Just say NO! to 11A.M. Games




I agree and all, but how are we supposed to say no? Are you asking that we boycott the last 2 games and don't show up? Cause that would be counter productive.
 

If your goal is the same as mine - to watch every college football game televised on Saturdays - than an 11am kickoff is your best bet.

I set DVRs on two different TVs so I have the ability to record 4 games at once. Then when I am back from the Gopher game and have avoided the 11am scores I am set for an entire day of watching all of the games and grilling some great food until the wee hours of the morning.

I see the point about morning kickoffs - less time for tailgating, etc (I solve that by arriving at 7AM) - but for a college football junkie like me the 11AM kickoffs work out quite well.
 


I really like the 11 am kickoff. Breakfast at the tailgate is great and hitting the bar afterward, or just going home and relaxing, and watching the rest of the games is my favorite part of the 11am start.
 

Sure 11 am games are hard to get to, ecspecially when you live 3 hours away. But I love college football and im going to the game no matter what. Altough night games are the boss.
 

Count me in the group that likes 11AM.....2:30 is good, too.......I love college football, and I like being able to see the later games......Apparently a lot of Gopher fans don't like night games. There were thousands of empty seats midway through the third quarter. I'd like to thank those who left. I enjoyed the second half from some of the best seats in the house.
 

Just make sure you give your tickets to friends who'll go to 11:00 am games, because they're not going away.

I say that with sympathy because I don't like the games TV plays with start times either - for me, the biggest bug-a-boo is the night game & the "Fantona 500" on the roads if you go home that night.
 



I can't stand 11AM games. Occupies most of the usable day. I'd rather have a night game where you have your daytime with your family and then you can head out late afternoon to the game. Plus, I think the crowds are always less lively at 11AM games. The broadcasters of the Iowa/Indiana game even commented on it. They said people nationally shouldn't be comparing the stadium atmosphere of an (often cold) 11AM Big Ten game to an evening game in the SEC. They said of course it would seem like a better atmosphere in the SEC game in that situation.

I started going to games in the Wacker era, and maybe that's what got me into the night game habit. I think almost every home game back then was a night game.
 

I'd like to see the games start at noon instead. Gives everyone an extra hour to get the 'heart a pumpin and the corpuscles a jumpin !!'
 

I also love 11:00am games, watch the game and still have the entire day to rake and do fam stuff and watch other games
 

The next time the Big Ten renegotiates their contract with ABC/ESPN they need to address this. The only way games in the Central Time Zone should ever have an AM kick-off is if they are on ABC, ESPN1 or ESPN2. If a game is only going to be on the BTN it should be played whenever the hell the host school choses.

Some people on here might like morning games, but there is a mountain of attendance data out there that shows if all things are equal more fans show up to night games than 11 AM games.
 



If we didn't have games on TV, we could have games whenever we wanted! :D But TV pays the bills. I prefer noon or 1 PM games myself. But we have to bend around TV schedules.
 



If we didn't have games on TV, we could have games whenever we wanted! :D But TV pays the bills. I prefer noon or 1 PM games myself. But we have to bend around TV schedules.

Here's my television/kick-off time dream scenario in order of importance:

1.) The Big Ten/ BTN adds a 2:30 PM game on Saturdays. MN, WI, IA are given priority for this slot in Sept. and Oct.

2.) The Big Ten/ BTN adds a night game every Saturday in November.

3.) The BTN and Fox Sports networks agree to mirror coverage, so that 11 AM BTN games are carried on Fox Sports networks in the West and the BTN has a Pac Ten game on at 9:30 PM -- resulting in four football games on the BTN every Saturday in the Fall and better national coverage of the non-ESPN/ABC Big Ten games.
 


If your goal is the same as mine - to watch every college football game televised on Saturdays - than an 11am kickoff is your best bet.

I set DVRs on two different TVs so I have the ability to record 4 games at once. Then when I am back from the Gopher game and have avoided the 11am scores I am set for an entire day of watching all of the games and grilling some great food until the wee hours of the morning.

I see the point about morning kickoffs - less time for tailgating, etc (I solve that by arriving at 7AM) - but for a college football junkie like me the 11AM kickoffs work out quite well.

It's called a LIFE...look into it!
 

Here's my television/kick-off time dream scenario in order of importance:

1.) The Big Ten/ BTN adds a 2:30 PM game on Saturdays. MN, WI, IA are given priority for this slot in Sept. and Oct.

2.) The Big Ten/ BTN adds a night game every Saturday in November.

3.) The BTN and Fox Sports networks agree to mirror coverage, so that 11 AM BTN games are carried on Fox Sports networks in the West and the BTN has a Pac Ten game on at 9:30 PM -- resulting in four football games on the BTN every Saturday in the Fall and better national coverage of the non-ESPN/ABC Big Ten games.

The Big Ten has bylaws against scheduling night games in November due to weather. The latest kickoff time can only be 2:30 PM or 3:00 PM for November games. By then you end the game under the lights anyway.

Personally I think we should have night games/2:30 PM in November every game. The best games this season have by far been both night games. Plus a primetime game vs. wisconsin or iowa would be sweet
 

I agree with the suggestion for giving IA, MN, and wis priority for later games simply because of the time zone factor. I would necessarily add IL and NU to that list for the same reason. That hour would makes all the difference... it really does. Eastern campuses can handle noon games much better than we can handle 11am games. 2:30 is the optimal time slot for me, as a fan of a western b10 team.

I also agree that night games in November are very doable. That bylaw ought to be looked at again.
 

I've notices that the BTN hasn't had many 2:30 games, instead they have no game at all at 2:30. It is really more beneficial to ship a bunch of games to ESPN than to have one game on at 2:30?
 

The Big Ten has bylaws against scheduling night games in November due to weather. The latest kickoff time can only be 2:30 PM or 3:00 PM for November games. By then you end the game under the lights anyway.

I'm aware of the bylaw. But I would argue that it is outdated and needs to be ammended. It is a relic from when teams chose to kick-off in the afternoon and few games were ever on TV. The conference actually controls kick-off times now anyway, via television pecking order. The rule could be ammended so that is does not apply to games that are on ESPN/ABC or the BTN in primetime.

This rule has moved a lot of games out of prime time in November. Like Paterno says, the Big Ten's profile fades at the end of the season. Finnishing a couple weeks before every othe major conference is one reason. Having a self-imposed ban on playing in primetime for the final seven weeks of the season is another reason.
 

I've notices that the BTN hasn't had many 2:30 games, instead they have no game at all at 2:30. It is really more beneficial to ship a bunch of games to ESPN than to have one game on at 2:30?

Its because they can't. Under the current agreement, no game can be on the BTN during the 2:30 ABC exclusion slot. That game is the only one allowed to be played at that time, hense the large number of 11 am kicks.
 

If your goal is the same as mine - to watch every college football game televised on Saturdays - than an 11am kickoff is your best bet.

I set DVRs on two different TVs so I have the ability to record 4 games at once. Then when I am back from the Gopher game and have avoided the 11am scores I am set for an entire day of watching all of the games and grilling some great food until the wee hours of the morning.

I see the point about morning kickoffs - less time for tailgating, etc (I solve that by arriving at 7AM) - but for a college football junkie like me the 11AM kickoffs work out quite well.

I'm glad I'm not the only crazy guy recording up to 6 games on Saturday's (I only have one HD-DVR, I'm jealous you have two). When I'm at TCF stadium, I have to avoid looking at the other scores and hope others around me don't mention other scores. I even set up black construction paper to cover up the scroll on the TV so I don't see the scores rolling by. I also fast forward when I hear the announcer say we're going to the studio for any updates. Yea I'm nuts for college football. :clap:

Anybody else notice how much more fun it is to watch other games during the day after a Gopher win?!
 




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