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[QUOTE="Townie72, post: 294302, member: 780"]
You appear to be guilty of the same thing you are railing against by overstating the case for the NNBE as the detractors seem to be (to you) overstating the case against it.
 
I have been to Temple games vs. SU on the Vet played in front of 7,000.
 
So a huge increase in Temple's fan base (doubling) adds another 7.000 fans?  Is it increasing? Yes. Is it significant? No.
 
I'm not so sure that in the years when Temple's basketball program has been very good that there's been a huge amount of local support/interest. Same with Villanova and St Joe's. These teams appear to have a core of fans, but support outside of these people is weak. My trips to watch the Big 5 games in the Palestra as a young man showed me how balkanized Philly is.
 
Philadelphia, to me, is the most pro-oriented city in the country. Maybe because it has lacked a sustained college winner. Maybe because it has so many schools. Here in DC, MD, UVA and VT have significant support because they have so many alumni. Here in DC they are nuts about the Redskins, but there is enough residual interest in college sports to give decent support to the college teams when they are good. In Philly it appears that the Iggles, 76er, Phillies and Flyers take all the available oxygen.
 
Seems to me you have a pretty weak case.
 
The history of conferences like the Metro and C-USA is pretty clear. The New. New Big East resembles these conference more than a little.
 
Will history not repeat itself? Will their be a sparking and significant growth of interest in the football teams of Temple, Rutgers, SMU, Houston, USF, UCF, etc?? Anything is possible. But I don't like the odds.
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