Where would you rather be?

[SWC75]

It was said by many that a factor in the Pinstripe Bowl is that we wanted to be there and West Virginia, which had been dreaming of national championships and Heisman trophys or at least a warmer venue, did not. USC didn't even show up for the banquet the bowl put on and basically didn't show up for the game either.

I have a suggestion: If you don't want to go to a bowl game, don't go. SU's 1960 team, disappointed in a 7-2 record after hoping to win a national title, voted not to go to a bowl game. Notyhing says you have to go to one of these minor bowls. You'll lose money anyway. Let somebody else go instead.

It's also an indication that there are too many bowls. if there were, say a dozen or so, being in one would mean something and teams would have more enthusiasm for them.

 

[orangeinohio]

At least for the two teams that you mentioned - USC and WVU - it's the head coaches who set the tone.
Kiffin makes the lousy attitude acceptable by deciding to show up 2 hours late for the banquet and then coming up with a bullshit excuse.
And Holgerson was about as dismissive about the the Pinstripe Bowl's venue as humanly possible.
It's a really good reminder that great coaching is a lot more than being appointed an 'offensive genius' by the media.

 

[OrangePA]

It was said by many that a factor in the Pinstripe Bowl is that we wanted to be there and West Virginia, which had been dreaming of national championships and Heisman trophys or at least a warmer venue, did not. USC didn't even show up for the banquet the bowl put on and basically didn't show up for the game either.

I have a suggestion: If you don't want to go to a bowl game, don't go. SU's 1960 team, disappointed in a 7-2 record after hoping to win a national title, voted not to go to a bowl game. Notyhing says you have to go to one of these minor bowls. You'll lose money anyway. Let somebody else go instead.

It's also an indication that there are too many bowls. if there were, say a dozen or so, being in one would mean something and teams would have more enthusiasm for them.

Fifteen practices

 

[dinosaurbbq]

Agreed 15 practices, one last chance for seniors to shine, not wanting the season to end, recruiting, pride. There are plenty of reasons to go. However, there are no excuses for putting on a show.

 

[sufandu]

At least for the two teams that you mentioned - USC and WVU - it's the head coaches who set the tone.
Kiffin makes the lousy attitude acceptable by deciding to show up 2 hours late for the banquet and then coming up with a bullshit excuse.
And Holgerson was about as dismissive about the the Pinstripe Bowl's venue as humanly possible.
It's a really good reminder that great coaching is a lot more than being appointed an 'offensive genius' by the media.

Exactly. Coaching is more than just x's and o's. I'm glad we have a coach that teaches character as well as football. If you're going to play the game, respect it. I'm glad Kiffin turned down the SU job when it was offered to him.

 

[memcorsu]

If we would have had the new offense in before camp, I would say we would have had much different results + healthy Pugh and Lemon. It wasn't till the USF game that we figured out how efficient the O could be when we pressed. There were glimmers of it last year when we went up tempo and it was always so frustrating to see them not continue this. I think it took the first half of the season to realize what we were doing.

 

[SWC75]

Fifteen practices

Which won't be of much help if the players aren't interested.

 

[sufandu]

Which won't be of much help if the players aren't interested.

It does if they're not directed toward preparing for the bowl game but act more like a pre-spring practice practice.

 

[OrangePA]

Which won't be of much help if the players aren't interested.

Disinterested players don't end up playing much or staying on the team.

 

[SWC75]

Disinterested players don't end up playing much or staying on the team.

They played a lot for USC.

 

[OrangePA]

They played a lot for USC.

Young players who did not play getting ready for next year.

Primary benefit of fifteen practices.

 

[nzm136]

It was said by many that a factor in the Pinstripe Bowl is that we wanted to be there and West Virginia, which had been dreaming of national championships and Heisman trophys or at least a warmer venue, did not. USC didn't even show up for the banquet the bowl put on and basically didn't show up for the game either.

I have a suggestion: If you don't want to go to a bowl game, don't go. SU's 1960 team, disappointed in a 7-2 record after hoping to win a national title, voted not to go to a bowl game. Notyhing says you have to go to one of these minor bowls. You'll lose money anyway. Let somebody else go instead.

It's also an indication that there are too many bowls. if there were, say a dozen or so, being in one would mean something and teams would have more enthusiasm for them.

Schools lose money because the bowl payout is divided 13-16 different ways by the conference, so the school only gets 1/13-1/16th of the payout. If the money wasn't divided, then the schools wouldn't lose money. However, since the schools each get a cut of every other bowl game, everything balances and they come out ahead. If individual schools refused to play bowl games, then all the other schools would refuse, and the system would collapse and all the schools would be worse off. The money wasn't as big a deal in 1960 as it is today. To put things in perspective, the Champions Bowl will pay the SEC 10x the entire conference's 1980 distribution. Taking inflation into account the Champions Bowl payout is about 6x the entire conference's distribution. THAT is how much more important bowls have gotten. So, what was rational then is no longer rational.

For example, UCONN lost money going to the sugar bowl, but the game did not cost UCONN more than the total payout ($17 million) plus the value of the tickets that UCONN did sell and the value of UCONN merchandise sold because of the game. I think that it cost them $4-6 million in unsold tickets and another couple hundred thousand in travel fees. However, UCONN's cut of the BCS games where UCONN did not play is far in excess of the "loss" for that one game. H*ll, UCONN's share of the other BIG EAST bowls that year alone probably brought them back into the black.

 

[SWC75]

Schools lose money because the bowl payout is divided 13-16 different ways by the conference, so the school only gets 1/13-1/16th of the payout. If the money wasn't divided, then the schools wouldn't lose money. However, since the schools each get a cut of every other bowl game, everything balances and they come out ahead. If individual schools refused to play bowl games, then all the other schools would refuse, and the system would collapse and all the schools would be worse off. The money wasn't as big a deal in 1960 as it is today. To put things in perspective, the Champions Bowl will pay the SEC 10x the entire conference's 1980 distribution. Taking inflation into account the Champions Bowl payout is about 6x the entire conference's distribution. THAT is how much more important bowls have gotten. So, what was rational then is no longer rational.

For example, UCONN lost money going to the sugar bowl, but the game did not cost UCONN more than the total payout ($17 million) plus the value of the tickets that UCONN did sell and the value of UCONN merchandise sold because of the game. I think that it cost them $4-6 million in unsold tickets and another couple hundred thousand in travel fees. However, UCONN's cut of the BCS games where UCONN did not play is far in excess of the "loss" for that one game. H*ll, UCONN's share of the other BIG EAST bowls that year alone probably brought them back into the black.

They also lose money because of the tickets they have to buy that don't get sold.

 

[nzm136]

They also lose money because of the tickets they have to buy that don't get sold.

"...CONN lost money going to the sugar bowl, but the game did not cost UCONN more than the total payout ($17 million) plus the value of the tickets that UCONN did sell and the value of UCONN merchandise sold because of the game. I think that it cost them $4-6 million in unsold tickets and another couple hundred thousand in travel fees..."

I accounted for that.

 

[SmilinBob]

Fifteen practices

Sure as heck didn't help that USC qb.

 

[OrangePA]

Sure as heck didn't help that USC qb.

The fifteen practices are generally aimed at developing young players for the following season- not for the upcoming bowl game.

This is a silly discussion.

Move on.

 

[SmilinBob]

The fifteen practices are generally aimed at developing young players for the following season- not for the upcoming bowl game.

This is a silly discussion.

Move on.

Just teasing and making fun of the USC qb OrangePA...jeepers.