Live from Tampa: Tech goes for a title in a windy setting
The ACC motto: Nothing says college football like a pirate ship in the end zone. (Photo by M. Bradley)
Tampa — The ACC tried Jacksonville. Didn’t work. Then it tried here. Hasn’t worked. Next year it tries Charlotte. Probably won’t work.
The ACC has this problem. It wants to be seen as a big-time football conference but lives cheek-by-jowl with the big-time football conference. The SEC championship game — the granddaddy of such events, at least in the upper tier of college football — dwarfs all else. Best teams, loudest fans, nicest setting. (Atlanta, Ga., thank you very much.)
The ACC expanded to 12 teams in 2005. Its first title game — between Florida State and Virginia Tech — drew 72,749. Last year’s title game — staged here, in the stadium rigged out with the pirate ship — drew an actual crowd of 27,360. (Nearly twice that many tickets were sold.) Tonight’s game between Georgia Tech and Clemson will do better than that because these schools are much closer to Florida than were Boston College and Virginia Tech, but nobody is predicting a sellout.
Raymond James Stadium has a pirate ship — and it’s a cool pirate ship, I must say — but it also has an inherent drawback: It lacks a roof. And if you’re going to play a football game outdoors in December, even on the Gulf Coast of F-L-A, it would behoove you to control the climate. Especially if your target audience is a conference that isn’t exactly the essence of football fandom. (Basketball is another matter, but the ACC has long been really good in basketball. And most basketball games are staged indoors.)
Just for fun, I checked the weather in Charlotte as of 5 p.m. Saturday — 42 degrees with a 70 percent chance of rain. Bank of America Stadium, the next home for this wayfaring event, is likewise open-air. Ouch, babe.
It had rained for several days here, but the rain ceased this morning. Now it’s just gray and windy. (The Dunedin boat parade was canceled today because of the wind, FYI.) Temperature was 57 degrees at 5 p.m. and was expected to drop into the 40s by the time the ACC anoints its champ. Mercifully, there was only a 10 percent chance of rain.
OK, you’re saying: “This is football, dude, and football is supposed to be played outdoors come Hades or high water!” My reply: The ACC is largely a Southern-based conference. We Southerners aren’t used to sitting and shivering. And if you’re neutral wondering if you should pay money to go watch Tech and Clemson play in Tampa — heck, even if you’re a Tech or Clemson fan — you might feel more inclined to trot out the credit card if you knew you weren’t going to be miserable throughout.
And there’s the ACC’s biggest problem: The only real alternative stadium from Boston to Miami that bears a roof is the one already booked this weekend. The Georgia Dome is exactly what the league needs, but the SEC got there first. And the SEC loves the Dome. And the feeling is mutual.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney suggested Friday that the ACC might pair its title game with the SEC championship in Atlanta, which would make great good sense. Reps from the conferences already oppose one another in both the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic and the bowl formerly known as the Peach, and those games do sellout business. (And Atlanta is, by dint of Tech’s location, technically an ACC city.)
But would the ACC ever want to play alongside Big Brother? Would it want its status as the JV league underscored with a side-by-side comparison? In an ideal world, no. But the first five installments of the ACC title game haven’t been ideal. The event needs a lift. The Dome would supply one. I say try it.
And with that, I’ll open the floor to comments, questions and venue suggestions. I’ll be here until Tech wins — I say the score will be 31-27 — and even if it loses. Join me, won’t you?
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
2,008 comments Add your comment
GTMANIA
December 5th, 2009
6:09 pm
Mark who wins this game tonight? clem or gt?
Ben Dover
December 5th, 2009
6:09 pm
65% – 35% Tech. Wow!! Clemson will only bring 7,000 fans to the game.
willie martinez
December 5th, 2009
6:09 pm
writing is really my suit
the reviews said willie you’re a beaut
but mark told me wise
doesnt matter your guise
just walk away with uga’s loot
GTMANIA
December 5th, 2009
6:10 pm
oh by the way, i know how to get back to uga fans…..gt 4 national titles and uga 1….hahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Live from the ACC Championship
December 5th, 2009
6:10 pm
[...] the story on Topix Posted in [...]
ACC - All of'em Can't Compete League
December 5th, 2009
6:10 pm
Ok Mark…you gave a bunch of excuses why people won’t put their butt in a seat to see the ACC Championship (which I still say UGA or SC is the real winner)…..wait til the TV ratings come out….compare the SEC game to the ACC and see where the interest is….ACC is not significant!
Wont Jones
December 5th, 2009
6:11 pm
There once was a coach named Willie
Whose stallions were running like phillies;
So the fired his butt-
He’s no longer a mutt.
But a writer? Our Willie? Not really!
GTMANIA
December 5th, 2009
6:11 pm
Stop getting upset uga fans because your team in 7-5 and not playing this weekend. Hey look on the bright side, you will get a bowl bid….’the toilet bowl’….lol lol lol lol
A she she
December 5th, 2009
6:12 pm
So what is the over under on attendance? 28,00?
tommy
December 5th, 2009
6:12 pm
7-5 hahahahahahahahahahahah. Who is UGA playing today? Oh I forgot, Richt hasn’t played on this day since the SEC has some National Power Houses again. Last time Richt had a National Power house he was at FSU. He might be back there year after next as a special teams coach
Kelly Johnson Fan Club
December 5th, 2009
6:12 pm
Chris seems to have it figured out.
GTMAINA
December 5th, 2009
6:13 pm
We will be laughing it up at you mutt fans while we are having a good time at the Musis City Bowl. Suck on that, losers.
SEC HAS A BASKETBALL CONFERENCE????
December 5th, 2009
6:13 pm
Hah the sec basketball conference is non erelevent either….move on
Alabama Jack
December 5th, 2009
6:13 pm
It must really suck to know that two of your biggest rivals are in Championship Games while you sit at home 7-5, waiting for that dreaded phone call from Shreveport.
Pi$$onaJacket
December 5th, 2009
6:13 pm
30-24 still makes me smile. The whole world is pulling for Clemson. Run Spiller Run! Go Clemson!
Mark who has the most national championships?
December 5th, 2009
6:14 pm
Is it the non erelevent acc team in gt or that really awesome 7-5 team uga?
willie martinez
December 5th, 2009
6:14 pm
william is now my name
the guys won my last game
but that didnt matter
said richt, “i’m tired of your patter”
“and no, you won’t make uga’s hall of fame”
Ben Dover
December 5th, 2009
6:14 pm
Tommy,
Nice to see you came out of your coma from the 90’s. Things have changed a little bit while you were asleep. Some things did not change however. The annual beat down of the nerds has continued for your enjoyment.
brewdawg
December 5th, 2009
6:14 pm
It isn’t a big deal if Tech wins, at least according to CPJ. If UGA “hasn’t won anything since 1980″, then he doesn’t think SEC titles are a big deal. And Techaroonies, if an SEC title doesn’t constitute “winning something”, then an ACC title certainly doesn’t. ( I don’t think CPJ really means that, but it was a classic “sour grapes” comment that I will harp on for a while). Good luck Techsters.
Mark who has the most national championships?
December 5th, 2009
6:15 pm
45-42 MAKES ME SMILE TO….RUN WHOEVER RUN….OH UGA’S NOT PLAYING…HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
willie martinez
December 5th, 2009
6:15 pm
very good wont.
Big time?? Not
December 5th, 2009
6:16 pm
Four tickets, four hot dogs, four cokes
Ben Dover
December 5th, 2009
6:16 pm
Alabama James,
UGA’s biggest rival is playing today in Atlanta. Yech is no rival….they are the red headed step child.
Mark who has the most national championships?
December 5th, 2009
6:16 pm
BREWDAWG YALL NEED THE LUCK, NOT US..,…GOOD LUCK IN THE BASKETBALL SEASON …OHHHH YALL DONT EXIST…LMAO…TOILET BOWL
George P
December 5th, 2009
6:16 pm
Has the building started to fill up? What was the tailgate setup like? Hope you’re ready for a quality night game, I know I am!
willie martinez
December 5th, 2009
6:16 pm
wont: russ the bulldog mascot that took over for uga at tech.
even bradley new what i was talking about.
willie martinez
December 5th, 2009
6:17 pm
ben, are you talking about joe cox?
Pi$$onaJacket
December 5th, 2009
6:17 pm
So both tech and Clemson lost their last games to SEC teams, and it still hurts, doesn’t it. How does it feel to have lost to a team that lost to Kentucky? Go Clemson!
ACC - All of'em Can't Compete League
December 5th, 2009
6:17 pm
Come on you GT nerds…you are supposed to be good with numbers…..look at them….UGA owns you…now say it….who’s your DADDY?
Simon Bar Sinister
December 5th, 2009
6:17 pm
Hey, Georgia had a crappy season, and the fans are watching today’s action from home. Their victory over Tech is all they have to talk about. Let them have their fun. Maybe they’ll realize that every time they put down Tech they are making their only quality win of the season look worse.
The ACC and Big 12 championships have already been sold to the highest bidder: they are both Dr Pepper games.
Wont Jones
December 5th, 2009
6:18 pm
We’ll miss you Willie.
You can leave now.
Don’t forget to turn in your key to the coach’s restroom.
Meanwhile...where's the buzz?
December 5th, 2009
6:18 pm
Where’s the buzz, no pun intended? I can’t believe more people aren’t talking about the fact that the ACC championship game is the first conference championship to be on pay-per-view.
Sure you’ll still find the game on ESPN; if referring to the fact that for the first time ever, the ACC will pay cable customers a small stipend if they tune in.
Pi$$onaJacket
December 5th, 2009
6:18 pm
Hey Mark, do you even see 20,000 people in the stadium yet?
Mark who has the most national championships?
December 5th, 2009
6:18 pm
LOVE THE PIC OF THE BULLDOGS THAT THE KID DREW OF THE RAMBLIN WRECK DRIVING OVER THE DEAD DAWGS OVER THE YEARS….WHAT A LAME SITE WHERE YOU BURY YOUR DEAD ANIMALS IN YOUR STADIUM.
haha
December 5th, 2009
6:18 pm
30-24 with a d cordinator on his way out the door wait for Mr. Smart hahahahahaha
willie martinez
December 5th, 2009
6:19 pm
mark asked me to coach in the bowl
so the enemy wouldnt cross the goal
but i said no
no way i’ll go
i’ll soon be an fsu seminole
Mark who has the most national championships?
December 5th, 2009
6:19 pm
GT HAS SOLD 30,000 TICKETS THERE SELF LAST CHECKED….MOVE ON REDNECKS
Benjamin
December 5th, 2009
6:19 pm
It’s been a long time since 1984, Mark. That Burger King could be long gone by now. Regardless, there commericals are much stranger, what with that guy in the crown running around places and all.
Go Clemson!
willie martinez
December 5th, 2009
6:19 pm
wont, i wont ever go away.
George P
December 5th, 2009
6:20 pm
How’s the building filling up? What was the tailgate scene like outside? Hope you’re ready for on helleva night game showdown! I know I am
Mark who has the most national championships?
December 5th, 2009
6:20 pm
HEY HOW ABOUT THEM DAWGS IN HOOPS…..HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
ACC - All of'em Can't Compete League
December 5th, 2009
6:20 pm
GT has it’s best year in twenty years and loses to UGA ….that’s funny I don’t care who you are
GTFAN
December 5th, 2009
6:21 pm
So funny that all these UGAY necks have nothing to do on Championship Saturday but come over to the Tech Blog. HAHAHAHAHA
Mark who has the most national championships?
December 5th, 2009
6:21 pm
WELL EVEN IF YOU WONT GO AWAY, ATLEAST U KNOW YOUR A REDNECK FROM ATHENS….THATS ALL THERE FANS ARE…BEEN THERE DONE THAT
Another obnoxious dawg fan
December 5th, 2009
6:22 pm
UGA 30 Tech 24 = Eat it.
Meanwhile in his pea-sized brain…
Man, my wife is fat, my dog pissed on the carpet in the trailer and my son is on meth. My life sucks so bad I gotta go rub the only thing that matters in my life in the nerds faces.
Mark who has the most national championships?
December 5th, 2009
6:22 pm
GTFAN WHAT DID U EXPECT? THEY ARE JEALOUS, ALL THEY CAN PIN THERE SEASON ON IS THE WIN OVER US. THAT WAS THERE BIGGEST WIN IN THERE SCHOOLS HISTORY….HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
willie martinez
December 5th, 2009
6:23 pm
GT Fan, we come over to this blog so Mark will be able to understand a few of the comments
bp
December 5th, 2009
6:23 pm
the poor boodawgs don’t have anything to do tonight.why not start bailbond drive to keep your boys out of jail?
George P
December 5th, 2009
6:23 pm
I’m still pumped about this game. Little wind got knocked out of our sails, but we still got something worth playing for. Let’s bring home the ACC Championship
willie martinez
December 5th, 2009
6:24 pm
Mark, you need to make some deletions on the blog. willie