Tim Brando: Answers to your I-Bowl questions

[NewsCopy]

  You may have read that Louisiana Tech head football coach and athletic director Derek Dooley took me to the verbal woodshed at the Independence Bowl announcement party a little over a week ago.

Beware, coach, of the wounded commentator that gets to use an occasional pen in the hometown newspaper.

It was a great evening and the turnout of volunteers was inspiring.

In the end, that's why I love this bowl game.

As you know, I'm not a real advocate of the bowl system. But the games themselves are not to blame.

The rest of the story

[snote]

" With apologies to south Louisiana legislators, this was a television decision. Had UL been 7-5 and not 6-6, the Ragin Cajuns may have had a legitimate argument. They didn't and they don't. "

9.5 million in the chicago metro area .. 4.5 million in the state of louisiana

ps. anyone else hear the rumor that howard told the motor city they didn't have to give FAU the payout monies?

[TuffGuy84]

_ " With apologies to south Louisiana legislators, this was a television decision. Had UL been 7-5 and not 6-6, the Ragin Cajuns may have had a legitimate argument. They didn't and they don't. "

9.5 million in the chicago metro area .. 4.5 million in the state of louisiana _

Oh come on, give me a freaking break. NIU can deliver the Chicago market like Kent State can deliver the Cleveland market...THEY CANT. By the way, what market is la tech bringing? I ask this because THEY HAVEN'T EVEN SOLD OUT THEIR ALLOTMENT! Oh and the cast of Deliverance doesn't count as a market.

[LsuULfan]

_ Oh come on, give me a freaking break. NIU can deliver the Chicago market like Kent State can deliver the Cleveland market...THEY CANT. By the way, what market is la tech bringing? I ask this because THEY HAVEN'T EVEN SOLD OUT THEIR ALLOTMENT! Oh and the cast of Deliverance doesn't count as a market. _

Yeah. 20 plus years working for ESPN and CBS-what would Tim know about the influence of the Networks and TV contracts on Bowl selections?

[rcarte3]

_ Oh come on, give me a freaking break. NIU can deliver the Chicago market like Kent State can deliver the Cleveland market...THEY CANT. By the way, what market is la tech bringing? I ask this because THEY HAVEN'T EVEN SOLD OUT THEIR ALLOTMENT! Oh and the cast of Deliverance doesn't count as a market. _

It doesn't matter to ESPN whether or not NIU can deliver the Chicago market. That is their perception and to some people perception is reality. I can't answer the Tech issue but if you think the TV people don't have a influence in all this you are sorely mistaken. I am not sure but do you see 2 teams playing from the same state in the same bowl game? Off the top of my head I can't think of any but I don't ever remember say Texas playing TCU in a bowl game.

[TuffGuy84]

_ Yeah. 20 plus years working for ESPN and CBS-what would Tim know about the influence of the Networks and TV contracts on Bowl selections? _

That may be their line of thinking, but their ratings are still gonna be ____ty. You might as well run a greys anatomy rerun, it has just as good a chance of pulling the chicago audience as NIU playing in the who-gives-a-crap bowl.

[snote]

Oh come on, give me a freaking break. NIU can deliver the Chicago market like Kent State can deliver the Cleveland market...THEY CANT. By the way, what market is la tech bringing? I ask this because THEY HAVEN'T EVEN SOLD OUT THEIR ALLOTMENT! Oh and the cast of Deliverance doesn't count as a market.

are you missing his point.. ? potential eyes on TV..

tech vs NIU = bigger "potential" (in the chicago area for sure ) than tech vs cajuns

[TuffGuy84]

_ are you missing his point.. ? potential eyes on TV..

tech vs NIU = bigger "potential" (in the chicago area for sure ) than tech vs cajuns _

No, I'm not missing the point, We might as well make a claim that we can bring the New Orleans and Houston Market then, that will give us one of the biggest markets in the history of man. The "potential" might be there, but it doesn't mean that it will be able to produce. No storyline, no viewership, and no ticket sales will equal one dead bowl game.

[Just1More]

_ " With apologies to south Louisiana legislators, this was a television decision. Had UL been 7-5 and not 6-6, the Ragin Cajuns may have had a legitimate argument. They didn't and they don't. "

9.5 million in the chicago metro area .. 4.5 million in the state of louisiana

ps. anyone else hear the rumor that howard told the motor city they didn't have to give FAU the payout monies? _

Hummmm... Brando's from Shreveport. Indy's feeling the heat... can we count on our local boy for a little relief. In comes Brando... big surprise here. What a laugher that you point out the population of Chicago metro as a point of emphasis. My co-worker in Chicago told me that he has never met an NIU graduate in his huge neighborhood of suburban Chicago. He also laughed at the notion that "Chicago" is going to watch the Indy Bowl with NIU in it. He is a Louisville grad.

I asked one of my customers in Chicago (Purdue), a huge company, if they employ any NIU grads. He knows of none. He said, "none of us are from Illinois except for our clerical people". Yes, Chicago is all tuning in to the Indy Bowl. ESPN just ain't that stupid. The Indy is.

The Indy "surviving" in Shreveport... you had better believe it... at all costs. Are we kidding ourselves? Paper mills shutting down... natural gas dreams vanishing... what the heck else are we going to give north Louisiana to keep 1 out of every 10 of their kids at home?

[LsuULfan]

_ No, I'm not missing the point, We might as well make a claim that we can bring the New Orleans and Houston Market then, that will give us one of the biggest markets in the history of man. The "potential" might be there, but it doesn't mean that it will be able to produce. No storyline, no viewership, and no ticket sales will equal one dead bowl game. _

Actually, I think the ONLY way that game would have been exciting wd have been the Tech vs. UL matchup. But I can see where network exec's-with perhaps an eye on selling commercials to national companies-did not see the same thing on "paper".

[snote]

No, I'm not missing the point, We might as well make a claim that we can bring the New Orleans and Houston Market then, that will give us one of the biggest markets in the history of man. The "potential" might be there, but it doesn't mean that it will be able to produce. No storyline, no viewership, and no ticket sales will equal one dead bowl game.

okay.. might not be a bad thing to try to sell..

maybe those that represent the school, in these type things, should alert
espn / bowl officials / and whomever, else involved in making these decisions

[Just1More]

_ Yeah. 20 plus years working for ESPN and CBS-what would Tim know about the influence of the Networks and TV contracts on Bowl selections? _

Did you not find a little journalistic hometown liberty in his explanation. May I first say that the volunteers and the wonderment of the Indy in all of its spendor and gradeur are not the least lost on this little boy reared in the back alleys of Shreveport... now, on to the mighty ESPN and their deciding who goes to what bowl. Has every other "committee" yielded to this argument? Do they all now simply ask ESPN who to pick? Is that how it works?

BRING ON A PLAYOFF SYSTEM... THE CESSPOOL IS OVERFLOWING!!!