Remember when there were bowl games that people actually attended?

[fairgambit]

And the worst teams had 8 or 9 losses?
And they showed some of the bands performing at halftime?
And fans of other schools actually watched your team play because each game actually meant something?
And Joe Paterno was a young coach, and Bear and Woody were still on the sidelines?
I remember.

 

[bison13]

Attendance has been horrible at many of these games. I can't imagine they make any money. Cut out 4 or 5 bowls and those sponsors can join up with each other to give better payouts to those games that people might actually attend..

 

[psu00]

Only saw parts of the Sun Bowl today but the attendance, in a not so large stadium, was horrible. Heard the Pinstripe bowl attendance was horrible too. Waaaay too many bowls. Hell, Nebraska is 5-7 and playing in a bowl.

 

[michnittlion]

Scheduling six ........... SIX!!!!!!!!!!! ............ Bowl games on the day immediately following Christmas shows that it's all about TV vs. attendance anymore. It's not feasible for many fans to travel hundreds (or in some cases, thousands) of miles for these December 26th games. Pullman, WA to El Paso, TX???? Virginia Tech to Shreveport, LA???? Connecticut to Tampa, FL????

I'm pretty thankful we missed out on the Foster Farms Chicken Bowl. Seriously, Santa Clara is about 2500 miles from State College - it would make the 3 above examples look easy.

 

[Black Elmo 2]

There are non-stop flights Hartford to Tampa, so that one wouldn't be so difficult.

 

[michnittlion]

There are non-stop flights Hartford to Tampa, so that one wouldn't be so difficult.

True --- but it's still extremely tight if a Connecticut football fan who lived in-state wanted to spend Christmas Day with the family, while also making the 11 AM (11 AM!!!) kickoff in Tampa.

 

[EPC FAN]

Scheduling six ........... SIX!!!!!!!!!!! ............ Bowl games on the day immediately following Christmas shows that it's all about TV vs. attendance anymore. It's not feasible for many fans to travel hundreds (or in some cases, thousands) of miles for these December 26th games. Pullman, WA to El Paso, TX???? Virginia Tech to Shreveport, LA???? Connecticut to Tampa, FL????

I'm pretty thankful we missed out on the Foster Farms Chicken Bowl. Seriously, Santa Clara is about 2500 miles from State College - it would make the 3 above examples look easy.

Just about the whole upper deck at Yankee Stadium was empty. If they had 30K, it is a miracle.

 

[Option Bob]

I remember, too. I remember when Tom, Woody, Bo, and Bear would lose most of their bowl games.

I remember when JoePa won most of his bowl games.

I remember when beating the Big 8 and the SWC champions got us some respect but few votes in the polls.

I remember nearly annual underdog status as we watched our traditionally ferocious defense stifle the favored foe.

I remember being an invited guest of the South Texas UT Die-Hard Club charter to witness a Penn State defense minus Reid-Smear-Kates-Ebersole-Onkotz-Ham totally shutting down the Longhorn Wishbone in 1972 Cotton Bowl.

I remember PSU turning down a bowl in 1970 despite a 7-3 record.

I remember when the Rose Bowl was basically watching USC roll some lame Big Ten school.

I remember when it was actually exciting for Notre Dame to go to a bowl game.

And I remember when the only times I rooted against a team were the times when Penn State's national ranking was at stake.

 

[Art]

Just about the whole upper deck at Yankee Stadium was empty. If they had 30K, it is a miracle.

Just over 37k v. 49k last year.

 

[lockhavenlion3]

Attendance has been horrible at many of these games. I can't imagine they make any money. Cut out 4 or 5 bowls and those sponsors can join up with each other to give better payouts to those games that people might actually attend..

they make $$$ because of tv. it's that simple. this whole thing is a made for tv farce.

 

[jim cummings]

If they didn't make money there wouldn't be any bowls.

 

[lockhavenlion3]

If they didn't make money there wouldn't be any bowls.

given this crap, that would be ok.

 

[NittPicker]

In 1983 our record was 7-3-1 and we played in the Aloha Bowl against an 8-3 UDub team. I remember there was a debate as to whether or not we deserved a bowl bid since we only had seven wins. Of course there were many fewer bowl games then but it's funny now to think seven wins wasn't good enough for some people.

 

[PennStateNate]

Only saw parts of the Sun Bowl today but the attendance, in a not so large stadium, was horrible. Heard the Pinstripe bowl attendance was horrible too. Waaaay too many bowls. Hell, Nebraska is 5-7 and playing in a bowl.

Who from Miami, Fla is going to go to El Paso to celebrate Christmas?

 

[PennStateNate]

And for those saying there are two many bowls, lets not forget there are kids busting their butts at the non-P5 conferences that should get awarded. Akron and Georgia State both won their first bowl games this year.

 

[psu00]

Who from Miami, Fla is going to go to El Paso to celebrate Christmas?

Judging by today- almost no one. Not sure why they put bowl games on the day after Christmas.

 

[bdgan]

And for those saying there are two many bowls, lets not forget there are kids busting their butts at the non-P5 conferences that should get awarded. Akron and Georgia State both won their first bowl games this year.

A lot of division 2&3 athletes bust their butts. Should they also be awarded with bowl games?

 

[psu00]

And for those saying there are two many bowls, lets not forget there are kids busting their butts at the non-P5 conferences that should get awarded. Akron and Georgia State both won their first bowl games this year.

There are waaay too many bowls. That's pretty evident given 5-7 teams are playing in them this year. The 2 games you mentioned-

Georgia State (6-6) vs San Jose St (5-7) in the 'Cure Bowl' in Orlando. Georgia St lost to finish 6-7. Attendance- 18,536 (stadium capacity- 70,000).

Akron (7-5) vs Utah St (6-6) in the 'Idaho Potato Bowl' in Boise. Attendance- 18,876 (stadium capacity- 36,387).

It used to be bowls were a reward for teams who accomplished something and had good years. They have now become the college equivalent of the "participation trophy".

 

[lockhavenlion3]

In 1983 our record was 7-3-1 and we played in the Aloha Bowl against an 8-3 UDub team. I remember there was a debate as to whether or not we deserved a bowl bid since we only had seven wins. Of course there were many fewer bowl games then but it's funny now to think seven wins wasn't good enough for some people.

was at that game. launched the 85/86 teams. 7 wins, ok. 5-7, not so much.

 

[psu00]

In 1983 our record was 7-3-1 and we played in the Aloha Bowl against an 8-3 UDub team. I remember there was a debate as to whether or not we deserved a bowl bid since we only had seven wins. Of course there were many fewer bowl games then but it's funny now to think seven wins wasn't good enough for some people.

Just to see how things have changed over the years-

At the time of that Aloha Bowl in 1983, there were a grand total of 16 bowl games. 32 teams went to bowls.

This season there are a total of 41games. 80 teams now go to bowls.

1983- 16 bowl games.
1995- 18 bowl games.
2005- 28 bowl games.
2015- 41 bowl games.

 

[Hawks!!!]

College football: the greatest regular season in sports, and the worst postseason.

 

[doctornick]

There's way too many bowls and many should be eliminated and we should go back to teams going to bowls because they "deserve" it.

That said, I'd suggest a significant part of the bowls not drawing as much is the emphasis on the "playoff" and "championship" (and the BCS, etc. before that). In the olden days, all the bowls were "important" to some extent. Now, the ever increasing emphasis on crowing a "champion" has made the other bowls seem much more disposable especially for the casual fan.

 

[psu00]

There's way too many bowls and many should be eliminated and we should go back to teams going to bowls because they "deserve" it.

That said, I'd suggest a significant part of the bowls not drawing as much is the emphasis on the "playoff" and "championship" (and the BCS, etc. before that). In the olden days, all the bowls were "important" to some extent. Now, the ever increasing emphasis on crowing a "champion" has made the other bowls seem much more disposable especially for the casual fan.

I think there's truth in that. Back in the day the bowls would try to match up the best games they could with relatively few conference tie ins (unlike now). There were no Akrons going at 7-5. Hell, there weren't many Penn St, Alabama, or Ohio States going at 7-5. .

The big talk as the season wore down was what bowl reps in the funny colored jackets were at what game each week. It was interesting to hear the discussions between a few options- go to the citrus bowl to play 'X' or the cotton bowl to play team 'Y'.

Each bowl game had meaning and generally had good match ups. Often it was a matter of dominos falling to see who would win the national title based on upsets. Now you look at the bowl schedule and easily half of the games you wouldn't spend 5 minutes watching.

 

[Ten Thousan Marbles]

The bowls seem to sell plenty of ad time. The rest is used to promote upcoming games/shows.

ESPN seems to have invested quite a bit of money into the bowl system.

It may be that their long term hope/strategy is that these bowls will be the framework for a larger playoff format.....approved by public acclamation.

 

[BobPSU92]

Too many bowl games, too many bad teams, too many schools with no following. No one went to yesterday's Pinstripe Bowl because it was Duke and indiana. That's a basketball game. No one cares when those schools play football. There was a good crowd for last year's Pinstripe Bowl because it was Boston College and Penn State. Better match-up, better crowd.

 

[lockhavenlion3]

Too many bowl games, too many bad teams, too many schools with no following. No one went to yesterday's Pinstripe Bowl because it was Duke and indiana. That's a basketball game. No one cares when those schools play football. There was a good crowd for last year's Pinstripe Bowl because it was Boston College and Penn State. Better match-up, better crowd.

reported crowd of @37,000. sure didn't look like on most crowd shots.

 

[fairgambit]

I think there's truth in that. Back in the day the bowls would try to match up the best games they could with relatively few conference tie ins (unlike now). There were no Akrons going at 7-5. Hell, there weren't many Penn St, Alabama, or Ohio States going at 7-5. .

The big talk as the season wore down was what bowl reps in the funny colored jackets were at what game each week. It was interesting to hear the discussions between a few options- go to the citrus bowl to play 'X' or the cotton bowl to play team 'Y'.

Each bowl game had meaning and generally had good match ups. Often it was a matter of dominos falling to see who would win the national title based on upsets. Now you look at the bowl schedule and easily half of the games you wouldn't spend 5 minutes watching.

I had almost forgotten the bowl reps. Yes, it was a big deal if a rep from some major bowl showed up at your game. There was a time when I thought being a bowl rep was just about the best job on earth.

 

[bdgan]

Just to see how things have changed over the years-

At the time of that Aloha Bowl in 1983, there were a grand total of 16 bowl games. 32 teams went to bowls.

This season there are a total of 41games. 80 teams now go to bowls.

1983- 16 bowl games.
1995- 18 bowl games.
2005- 28 bowl games.
2015- 41 bowl games.

In my opinion there should only be 18 bowl games.

• 11 Bowl Games should be played between Christmas and New Years Day. These games would be a reward for teams finishing between 9th and 30th in the rankings.
  
• The top 8 teams should play in 4 "major" bowl games on New Years Day.
• New Years Day winners should play in 2 games the next week to determine who plays for the MNC.
• The national championship game should be played 2 weeks after New years.

But what do I know? I also think that college football players should be students who attend legitimate classes and earn legitimate degrees.

 

[Evan Ceg]

I think there's truth in that. Back in the day the bowls would try to match up the best games they could with relatively few conference tie ins (unlike now). There were no Akrons going at 7-5. Hell, there weren't many Penn St, Alabama, or Ohio States going at 7-5. .

The big talk as the season wore down was what bowl reps in the funny colored jackets were at what game each week. It was interesting to hear the discussions between a few options- go to the citrus bowl to play 'X' or the cotton bowl to play team 'Y'.

Each bowl game had meaning and generally had good match ups. Often it was a matter of dominos falling to see who would win the national title based on upsets. Now you look at the bowl schedule and easily half of the games you wouldn't spend 5 minutes watching.

This is one of the bigger downsides of the CFP system. It has made all the non-CFP bowls more meaningless. I remember when Penn State going to a bowl against a well-known intersectional opponent was a big deal, with no thought of national championship implications. Of course, that was in the '60s and '70s and times change.

Obviously, there are too many bowls. I doubt that many of these smaller bowls are revenue-positive propositions for the teams or the cities and I hope that the economics will winnow their number. I'm also unimpressed with the justification that bowl teams get 15 extra practices. Why not just extend spring practice or give teams two weeks of practice after their final regular season game if that's so damn important? Coaches always want more practice time. Just another step in making student-athletes full-time professional athletes. Remember when Mike Reid played a lead role in the campus theater production of "Guys and Dolls?" What are the chances that could happen today? I remember when we had an impressive number of engineering majors on our football team.

It would be fine by me if there were only 15 bowl games and participation was a reward for a particularly good season.

 

[psuro]

I watched parts of the Pinstripe Bowl, the Bahamas Bowl, the Sun Bowl and Independence Bowl. In all honesty these were some interesting games. All of them had some level of excitement/drama towards the end. Whether that means two evenly matched bad/mediocre teams, or what - not sure. But, they were fun to watch.

I hope the rest of bowl season is as entertaining.

 

[Obliviax]

Art Model moved the Browns when his crappy team sold out a stadium he leased for a penny a year that held 90,000 people. That is when I knew they no longer cared much about fannies in seats.

 

[EPC FAN]

In 1983 our record was 7-3-1 and we played in the Aloha Bowl against an 8-3 UDub team. I remember there was a debate as to whether or not we deserved a bowl bid since we only had seven wins. Of course there were many fewer bowl games then but it's funny now to think seven wins wasn't good enough for some people.

Actually, it was 7-4-1. The team lost its first 3 games. A blowout vs. Nebraska, a monumental upset to Cincinnati, and a much better played game at Iowa. The team then won 5 in a row including a win over Alabama. They lost at Boston College, beat Brown and Notre Dame, then tied Pitt. Pitt fans went nuts because Joe kicked a tying field goal as time expired. Joe had two ties in his career, that was one of the two.

http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/penn-state/1983-schedule.html

 

[BBrown]

reported crowd of @37,000. sure didn't look like on most crowd shots.

Yea I really question that number as well.

 

[ThePennsyOracle]

I think there's truth in that. Back in the day the bowls would try to match up the best games they could with relatively few conference tie ins (unlike now). There were no Akrons going at 7-5. Hell, there weren't many Penn St, Alabama, or Ohio States going at 7-5. .

The big talk as the season wore down was what bowl reps in the funny colored jackets were at what game each week. It was interesting to hear the discussions between a few options- go to the citrus bowl to play 'X' or the cotton bowl to play team 'Y'.

Each bowl game had meaning and generally had good match ups. Often it was a matter of dominos falling to see who would win the national title based on upsets. Now you look at the bowl schedule and easily half of the games you wouldn't spend 5 minutes watching.

I'm anxious to see how well attended our bowl game is this year.

Georgia has about 3 coaches left, we laid a huge egg the last two games, and it's the Saturday before people go back to work.

I'm ambivalent about the game this year for many of those reasons. It means nothing in all actuality. I hope PSU puts together a nice game, kids make a few good plays, and most of all, everyone comes out healthy.

 

[dawgduice]

There is so much money from TV/cable selling commercials and the attached TAX RiGHT OFFS. Actually, we pay the gap in collected taxes by our NO RIGHT OFF "for you" system.
Well, at least it's football, imagine if it were a baseball thing

 

[Art]

There is so much money from TV/cable selling commercials and the attached TAX RiGHT OFFS. Actually, we pay the gap in collected taxes by our NO RIGHT OFF "for you" system.
Well, at least it's football, imagine if it were a baseball thing

Huh?

 

[bdgan]

There is so much money from TV/cable selling commercials and the attached TAX RiGHT OFFS. Actually, we pay the gap in collected taxes by our NO RIGHT OFF "for you" system.
Well, at least it's football, imagine if it were a baseball thing

What tax "right" offs? Are you suggesting that ESPN intentionally loses $1 so they can save 40 cents in taxes? Or are you saying that the government gives preferential tax treatment to profits from bowl games? I don't understand your post.

 

[bison13]

If they would go to an 8 team playoff they could use 4 more of the bowls as the quarterfinals and thus spread the better teams around with the other games. These 4 games could probably happen the day before or after Christmas and then the semis right after the New Years bowls.

 

[psuro]

There is so much money from TV/cable selling commercials and the attached TAX RiGHT OFFS. Actually, we pay the gap in collected taxes by our NO RIGHT OFF "for you" system.
Well, at least it's football, imagine if it were a baseball thing

 

[psu00]

And the worst teams had 8 or 9 losses?
And they showed some of the bands performing at halftime?
And fans of other schools actually watched your team play because each game actually meant something?
And Joe Paterno was a young coach, and Bear and Woody were still on the sidelines?
I remember.

Attendance of bowls so far-

Bowl. Attendance. (Stadium capacity)

1. Las Vegas Bowl- 42,213 (40,000)
-BYU vs Utah rivalry in Vegas
2. New Mexico Bowl- 30,289 (39,224)
-New Mexico playing at home
3. Camellia Bowl- 21,395 (21,000)
4. Cure Bowl- 18,536 (70,000)
5. New Orleans Bowl- 32,847 (76,468)
-Louisiana Tech in Superdome
6. Miami Beach Bowl- 21,712 (36,742)
7. Boca Raton Bowl- 25,908 (29,419)
8. Potato Bowl- 18,876 (36,387)

9. Poinsettia Bowl- 21,501 (70,561)

10. GoDaddy Bowl- 28,656 (33,471)
11. Bahamas Bowl- 13,123 (15,023)
12. Hawaii Bowl- 22,793 (50,000)
13. St. Peterburg- 14,652 (42,735)
14. Sun Bowl- 41,180 (51,500)
-Using Pitt math apparently
15. Dallas Bowl- 20,229 (92,100)
16. Pinstripe Bowl- 37,218 (54,251)
17. Independence- 31,289 (52,000)
18. Foster Farms- 33,527 (75,000)