Apropos of nothing, I started thinking about the upcoming bowl game season. While I'm a huge proponent of the playoff system, I accept that the bowl system is what it is and I do admit to having a slightly nostalgic memory of bowl growing up, before the days of 547 bowls, sponsorship and the existence of MicronPC. I got to thinking about all these crazy games no one really care about and naturally the thought occurred to me...why aren't there more?
What I mean is, in a world where Boise, Idaho, Shreveport, LA and Toronto, Canada all host bowl games and San Diego and New Orleans host two each, why don't any of the following places have bowl games as well?
(Again, I'm not suggesting we add more bowls, just curious. The prospect of more matchups between 6-6 teams does nothing for me)
Los Angeles, CA
Technically, there are no bowl games played in the city of Los Angeles. The Rose Bowl exists in Pasadena, which is not very far from the center of the city but if you've ever driven in LA you know that it might as well be in Nevada. But right in the heart of Los Angeles lies the L.A. Coliseum, home of the USC Trojans. It seats 92,000, sits across the street from USC's campus, is walking distance from Downtown LA and an easy drive north to Hollywood or west to the beach. The Pac-10 is in desperate need of some new bowl alliances and LA is in the heart of the conference, why not schedule a Pac-10 vs. anyone game the week before the Rose Bowl? If you cards fall right, you might even get one of the two hometown teams.
Proposed Bowl Name: The California Bowl
Oklahoma City, OK
If you watched RealSports recently, you saw the story about Boone Pickens, Okahoma State alumnus and billionaire who is currently bankrolling the restoration of the Cowboys' stadium and facilities to the tune of $165 million. That means state-of-the-art stadium, state-of-the-art luxury boxes and state-of-the-art locker rooms with fancy whirlpools and such. The stadium seats 48,000 but can fit upwards of 52,000. Temperatures get a little frosty in late December, dipping into the 40's and 50's but they play bowl games in worse. It would be the only bowl game for miles in a college football-rich area. You couldn't sell tickets for a Big 12/SEC or even a Big 12/CUSA matchup here? With the added bonus that you even get the Cowboys or even the Sooners every so often?
Proposed Bowl Name: The Boone Pickens Bowl, natch
Austin, TX
The home of the Longhorns holds 85,000 people. It's one of college football's holy lands. Weather's sure to be nice. And even if that's not enough, you're in Austin. I saw Real World: Austin, it looked like fun. They kept going to the same bar over and over but I'm sure there's a few others there too. Big 12 team would be a requirement.
Proposed Bowl Name: The Southwest Bowl
St. Louis, MO
Okay, so its not your first choice for places to be in December. But we've got that covered cause we've got a dome! The Edward Jones Dome seats approx. 70,000 and has tons of luxury space. And there's no shortage of things to do or places to stay in the 18th largest city in the US. And all of St. Louis' elite will be on hand. Tony LaRussa! Marc Bulger! Whoever plays for the Blues! I see a Big 12/Big Ten matchup here.
Proposed Bowl Name: The Gateway Bowl
Irving, TX/Arlington, TX
The Cowboy's current home, Texas Stadium (65,000) seems like a no-brainer for a bowl game. Houston, San Antonio, El Paso, Ft. Worth and Dallas all have bowl games, why not Irving? When the Cowboys move in a few years for their new yet-to-be-named stadium in Arlington, the bowl can follow them there. Or maybe you just wait until that stadium's up and running. Whatever you want, I'm breezy. Big drawback would be your proximity to Ft. Worth and Dallas, but if you can find something compelling enough, what's the difference? How bout a Big 12/Conference USA matchup where you hope like all hell for a Texas A&M/SMU showdown?
Proposed Bowl Name: The Other Texas Bowl
Carson, CA
What is Carson California and why haven't you ever heard of it? Well, it's just south of Los Angeles and just north of Anaheim. It's the home of the Home Depot Center (27,000K) where David Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy play. So yeah, its not exactly made for BCS football but you're lucky if you can get 20,000 people out to one of these games anyway. It would be a killer spot for a WAC/Mountain West showdown that gives fans the option to visit LA and its beaches or Anaheim and its Disneyland or both.
Proposed Bowl Name: The Beckham Bowl (I assume he gets naming rights over anything there)
Tucson, AZ
There's a bowl in Tempe, Glendale and even neighboring New Mexico. Where's the love for Tuscon? The stadium seats 56,000 and hosts the Wildcats during the season. It's the 32nd largest city in the US so no problems with the amenities. Give me a Pac-10/WAC or PAC-10/Mountain West match-up and let's call it a day.
Proposed Bowl Name: The Old Pueblo Bowl (nickname for Tuscon)
Atlanta, GA
Wait a sec, Atlanta already has a bowl and it's name is Chick-Fil-A. Charming as that name is, they play that at the Georgia Dome. Well, you've got a perfectly good Bobby Dowd Stadium with 55,000 seating going unused except for Chan Gailey effigies. They play two games in San Diego and New Orleans and Atlanta is bigger than both of them. Get me an ACC/SEC or Big East/ACC match-up stat and hold it around December 24th, a week before the aforementioned bowl.
Proposed Bowl Name: The Peach Bowl (just to stick it to the folks at Chick-Fil-A)
Syracuse, NY
Okay, here me out on this. Syracuse in December sounds Godforsaken, I know. But on the bright side you've got a domed stadium that holds 50,000 and if you make it a low-seed Big East/MAC matchup, it's no worse than the International Bowl and you don't have to go through customs. There'slots of stuff to do in Syracuse, too, so that's um...nice. And for local fans, Syracuse knows they just need to win six games and they're assured a place to play in mid-December.
Proposed Bowl Name: The Salt Bowl (Syracuse's nickname is Salt City, don't ask me why)
What I mean is, in a world where Boise, Idaho, Shreveport, LA and Toronto, Canada all host bowl games and San Diego and New Orleans host two each, why don't any of the following places have bowl games as well?
(Again, I'm not suggesting we add more bowls, just curious. The prospect of more matchups between 6-6 teams does nothing for me)
Los Angeles, CA
Technically, there are no bowl games played in the city of Los Angeles. The Rose Bowl exists in Pasadena, which is not very far from the center of the city but if you've ever driven in LA you know that it might as well be in Nevada. But right in the heart of Los Angeles lies the L.A. Coliseum, home of the USC Trojans. It seats 92,000, sits across the street from USC's campus, is walking distance from Downtown LA and an easy drive north to Hollywood or west to the beach. The Pac-10 is in desperate need of some new bowl alliances and LA is in the heart of the conference, why not schedule a Pac-10 vs. anyone game the week before the Rose Bowl? If you cards fall right, you might even get one of the two hometown teams.
Proposed Bowl Name: The California Bowl
Oklahoma City, OK
If you watched RealSports recently, you saw the story about Boone Pickens, Okahoma State alumnus and billionaire who is currently bankrolling the restoration of the Cowboys' stadium and facilities to the tune of $165 million. That means state-of-the-art stadium, state-of-the-art luxury boxes and state-of-the-art locker rooms with fancy whirlpools and such. The stadium seats 48,000 but can fit upwards of 52,000. Temperatures get a little frosty in late December, dipping into the 40's and 50's but they play bowl games in worse. It would be the only bowl game for miles in a college football-rich area. You couldn't sell tickets for a Big 12/SEC or even a Big 12/CUSA matchup here? With the added bonus that you even get the Cowboys or even the Sooners every so often?
Proposed Bowl Name: The Boone Pickens Bowl, natch
Austin, TX
The home of the Longhorns holds 85,000 people. It's one of college football's holy lands. Weather's sure to be nice. And even if that's not enough, you're in Austin. I saw Real World: Austin, it looked like fun. They kept going to the same bar over and over but I'm sure there's a few others there too. Big 12 team would be a requirement.
Proposed Bowl Name: The Southwest Bowl
St. Louis, MO
Okay, so its not your first choice for places to be in December. But we've got that covered cause we've got a dome! The Edward Jones Dome seats approx. 70,000 and has tons of luxury space. And there's no shortage of things to do or places to stay in the 18th largest city in the US. And all of St. Louis' elite will be on hand. Tony LaRussa! Marc Bulger! Whoever plays for the Blues! I see a Big 12/Big Ten matchup here.
Proposed Bowl Name: The Gateway Bowl
Irving, TX/Arlington, TX
The Cowboy's current home, Texas Stadium (65,000) seems like a no-brainer for a bowl game. Houston, San Antonio, El Paso, Ft. Worth and Dallas all have bowl games, why not Irving? When the Cowboys move in a few years for their new yet-to-be-named stadium in Arlington, the bowl can follow them there. Or maybe you just wait until that stadium's up and running. Whatever you want, I'm breezy. Big drawback would be your proximity to Ft. Worth and Dallas, but if you can find something compelling enough, what's the difference? How bout a Big 12/Conference USA matchup where you hope like all hell for a Texas A&M/SMU showdown?
Proposed Bowl Name: The Other Texas Bowl
Carson, CA
What is Carson California and why haven't you ever heard of it? Well, it's just south of Los Angeles and just north of Anaheim. It's the home of the Home Depot Center (27,000K) where David Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy play. So yeah, its not exactly made for BCS football but you're lucky if you can get 20,000 people out to one of these games anyway. It would be a killer spot for a WAC/Mountain West showdown that gives fans the option to visit LA and its beaches or Anaheim and its Disneyland or both.Proposed Bowl Name: The Beckham Bowl (I assume he gets naming rights over anything there)
Tucson, AZ
There's a bowl in Tempe, Glendale and even neighboring New Mexico. Where's the love for Tuscon? The stadium seats 56,000 and hosts the Wildcats during the season. It's the 32nd largest city in the US so no problems with the amenities. Give me a Pac-10/WAC or PAC-10/Mountain West match-up and let's call it a day.
Proposed Bowl Name: The Old Pueblo Bowl (nickname for Tuscon)
Atlanta, GA
Wait a sec, Atlanta already has a bowl and it's name is Chick-Fil-A. Charming as that name is, they play that at the Georgia Dome. Well, you've got a perfectly good Bobby Dowd Stadium with 55,000 seating going unused except for Chan Gailey effigies. They play two games in San Diego and New Orleans and Atlanta is bigger than both of them. Get me an ACC/SEC or Big East/ACC match-up stat and hold it around December 24th, a week before the aforementioned bowl.
Proposed Bowl Name: The Peach Bowl (just to stick it to the folks at Chick-Fil-A)
Syracuse, NY
Okay, here me out on this. Syracuse in December sounds Godforsaken, I know. But on the bright side you've got a domed stadium that holds 50,000 and if you make it a low-seed Big East/MAC matchup, it's no worse than the International Bowl and you don't have to go through customs. There's
Proposed Bowl Name: The Salt Bowl (Syracuse's nickname is Salt City, don't ask me why)