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?
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2,008 comments Add your comment
willie martinez
December 5th, 2009
6:46 pm
scribe. i like that.
now i’m willie the scribe
and like all can over imbibe
and write my own blog
when my minds in a fog
and looking to take any bribe
Mark Bradley
December 5th, 2009
6:46 pm
Gators in trouble, I see.
Meanwhile...yes it can get worse for the ACC
December 5th, 2009
6:46 pm
Thank you Mark.
Still I note for all the ridicule of 30-24 I’ve got to imagine, though they can’t say it, that Swofford and company are pulling for Tech.
How do you market your conference when your marquee team has four losses, and occupies the bottom half of the Top 25?
Heck even marketing CWM has got to be easier than that.
Ben Dover
December 5th, 2009
6:46 pm
Music City Bowl has to take nerds after they lose. Talk about a raw deal.
willie martinez
December 5th, 2009
6:47 pm
Mark, you dont remember that tape? er, forget it. willie
Pi$$onaJacket
December 5th, 2009
6:48 pm
Poor Erin, she will feel like the is covering a D & D convention when she sees those tech fans. They will probably act like it is the very first girl they have seen. 30-24. Go Clemson!
George P
December 5th, 2009
6:48 pm
How much Orange did Heather Dinich have to pile on just so she could say there was more orange in the house?
SugarPikeGang
December 5th, 2009
6:49 pm
This Techie thinks that Charlotte is the best locale for the game. BUT, I also think the indoor thing is valid. Army/Navy is next week. Is it possible to hold off one week and play following everyone else (or would that just be disrespectful to the service acadamies)?
What is wrong with playing this game on a Thursday night since the ACC plays Thursday nights all the time anyway? I know that Saturday is preferred but if you move the game to Atlanta, this may be the way to go. The ACC game will take 10 to 15 more years to establish itself. The SEC has been doing this a lot longer.
willie martinez
December 5th, 2009
6:49 pm
i think i’ll become like furman
and write an occasional sermon
unbaised i’ll be
to the nth t
and convince people
the name martinez is german
Jealous?
December 5th, 2009
6:50 pm
Pi$$onaJacket is just jealous we get Erin Andrews. Don’t let your wife catch you lookin’ on the internet son.
George P
December 5th, 2009
6:51 pm
My money says that the SEC will run until 8, on paper a 4 hour game. Any takers?
Vince Dooley
December 5th, 2009
6:51 pm
No wonder tech has sold so many tickets, they have never seen anyone like Erin Andrews get any where close to the tech campus this game is going to be like porn to the nerds watching her on the sidelines.
GTFAN
December 5th, 2009
6:52 pm
hey Pi$$, why don’t you quit playing on mommy’s computer and go fix us a burger… twerp.
George P
December 5th, 2009
6:53 pm
Don’t worry Jealous, women don’t go for rednecks. As they say for UGA grads, only need a single wide for the single life
native atlantan
December 5th, 2009
6:53 pm
This Tech fan has a few comments…
30-24…ouch, you beat us! And all you can do is trash talk on a blog while your teams sits at home…cry me a river. If you think for a second shouting 30-24 bugs us when we’re looking at a 12-2 record…if UGA went 12-2 but one of the losses was to Tech would it matter? Yeah, that’s what I thought.
NERDS! NERDS! NERDS! I love this one the most…REALLY? NERDS? We know we’re nerds you moron. Is that the best you can do? Most of us are proud of it too. That’s like calling UGA fans rednecks. Try something original.
Mark Bradley
December 5th, 2009
6:53 pm
The SEC championship game always takes forever. I say this as someone who has covered all but five of them.
Nate
December 5th, 2009
6:54 pm
Erin was at Tech for the Clemson Thursday night game and the Miami game last year idiot. I don’t think she has even visited Dooley’s campus since that infamous blackout funeral last year! Go Jackets!
Mark Bradley
December 5th, 2009
6:55 pm
Perhaps I erred. Erin appears to be wearing a black coat-dress, not a poncho/shawl. Unless she changed.
Mark Bradley
December 5th, 2009
6:55 pm
There are actually some people in the upper deck. Wasn’t sure there would be.
Casey
December 5th, 2009
6:56 pm
Did UGA win there Championship game today? Oh yeah they arn’t in one.
native atlantan
December 5th, 2009
6:57 pm
Pi$$ – Erin’s done more games at Bobby Dodd than you could count…I know that’s not saying much, but still…she’s done quite a few.
Megan Fox
December 5th, 2009
6:57 pm
Yep, Erin Andrews is at the game. We were out partying last night.
Jimbo F
December 5th, 2009
6:58 pm
willie martinez
Please send me your resume and a video tape of your defensive highlights
regards
Jimbo
Nate
December 5th, 2009
6:58 pm
At least Erin has come to Tech for the past couple Thursday night games…..wait, has she even been on the UGA campus recently, oh that’s right she visited the infamous Alabama blackout wipeout last year..my bad bro.
Give us 30-24 all day, I’ll give you #1 in the nation to #2 in the state all day.
Meanwhile...speaking of history
December 5th, 2009
6:58 pm
Just as a historical footnote, who would have ever thought that Georgia’s defense under CWM would have the same nickname as Michigan’s offense under Fielding Yost?
Mark Bradley
December 5th, 2009
6:59 pm
How does Southern Cal lose four games?
Wont Jones
December 5th, 2009
6:59 pm
Erin changed? Film at Eleven.
Flowery Branch Yellow Jacket
December 5th, 2009
6:59 pm
fwiw … the Yellow Jacket B’ball team opened up with a 19-0 run against USC at AMC, and now leads the Trojans 40-26 at the half. Hopefully this is just the first of two big wins for the Jackets tonight.
George P
December 5th, 2009
7:00 pm
USC sucks, that’s how. They’re overrated year after year. Kinda like Notre Dame light
willie martinez
December 5th, 2009
7:00 pm
32 to 13 bama over fla
Megan Fox
December 5th, 2009
7:00 pm
Paul Johnson is so hot! Is he married………who cares, I’m a homewrecker
Paul in RDU
December 5th, 2009
7:00 pm
Beats me Mark – especially when you think that they beat theOSU to start the season
Mark Bradley
December 5th, 2009
7:01 pm
The Point-a-Minute Defense? Another good one, Meanwhile. You’re rolling here.
willie martinez
December 5th, 2009
7:01 pm
hey folks, i’ve been fired. what more do you want? your money back?
Mark Bradley
December 5th, 2009
7:02 pm
That’s 19-0 without Iman Shumpert. He’s out a month, Tech announced today.
willie martinez
December 5th, 2009
7:02 pm
mark, you’re very, very fickle. former friend, willie
Pi$$onaJacket
December 5th, 2009
7:03 pm
Talk about bandwagon fans? Have you really just given up? Why are all you tech fans on here blogging when you should be in Tampa supporting your team? It’s a weekend so I know you are not working…it’s only 500 miles. There are plenty and I mean plenty of seats available.
30-24 still makes me smile.
Mark Bradley
December 5th, 2009
7:04 pm
Erin Andrews is indeed wearing all black. Clemson is indeed wearing all orange. Tech is indeed wearing all white.
George Holman
December 5th, 2009
7:04 pm
Go Tigers! Bring it home!
SOUTHGADAWG88
December 5th, 2009
7:04 pm
coaching
willie martinez
December 5th, 2009
7:05 pm
now i’m hurt and offended
to see all my comments now upended
away i’ll go
and watch the flow
of a different blog extended.
later mark
Wont Jones
December 5th, 2009
7:06 pm
So that settles it. White whine tonight.
JDW
December 5th, 2009
7:06 pm
Anyone hear from St Simons, Yellow Fuzz, Ramble On…just like a bunch of Tech “Men”, all that yapping and can’t even show up for the full on CROW dinner….
Sec Championship Game 2009 Channel - Wirro
December 5th, 2009
7:06 pm
[...] 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 Its Championship weekend. What channel are the dawgs on? Link; Report this comment. Meanwhilewhy the Georgia Dome fuss? December 5th, 2009 5:47 pm. Funny you should mention that Mark. Turns out Holmes will be attempting to jump over the .. read more [...]
Megan Fox
December 5th, 2009
7:07 pm
CJ Spiller and I are dating as soon as he signs his NFL contract. Trying to keep up with the Kardasians!
George P
December 5th, 2009
7:07 pm
I’m in Boston, and I’m soon to bounce to go watch with fellow Alums. At least I graduated from the school I root for. Unfortunately, everyone who by that definition could only root for their middle schools, jump on the UGA wagon
Pi$$onaJacket
December 5th, 2009
7:08 pm
They would need a banquet-sized table for all those to eat crow. They need to learn that when you dish it out, you also need to learn to take it. 30-24.
Megan Fox
December 5th, 2009
7:08 pm
Mark, do you want to know what I’m wearing?
willie martinez
December 5th, 2009
7:09 pm
i wont go away so easy
to do so would be quite cheesy
i’m a very proud man
with a moving van
and not an ounce of me is sleazy
George P
December 5th, 2009
7:09 pm
Well at least we don’t all have to eat our jail issued bologna sandwiches that they give to the UGA football players locked up