No doubt that having teams like Marshall in the game (exciting team and lots of fans) has helped the GMAC the last two years, but this year UL brought very, very few fans yet the bowl still had a sell out. I attribute that in part to the smaller venue (40K), but moreso to the great local support that the game has, which is due in part to a smaller community (Mobile) that has very few "high profile" events and as a result really gets behind the GMAC Bowl effort. This kind of local support should serve as a model for any efforts the MAC has in putting together a neutral site MACC.
You look at failing bowls such as the Las Vegas and the New Orleans Bowl, and essentially you have "major league" type cities that in general have no vested interest in a local bowl game.........that is different in Mobile where this game "puts them on the map" and I applaud them for their great support of the game. I would love to see a town like Canton embrace the MACC the same way and start a great tradition for MAC fans.
I was thinking essentially the same thing while watching the game tonight. Not so much the MACC connection, but how this game outsells major cities. But when you think about it, it's not much of a surprise. For Mobile, the game is like their county fair on national TV. Given virtually no other sports, or multitudes of entertainment, in the area to report on, the local newspaper has probaby devoted 10x more ink on the game than a New Orleans (and, unfortunately, Detroit) has done. It's their chance to "shine". If I lived in that city, I'd be at that game regardless of participants and conference affiliation. Maybe other midsize, sportsless Southern cities like Jackson MS, Macon GA, and Pensacola FL, should get into the act.
Or, speaking of sportless cities, Cincinnati...
Seriously.
Now I see why UCF is in the MAC and not CUSA. We picked the better conference for football. And to tell you the truth I don't think the MAC needs more tie ins. CUSA just needs to be able to drop some tie ins before they embarass themselves more. I hope it's us in Mobile next year. I'll be there.
RochesterFalcon Wrote:Or, speaking of sportless cities, Cincinnati...
Seriously.
Cincy has sports...just not good ones.
it's a sad, sad day in cincy when the Elder-Colerain football game outdraws EVERY major sporting event in the state except for OSU football (I'm in reference to the over 50k people who went like 2 years ago, and the day that the rematch of this game outdrew UC on the same day in their own stadium this year)
the best thing in sports to happen to the city is occurring on DEC 29, 7 AM
the destruction of riverfront/cinergy field.
Speaking of Cincy, I hope they continue their outstanding drafting skills by taking Carlson Palmer and not Byron. Please Ravens Trade up and take Byron>
Knight, I'd like to see the MAC snag a third tie in.
The way Conference USA is falling on its face (again), maybe we can finally grab one of theirs.
I think New Orleans would be a nice, nice fit for our No. 3.
I've got fears that i'm gonna hear "WITH THE FIRST PICK IN THE 2003 NFL DRAFT, THE CINCINNATI BENGALS TAKE BYRON LEFTWICH"
I'm not a marshall fan by ANY stretch of the means, but i would hate to see a promising career be cut short by incompetance
exCincy Kid Wrote:I attribute that in part to the smaller venue (40K), but moreso to the great local support that the game has, which is due in part to a smaller community (Mobile) that has very few "high profile" events and as a result really gets behind the GMAC Bowl effort. This kind of local support should serve as a model for any efforts the MAC has in putting together a neutral site MACC.
You look at failing bowls such as the Las Vegas and the New Orleans Bowl, and essentially you have "major league" type cities that in general have no vested interest in a local bowl game
When I went to the LV Bowl, the hotel folks didn't even know it existed. Not that everyone should be a college football fan, but it is their job to know the entertainment venues for customers.
I think you got it exactly right eCK. But I wonder how long the romance lasts. The Independene Bowl in Shreveport, LA fits your description perfectly. But, I think their numbers have suffered. (Getting sponsored by Poulan Weedeater didn't help.)
exC.........
Bingo! You're right on the money about the MACC Game in a place like Canton. Canton has all the infrastructure necessary to support the HOF and it's Festival...........and the town is ripe following the OHSAA Championships the week or two before. It would be so simple and so potent.
Count the # of MAC Schools within a 3 or 4 hour drive. HOF, good small airport, plenty of hotels, easy highway access, it's all there to start a real good tradition.
PS.........Happy Holidays to all you guys.......you've made for a real enjoyable year since I found you in June.
Hey, how about a "Poster Of The Year Award?" My vote's for Axeme even though he's a crosstown slug...........
We could blow it out into a more extended set of awards. Call 'em the Mackies or something.
Biggest flamer, most thoughtful, most in need of a spell check. etc.
You're right on eCK. Mobile has found the formula for a successful bowl game. There are a lot of bowls with higher profile teams not doing well at all. I applaud the powers that be for putting the GMAC in Mobile and getting the community to support the game. My town has TWO bowls and I'm not going to either.
Ya'll brought up some good mid-sized gulf-cities that could also make this work, especially Pensacola. How about Biloxi? Never been there but would they fit the bill too?
I'd love the MAC to pick up the N.O.Bowl. UCF travelled to Tulane last year and we had an awesome time! I, and many others, would go back to N.O. to watch Golden Knight Football in a heartbeat. Usually the MAC's division runner-ups have decent records (i.e NIU & BGSU ). We can definitely take on a third bowl.
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I wouldn't turn a NO Bowl bid down, but that bowl is destined for failure IMHO, and would not serve as a firm foundation as another bowl destination for the MAC.
An earlier poster probably put it best.......it's not so much that the MAC needs more bowls, but that C-USA needs to have LESS BOWLS! They are just awful-awful.
I think 3 bowls is just about right for the MAC........if we had teams with 7-6 and 7-5 records routinely "bowling" we wouldn't "draw flies" either, which is why these kind of bowl match-ups (i.e New Orleans) is a joke.
The basic problem with the NO Bowl is that in NO, it is a second rate bowl. This is a town that gets some mighty big bowl games and good matchups often, even a national title game every few years. Why would anyone there care about this puny bowl? It has to be driven by the teams involved and when one sends "700-800" fans you have a loser of a bowl.
As I've said, if they moved it to, say, Lafayette, it could really turn into something. I'm not an expert on the MAC-sized football stadiums in small towns in Louisiana, but this bowl probably needs to try to emulate the Mobile/Shreveport model.
I see where the game got a great TV share rating as well (2.3)......over double the viewership than they had for that debacle called the New Orleans Bowl (1.1) the night before.
Question: Why isn't the Mobile Bowl tonight (Friday) instead of mid-week? There are no bowl games this weekend at all, and it'd be easier for folks to attend, wouldn't it?
exCincy Kid Wrote:Question: Why isn't the Mobile Bowl tonight (Friday) instead of mid-week? There are no bowl games this weekend at all, and it'd be easier for folks to attend, wouldn't it?
Not sure. I know one of the ESPN channels is airing the I-AA National Championship Friday night (tonight) at around 6:30PM. That means that channel is tied up through 10PM. Perhaps the other channel had a pre-existing contract. We have NFL both Saturday and Sunday this weekend. Perhaps they don't want to go head to head.
axeme Wrote:The basic problem with the NO Bowl is that in NO, it is a second rate bowl. This is a town that gets some mighty big bowl games and good matchups often, even a national title game every few years. Why would anyone there care about this puny bowl?
And this thing they call the "Super Bowl" comes around every few years. I hear they get a decent turnout for that too.
Question for RF, is Shreveport really a successful model? It has been persistant, so that's a good sign. It possibly has hurt itself w/ poor conference tie-ins too. But my initial question remains, will the GMAC fade away like the Independence Bowl?