http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...02377.html
Want to have a service academy as the host team.
I believe that the NCAA is at their self-imposed max number of bowls.
I'd guess this bowl could only get sanctioned in April if another bowl goes under.
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"The District of Columbia Bowl Commission is continuing its work to bring a bowl game either to RFK Stadium or the new Nationals Park. It hopes to have the inaugural bowl in mid- to late-December 2008, and it is aiming for one of the participants to be a service academy team, starting with Navy in 2008 and Army in 2009.
The commission will submit a proposal for the game -- to be called the Congressional Bowl -- to the NCAA on April 1. An answer likely will come a month later."
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Army? Last I checked they haven't been bowl eligible in a while.
I doubt there is much chance of RFK being the site. I'd guess Nationals Stadium or nothing.
For those curious about D.C. weather. Mid to late Dec: Average highs are in the lows 40s.
emu steve Wrote:I doubt there is much chance of RFK being the site. I'd guess Nationals Stadium or nothing.
Why? Nats Park will be configured for baseball-only, while RFK sans Nats will be left in its football/soccer configuration year-round. And I bet the bowl organizers can rent RFK a lot cheaper than Nats Park.
Still, I don't expect to see a bowl game here in my lifetime -- unless we eventually expand to the point where all 120 Division I-A teams go to bowls.
DevilGrad- San Francisco hosts a bowl in the Giants baseball stadium despite having a football only park at Candlestick Point available. Just saying there is not a guarantee that it will be at RFK. A shiny new facility wants new events and a new event wants a shiny new facility to sell tickets.
We'll see if this goes the route of the Hoosier Bowl or the International Bowl. . .
I'm pretty sure they want it at RFK and that should be suitable. DC United still plays at RFK. Last I heard they were talking about a bowl game likely to be de-certified. Don't remember which, but it wasn't one of the three MAC tie-ins.
DC is not a college football town at all. I can't see this being that popular of a venture particularly in a non-domed cold weather city.
OUVan Wrote:DC is not a college football town at all. I can't see this being that popular of a venture particularly in a non-domed cold weather city.
DC is not a college town, but consider that the University of Maryland and Navy are both very close. Philly is not far, if Temple ever went to the bowl game. The drive from Toledo is about 8-9 hours, so it wouldn't be any different than going to the GMAC Bowl for MAC fans.
The main key is that they want to have a service academy as one of the reps. That is what will make this successful. Every branch of the service is represented in the DC Metro area. There's Quantico (Marines), Andrews Air Force Base, the Naval Academy, Fort Belvoir (Army), a US Coast Guard Base, and probably others I haven't even thought about. This game would have a lot of service personnel there.
Some of these bowl proposals are getting retarded. A few months ago it was Baltimore. Now it is Washington DC. They are nice cities but not what you think of as bowl destinations. Especially since they do not have domed stadiums.
As for the service academies, why would Navy want to play bowl games in Washington, or Baltimore for that matter? Bowls are supposed to be for good trips and memories. Midshipmen can visit those cities anytime they are on leave.
Great posts.
I agree with almost all of them with the possible exception of the one about RFK vs. Nationals stadium.
I don't think anyone would go to RFK for a college FB game.
My ?:
Why would Navy want to play in D.C. when they can play in San Diego?
Would the Poinsetta folks be p*ssed if Navy abandoned them for another bowl?
I live in the D.C. area and I love D.C., but I'd rather be in S.D. in December then D.C.
I also agree that D.C. is not a college town at all.
D.C. has just TOO much happening.
OUVan Wrote:DC is not a college football town at all. I can't see this being that popular of a venture particularly in a non-domed cold weather city.
But D.C. has a lot of tourist attractions and really cheap airfare. You can fly from Chicago to D.C. on Southwest for like a $100 round-trip. Plus, its a warm location. Right now its 57 degrees in D.C.
I say they play a bowl game in Savannah, Ga. Call it the Smell Bowl!
Krocker Krapp Wrote:Some of these bowl proposals are getting retarded. A few months ago it was Baltimore. Now it is Washington DC. They are nice cities but not what you think of as bowl destinations. Especially since they do not have domed stadiums.
As for the service academies, why would Navy want to play bowl games in Washington, or Baltimore for that matter? Bowls are supposed to be for good trips and memories. Midshipmen can visit those cities anytime they are on leave.
Military personnel get good trips and memories as they travel quite a bit not just throughout the US, but throughout the world.
Could all the midship persons (I guess that is correct
) attend a bowl game in D.C.? (I believe Annapolis is about a 40 minute drive to/from the Nationals stadium - if there is parking
).
What was the attendance of midship persons in San Diego last year?
The poster is also 100% correct about cheap air fare into BWI, especially Southwest.
SWA is really good for flights from CHI, CLE, DET, etc. etc. Quick and dirt cheap.
Getting a 60 degree day in mid-Dec and it feels like April esp. for folks from those midwest cities.
If only mother nature would agree to cooperate.
BTW, could we get a MAC team to come??????
The Poinsettia Bowl is dropping Navy after this year and will pair up the MWC and Pac-10 in 2008 and 2009. I assume they will extend that arrangement when the majority of bowl contracts are renegotiated for the 2010 to 2013 cycle.
This move leaves Navy without a prearranged bowl opportunity for 2008 and 2009 at this time. My own idea has been for the Big East to rotate Army and Navy when a new bowl is started in Tampa or St. Petersburg in a couple of years.
Those in the military obviously go all over the world once they are commissioned but I was referring to their experience in school. Playing a bowl in Baltimore or Washington DC would be boring for Navy. They have a large national fanbase.