I have said many times that I think bowl games are stupid for many reasons. I always like watching Pitt play in bowl games but not because its a bowl, just simply because I enjoy watching Pitt play. There are many reasons I feel this way, with the biggest being the fact that bowls are legalized scams and it p***** me off to no end that the NCAA outsources their football post-seasons to these corrupt organizations.
Bowls are 501C non-profits. They make money through ticket sales, sponsorships, and their TV contract, so what do they do with all the money? They donate a small amount to charities or their own charitable fund but the vast majority goes to pay 1 or 2 bowl executives. These CEOs of these non-profits make anywhere from 300K to 600K to put on 1 football game a year. Think about how easy of a job that is. An intelligent middle school student could do that. I totally hate that there are many people getting rich off staging 1 football game. Its a total scam. So, I threw up in my stomach a little bit when they interviewed the Military Bowl CEO and they asked him what Christmas is like for him with the bowl game so close and he said "I guess I'll celebrate it tomorrow." For half a million, for a job requiring no more than 200 hours of work per year, I think we'd all celebrate Christmas on Dec 29.
OK, with that out of the way, I do admit the Annapolis trip changed my feelings just a bit about bowl games. I still think they are corrupt scams but being there with the most Pitt fans I've ever seen at a non-Pittsburgh based event was pretty cool to say the least. The weather in Annapolis on Sunday was unbelievable. 71 degrees......even at night. I was walking around in shorts and a t-shirt. Being on the water, it really felt like Florida so it made me think how neat it would be to go to a good Florida bowl. The reality, though, is 90% of bowl games are cold-weather bowls. Some may be 40 or 50 degrees. Really only the FL bowls plus the SD, LA, and AZ bowls are warm weather.
I've never seen Pitt fans travel like that. The entire town of Annapolis was covered with Pitt fans. Every bar, restaurant, gift shop, etc. It made me feel like what it must be like to be a fan of a diploma mill who travels tens of thousands to road games and bowl games. Its a pretty cool feeling and it was good to see. Our hotel was filled with Pitt fans. I heard the receptionist comment to a coworker how many check-ins she had to do. A local Annapolis resident who asked me at the parade "where is Pitt," commented how many of our fans we brought. I head another local comment that for a minor bowl game, he couldn't believe the place was packed as he was expecting 15-20K.
The parade was nice and had a pretty good turnout despite colder weather in the morning. Main St was lined with Pitt and Navy flags. Annapolis is a great bowl town. I've never been there and have always heard nice things but its truly one of the nicest small towns you could ever visit. Its got that college town feel mixed in with the touristy and historical stuff. Honestly, I was surprised of how collegiate the town felt. Lots of Navy souvenir stores. Lots of cool shops and restaurants that you often see in college towns. I guess the best way I can put it is that Annapolis felt more like a college town than a military town.
All this made the build-up to the game exciting. It didn't have the feel of a Tier 2 bowl game. They had skydivers and a flyover before the game and Miss America singing the National Anthem. Her mic went off and the entire crowd sang it while the mic was off. I got goosebumps then and now while I'm typing it. It was a really cool moment and being there in that moment, singing that song, made me very proud to be an American. So, by kick, Pitt fans were fired up like crazy. There was a buzz. There was excitement. Honestly, I cant remember the last time I was that fired up for a Pitt game. Its been a long time since I've gone to a game with that buzz. Part of that was because the stadium was packed. Now, it only seats 34K and I don't want to turn this into a stadium thread but 34K in that stadium was absolutely electric. 34K in a 70K seat stadium makes you want to fall asleep. It had the feel of like a conference championship game and in a way, it was, playing for the Championship of the Northeast. One side all Navy. The other side all Pitt. And when Henderson took that kick back, Pitt fans were delirious. Then, Navy got the ball and it was over.
The game, obviously, was disappointing but I cant help but think that maybe the experience helped change the travel culture a bit. I will never go to El Paso or a Dec. 26 bowl unless I can drive it the day of the game but I look forward to the next bowl. I think Pitt showed that if its not in El Paso or Shreverport and not Dec 26, we will buy a lot of tickets and hopefully some of these bowls realize this for next year. Pitt has had mediocre teams playing in far-flung bowl games on terrible dates.
Hopefully, our turnout changed the perception.....but again, fan travel should not determine the quality of your bowl game but when you outsource your postseason to scam artists, you have to live with that.
Bowls are 501C non-profits. They make money through ticket sales, sponsorships, and their TV contract, so what do they do with all the money? They donate a small amount to charities or their own charitable fund but the vast majority goes to pay 1 or 2 bowl executives. These CEOs of these non-profits make anywhere from 300K to 600K to put on 1 football game a year. Think about how easy of a job that is. An intelligent middle school student could do that. I totally hate that there are many people getting rich off staging 1 football game. Its a total scam. So, I threw up in my stomach a little bit when they interviewed the Military Bowl CEO and they asked him what Christmas is like for him with the bowl game so close and he said "I guess I'll celebrate it tomorrow." For half a million, for a job requiring no more than 200 hours of work per year, I think we'd all celebrate Christmas on Dec 29.
OK, with that out of the way, I do admit the Annapolis trip changed my feelings just a bit about bowl games. I still think they are corrupt scams but being there with the most Pitt fans I've ever seen at a non-Pittsburgh based event was pretty cool to say the least. The weather in Annapolis on Sunday was unbelievable. 71 degrees......even at night. I was walking around in shorts and a t-shirt. Being on the water, it really felt like Florida so it made me think how neat it would be to go to a good Florida bowl. The reality, though, is 90% of bowl games are cold-weather bowls. Some may be 40 or 50 degrees. Really only the FL bowls plus the SD, LA, and AZ bowls are warm weather.
I've never seen Pitt fans travel like that. The entire town of Annapolis was covered with Pitt fans. Every bar, restaurant, gift shop, etc. It made me feel like what it must be like to be a fan of a diploma mill who travels tens of thousands to road games and bowl games. Its a pretty cool feeling and it was good to see. Our hotel was filled with Pitt fans. I heard the receptionist comment to a coworker how many check-ins she had to do. A local Annapolis resident who asked me at the parade "where is Pitt," commented how many of our fans we brought. I head another local comment that for a minor bowl game, he couldn't believe the place was packed as he was expecting 15-20K.
The parade was nice and had a pretty good turnout despite colder weather in the morning. Main St was lined with Pitt and Navy flags. Annapolis is a great bowl town. I've never been there and have always heard nice things but its truly one of the nicest small towns you could ever visit. Its got that college town feel mixed in with the touristy and historical stuff. Honestly, I was surprised of how collegiate the town felt. Lots of Navy souvenir stores. Lots of cool shops and restaurants that you often see in college towns. I guess the best way I can put it is that Annapolis felt more like a college town than a military town.
All this made the build-up to the game exciting. It didn't have the feel of a Tier 2 bowl game. They had skydivers and a flyover before the game and Miss America singing the National Anthem. Her mic went off and the entire crowd sang it while the mic was off. I got goosebumps then and now while I'm typing it. It was a really cool moment and being there in that moment, singing that song, made me very proud to be an American. So, by kick, Pitt fans were fired up like crazy. There was a buzz. There was excitement. Honestly, I cant remember the last time I was that fired up for a Pitt game. Its been a long time since I've gone to a game with that buzz. Part of that was because the stadium was packed. Now, it only seats 34K and I don't want to turn this into a stadium thread but 34K in that stadium was absolutely electric. 34K in a 70K seat stadium makes you want to fall asleep. It had the feel of like a conference championship game and in a way, it was, playing for the Championship of the Northeast. One side all Navy. The other side all Pitt. And when Henderson took that kick back, Pitt fans were delirious. Then, Navy got the ball and it was over.
The game, obviously, was disappointing but I cant help but think that maybe the experience helped change the travel culture a bit. I will never go to El Paso or a Dec. 26 bowl unless I can drive it the day of the game but I look forward to the next bowl. I think Pitt showed that if its not in El Paso or Shreverport and not Dec 26, we will buy a lot of tickets and hopefully some of these bowls realize this for next year. Pitt has had mediocre teams playing in far-flung bowl games on terrible dates.
Hopefully, our turnout changed the perception.....but again, fan travel should not determine the quality of your bowl game but when you outsource your postseason to scam artists, you have to live with that.
