RE: Fenway Wasbi bowl.. Cincinnati vs Louisville
I like the opponent.
I HATE the setting (i.e. a Baseball stadium, in New England).
I HATE the time (i.e. a week before Christmas).
Over on the "Conference Realignment" board, someone was talking about the Detroit Bowl (known by many names over the years). In theory, it should be a pretty good game, matching a Big Ten and a MAC team. Ford Field is a nice venue, and it's indoors...which means climate control and comfort. It's relatively centrally located for both the B10 and the MAC, which usually means ease of travel. But beyond the theory, this game has always been an underachiever. Why? Not in the least because a "Bowl" game implies a whole experience, not just a game. A "Bowl" usually carries with it the idea of bands and pep rallies and multiple days spent in a location; a vacation around a game. But the Detroit-"Quicklane Bowl" is a "drive in" game: you drive INTO Detroit, watch the game, then drive back out again (as quickly as possible). That's the NFL model: NFL stadiums are not usually situated in walkable places, they are centered on the "Drive in-watch game-drive out."
Baseball, at least, carries with it a "Neighborhood" experience. Fenway, Wrigley, Yankee Stadiums (among others) are at least in a neighborhood where there are taverns and restaurants to mingle and enjoy before and after the game. But Baseball is a SUMMER sport: who wants to linger in Wrigleyville in December? And the Baseball Parks are made for Baseball; Fenway is not meant to watch football. The field will be wedged in there all weird and it will be unpleasant to try and watch. (And Fenway, as an older park, has lots of "obstructed seats" behind pillars and columns.) When Illinois played Northwestern up at Wrigley, they could only go "one way" because of the brick wall in Left Field--it was too dangerous to have the chance of some player running out of the endzone and into the wall, so the Offense had to go away from the wall. Awkward, to say the least, and it totally broke up the flow of the game because at each change of possession they had to "flip" the field.
I hate these Bowl games with a passion. I'll watch, but I still hate it.
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