalls of 10" or more. Wonder if this has been proven or not or I was just outside more as a kid so it seem a lot worse. Quote Link to comment
WoodyHayes1951 Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 It is what it is. I WOULD however like to know why Indy is a viable option for TWO Super Bowls( Bigger than a college bowl game whether you like it or not) but not a National Title Game or a second tier bowl game. Big Ten v SEC games in Tampa, Orlando and Indy(instead of JAX) would be awesome. Quote Link to comment
VA Husker Fan Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 From what I understand the championship game under the new format is selected via a bidding process much like the Super Bowl, so Indy and other non-bowl sites will have a chance. Those sites still have to come up with the money--it won't just happen for the sake of "fairness". The first three are in Arlington, Glendale (Phoenix), and Tampa. Likewise for bowls a city could certainly try to host a new bowl game, like the Pinstripe Bowl in NY. Partly it's economics, but I think the bowl structure is harder to crack. I've never figured out how the major bowls could have such a grip on college football. In any case, these things are going to happen because someone can make money on it, either directly or tourism revenue from the added exposure. It won't happen just to even things out for the Big Ten and other northern schools. Quote Link to comment
WoodyHayes1951 Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 I don't think the Big Ten will be fighting for Indy or Detroit bowls anyway. Longstanding relationship with the people in Los Angeles and they like their Florida bowls considering the state is filled with Big Ten alumni Quote Link to comment
irafreak Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 nobody wants to deal with chicago in january cold, plus run the risk of having your bowl game snowed out. I know...all those NFL playoff games that are constantly snowed out... Quote Link to comment
BigRedBuster Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Chicago would be awesome but it can be pricey. People need to look at the NFL to see how weather affects teams style and play. How many stories do we hear this time of year of warm weather or dome teams having poor records traveling to cold weather teams??? It took Tampa Bay years to get its first NFC playoff win up north. Peyton Manning is miserable in cold weather. This would be a huge advantage for the B1G teams weather (pun) it be in the playoff or a mid-tier bowl game vs the SEC. This is exactly why this will never happen. Do you really think Presidents from the south and west coasts will vote to allow championships to be decided by teams traveling north into the cold weather? I have a better chance of getting a date with Halle Berry. Quote Link to comment
HANC Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Being from Iowa, and have traveled to many bowl games (in States of Florida, California, Arizona, Texas)......and also traveled all over country in regular season.. (cold months too)...... I can say that part of attraction for the common fan is the "warm weather". I travel all over and go as a rabid fan, but not going to lie, Spending time in the warm weather in late December and early January is a very nice treat. I look at it as a 'reward' for the team more than an ideal place for me (the fan)...... Although Jacksonville weather wasn't good this year...... there are many more opportunities for guys to go out and enjoy nice weather and do outdoor activities.....beach parties, amusement parks, outdoor pep rally.........than there would be in Chicago, Indy, etc.... I would be jealous as a player if many teams got the beach and I was stuck at the Navy Pier overlooking a frozen Lake Michigan at 15 degrees.........(note: Chicago is one of my favorite cities in the world). I have been to many bowl games in the south, when Husker fan outnumbered the "closer" fan...... it all comes down to the type of season an attitude. Teams are alloted same amount of tickets, Huskers have great National following........so really no excuses for crowd........and team travel a full week (at least) in advance, so jet lag nor acclimation is an issue. Husker fans would out number opponents, when things are going well.... I bet Iowa fans probably came close to LSU fans (just a guess). Quote Link to comment
irafreak Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Being from Iowa, and have traveled to many bowl games (in States of Florida, California, Arizona, Texas)......and also traveled all over country in regular season.. (cold months too)...... I can say that part of attraction for the common fan is the "warm weather". I travel all over and go as a rabid fan, but not going to lie, Spending time in the warm weather in late December and early January is a very nice treat. I look at it as a 'reward' for the team more than an ideal place for me (the fan)...... Although Jacksonville weather wasn't good this year...... there are many more opportunities for guys to go out and enjoy nice weather and do outdoor activities.....beach parties, amusement parks, outdoor pep rally.........than there would be in Chicago, Indy, etc.... I would be jealous as a player if many teams got the beach and I was stuck at the Navy Pier overlooking a frozen Lake Michigan at 15 degrees.........(note: Chicago is one of my favorite cities in the world). I have been to many bowl games in the south, when Husker fan outnumbered the "closer" fan...... it all comes down to the type of season an attitude. Teams are alloted same amount of tickets, Huskers have great National following........so really no excuses for crowd........and team travel a full week (at least) in advance, so jet lag nor acclimation is an issue. Husker fans would out number opponents, when things are going well.... I bet Iowa fans probably came close to LSU fans (just a guess). It makes you wonder.... If they played the season during the beginning of the year and bowl games were in the summer time would it be as big a draw to go down south? I'd venture to say we'd actually have some folks that wouldn't mind heading north or to the mountains for cooler games... Quote Link to comment
jsneb83 Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Okay, being from California, I may have a different perspective on this than those of you from NE. But this is one of those "it is what it is" situations. These bowls have to be (as much as possible) in warm weather cities. Who wants to go to the Idaho Potato Bowl? or the Pinstripe Bowl? Unless you are wealthy, the bowl game is kind of like a vacation for the average fan. Most don't want to vacation in downtown Chicago in late December/early January. Florida and California are nice places to be during this time of year. Sure Jacksonville was a little chilly, but not as bad as New York, Chicago or Indianapolis. The high today (January 2nd) here where I live in So. Cal. is going to be 75 (with no wind chill). The high in Chicago today is going to be 22. So like it or not, the fans of USC, UCLA, Arizona and ASU, Texas teams, and SEC teams are going to be at an advantage. But seriously, that isn't going to change. As far as the playing conditions for the teams...just prepare better and play better and the "home field advantage" won't matter. When Nebraska had superior teams...we won those games in Florida, Texas, Arizona and California. When we were not the better team, we lost. Have you ever been to downtown Chicago during this time frame? It is awesome and beautiful with the Christmas decorations everywhere. Maybe I'm weird. I actually feel the same way. Plus, da Bears don't seem to mind having playoff games there in January. Probably because they are so rare, and they don't know when the next one will be. Quote Link to comment
Kernal Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 It's obvious a lot of the bowl games are in the southeast, which is SEC's backyard. In this post I figured the distance for each team that qualified for bowl games. Big 10- 7 SEC- 10. SEC: South Carolina- Columbia, SC -----> Orlando, FL 430 miles, 6 hours LSU- Baton Rouge, LA -----> Tampa, FL 712 miles, 10 hours Texas A&M- College Station, TX -----> Atlanta, GA 825 miles, 12 hours Georiga- Athens, GA -----> Jacksonville, FL 340 miles, 5.5 hours Mississippi State- Starkville, MS -----> Memphis, TN 182 miles, 2.8 hours Ole Miss- Oxford, MS -----> Nashville, TN 231 miles, 3.4 hours Missouri- Columbia, MO -----> Arlington, TX 600 miles, 9 hours Vanderbilt- Nashville, TN -----> Birmingham, AL 192 miles, 2.8 hours Alabama- Tuscaloosa, AL -----> New Orleans, LA 292 miles, 4 hours Auburn- Auburn, AL -----> Pasadena, CA 2137 miles, 30 hours Average Distanced Traveled- 594 miles Now, factoring out BCS bowl games, because fans will travel no matter what- 439 miles Big 10: Michigan State- East Lansing, MI -----> Pasadena, CA 2212 miles, 31 hours Wisconsin- Madison, WI -----> Orlando, FL 1304 miles, 19 hours Iowa- Iowa City, IA ------> Tampa, FL 1269 miles, 18.5 hours Nebraska- Lincoln, NE -----> Jacksonville, FL 1338 miles, 19.5 hours Michigan- Ann Arbor, MI -----> Tempe, AZ 1957 miles, 29 hours Minnesota- Minneapolis, MN -----> Houston, TX 1177 miles, 17 hours Ohio State- Columbus, OH -----> Miami, FL 1152, 17 hours Average Distance Traveled- 1487 miles Without BCS bowls- 1409 miles Final thoughts: Obviously you can't change geography, and the Big 10 is at a disadvantage when it comes to bowl traveling. The SEC, in my opinion, have a HUGE advantage when it comes to bowl selection. Some of the stadiums that the bowls are played in, some of the teams have played in before.. Georgia v Florida game is played in Jacksonville... Chick-Fil-A bowl, Georgia Dome. The average fan isn't going to fly, or drive cross country to watch a bowl game. But, if the game was an average of 439 miles away, and tickets running 30$, who wouldn't? If only bowl games weren't in Indy, Chicago, etc. That's my 2 cents. Good info. I think there's two different issues here: 1) the bowls; and 2) the football games. Bowl games are vacation destinations with exhibition football games. That's just what they are. That's why they are all in the South and mostly on the coasts. Nobody really wants to sit in the freezing cold of Chicago or wherever in December or January for a vacation. The other issue is the football itself. The solution there is to do a legitimate playoff like the FCS does. They do 24 teams with the top 8 getting byes for the first round. Several of those games are played on home fields. That does a couple things. It fills the stadium (or at least it would in Lincoln), and it gives Northern teams the potential for a weather advantage just like Southern teams have with bowl games. Quote Link to comment
husker07 Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Interesting numbers. Obviously it's an unfair advantage to southern teams, but I understand it. I got free tickets to the Big 12 championship game a few years back when it was at Arrowhead. I'm probably just a wuss, but it was freezing cold, snowy, and miserable. Cool memory, but it was zero fun sitting there freezing my butt off. If I'm a southern fan, and not particular used to the cold, I'm going to think real long about traveling 10 hours to a game in Chicago where I'm going to be miserable the whole time. Quote Link to comment
BigRedBuster Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Being from Iowa, and have traveled to many bowl games (in States of Florida, California, Arizona, Texas)......and also traveled all over country in regular season.. (cold months too)...... I can say that part of attraction for the common fan is the "warm weather". I travel all over and go as a rabid fan, but not going to lie, Spending time in the warm weather in late December and early January is a very nice treat. I look at it as a 'reward' for the team more than an ideal place for me (the fan)...... Although Jacksonville weather wasn't good this year...... there are many more opportunities for guys to go out and enjoy nice weather and do outdoor activities.....beach parties, amusement parks, outdoor pep rally.........than there would be in Chicago, Indy, etc.... I would be jealous as a player if many teams got the beach and I was stuck at the Navy Pier overlooking a frozen Lake Michigan at 15 degrees.........(note: Chicago is one of my favorite cities in the world). I have been to many bowl games in the south, when Husker fan outnumbered the "closer" fan...... it all comes down to the type of season an attitude. Teams are alloted same amount of tickets, Huskers have great National following........so really no excuses for crowd........and team travel a full week (at least) in advance, so jet lag nor acclimation is an issue. Husker fans would out number opponents, when things are going well.... I bet Iowa fans probably came close to LSU fans (just a guess). It makes you wonder.... If they played the season during the beginning of the year and bowl games were in the summer time would it be as big a draw to go down south? I'd venture to say we'd actually have some folks that wouldn't mind heading north or to the mountains for cooler games... But, you have to ask what is more important to the sport? A nice vacation for fans? Or, equal advantages as far as competitiveness? No other sport ends their year by deciding where the nicest vacation is going to be for the most fans instead of what makes sense for competition. Quote Link to comment
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