Sid: On campus sources say Gophers to Holiday Bowl

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Sports_Realist said:
I point out those setbacks not for the sake of negativity or to rip anyone, but to demonstrate that if the Gophers are going to break through and convert casual fans to committed diehards, they have to keep the momentum of this season going into next year. I believe that the average person who doesn't live and die with this team right now isn't going to be impressed with another non New Year's Day bowl and won't go out of the way to watch what many will perceive, incorrectly, as a third rate bowl game on a Saturday night when there are many entertainment options, activities, and family obligations. On New Year's Day, there's not much to do by comparison. Watching football is a national institution, and playing that day provides a captive audience that perceives the games as meaning more than those on other days. I think a Holiday Bowl bid instead of a Citrus or Outback Bowl bid will wind up being a missed opportunity to get people's attention and hook them further into investing in this team all the way.
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Your analysis is really a stretch. A casual fan watching football on New Years afternoon will likely do one or both of the following: 1) switch back and forth between games without focusing on one or the other very much until one of the games seems tighter and more exciting and/or 2) drift in and out between watching football and doing something else (like maybe eating, or drinking, or talking).

Casual fans do not become more dedicated fans because a certain team happens to play on New Years day. They become more dedicated fans through:

1) hanging around with dedicated fans of a particular team;
2) a particular experience where they watch an exciting game (often in an atmosphere where there is a lot of fan excitement);
3) a gradual process where they transform from being a more casual fan to a more interested fan over time.
 

MinneStoa said:
If we don't play in a New Years bowl, it'd be a little consolation for me if they ended up playing ASU. I've got a buddy that graduated from there, and he's got me watching more and more of their games. They're definitely a solid team.
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Going to ASU myself right now, I can definitely back this up. I don't know if I would try to make the drive 5 hours out to see my two favorite teams play.
 

I would be super bummed though if they ended up playing in the Holiday bowl. It would be a letdown for me. They deserve one of the top 3 Big Ten bowls.
 

My point from the beginning has strictly focused on Minnnesotans and has no bearing on or connection to persons elsewhere, those persons outside of Minnesota being who I think you're referring to. My point is about hooking casual fans in Minnesota and increasing their level of support for the team, something that is admittedly an incremental process, but a process that has started in the past with a big win or memorable moment only to be stopped cold right away by a setback. Casual fans get on the road to being diehards only for the road to be quickly blocked. You don't get to points B and beyond without a point A. My contention is the Gophers will get better PR, media attention, and momentum in Minnesota by playing on January 1 afternoon as a prelude to the national semifinals in the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl than playing on the evening of December 27 after the Pinstripe Bowl and opposite the Wild, Timberwolves, and a multitude of other entertainment options and possible distractions. One game doesn't turn heaven and earth, but I see this as a piece of the larger puzzle. Joe Schmoe from Woodbury or Cambridge or Edina or Mankato or wherever who casually follows the Gophers is I think more likely to take an interest in a January 1 game "when the important games are played", to voice a certain mindset, than on a late December Saturday when the Sun, Independence, Pinstripe, and Military Bowls all take place.
 

Would be curious why Wisconsin would want to go back to SoCal after being there three out of the last four years and haven't been in the Outback for awhile (ever?).

I'm with Sid, I think it's going to be the Holiday Bowl for the Gophers unless the Holiday Bowl is wanting Nebraska. We would then get the TaxSlayer Bowl, which would be very disappointing. I think we all want a Tier 1 bowl.

Of course, this is all under the assumption that Wisconsin loses. If Wisconsin wins, it's probably Outback.
 


umn99 said:
Would be curious why Wisconsin would want to go back to SoCal after being there three out of the last four years and haven't been in the Outback for awhile (ever?).

I'm with Sid, I think it's going to be the Holiday Bowl for the Gophers unless the Holiday Bowl is wanting Nebraska. We would then get the TaxSlayer Bowl, which would be very disappointing. I think we all want a Tier 1 bowl.

Of course, this is all under the assumption that Wisconsin loses. If Wisconsin wins, it's probably Outback.
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Outside of the recent Rose Bowls, it felt like Wisconsin was constantly in Florida in the Cap one (citrus), Outback, or the other So Fla bowl (buffalo wild wings?).

UW seems to vastly prefer California to Florida. As a Badger fan I'd much rather the team go to San Diego than Florida. Jan 1 bowls don't mean what they used to, but I can understand Gopher fans wanting to play on Jan 1 with it being a long time since that happened.

Outside of the New Years Six bowls, the rest are all about Matchups and destinations. If UW doesn't make one of the six, I'd prefer a Holiday bowl against a good Pac12 team.
 

Nebraska has never played in the Outback Bowl, although they've only been in the Big Ten for a few years and the Outback has had a Big Ten/SEC tie up for so long that their opportunities have been limited. The Huskers would have to be considered a very attractive team for Tampa despite the coaching turnover. The Huskers went to Citrus Bowl after the 2011 and 2012 seasons. Nebraska visited the Holiday Bowl after the 2009 and 2010 seasons.

Wisconsin has never played in the Holiday Bowl, something that would also seem to make them attractive should they be available. They last played in the Outback Bowl after the 2007 season, so it's been a while there too. They made the Citrus Bowl after 2013.
 

Sports_Realist said:
My point from the beginning has strictly focused on Minnnesotans and has no bearing on or connection to persons elsewhere, those persons outside of Minnesota being who I think you're referring to. My point is about hooking casual fans in Minnesota and increasing their level of support for the team, something that is admittedly an incremental process, but a process that has started in the past with a big win or memorable moment only to be stopped cold right away by a setback. Casual fans get on the road to being diehards only for the road to be quickly blocked. You don't get to points B and beyond without a point A. My contention is the Gophers will get better PR, media attention, and momentum in Minnesota by playing on January 1 afternoon as a prelude to the national semifinals in the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl than playing on the evening of December 27 after the Pinstripe Bowl and opposite the Wild, Timberwolves, and a multitude of other entertainment options and possible distractions. One game doesn't turn heaven and earth, but I see this as a piece of the larger puzzle. Joe Schmoe from Woodbury or Cambridge or Edina or Mankato or wherever who casually follows the Gophers is I think more likely to take an interest in a January 1 game "when the important games are played", to voice a certain mindset, than on a late December Saturday when the Sun, Independence, Pinstripe, and Military Bowls all take place.
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I agree wholeheartedly, SR.
 

New Year's Day more exciting

Same here, those are my thoughts on playing on New Year's Day, as well.

When the casual fan thinks of college football bowl games, they think of New Year's Day. What'd be even better in this case is the Gophers wouldn't be playing in a stinky New Year's Day bowl (like the Heart of Dallas). It would be one of the Big Ten's best two bowls, outside of the New Year's 6. It's a bowl that means they've had a really good season.
 





bkrownd said:
January 1 hasn't meant squat since the mid 1990's
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Maybe not in terms of quality of football, but football is associated with January 1st in a way few other days match (Thanksgiving and Super Bowl Sunday are the other big days off the top of my head that are uniquely "football" days in our American culture).
 

With the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl hosting semifinals this coming New Year's Day, I'd argue that January 1 means more to college football this season than it has in about twenty years.
 



True

Sports_Realist said:
With the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl hosting semifinals this coming New Year's Day, I'd argue that January 1 means more to college football this season than it has in about twenty years.
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Tend to agree with this.

Also FWIW- Citrus bowl just finished a $200 million renovation so the stadium should be much nicer, Orlando however is still Orlando.

Definitely hoping for Citrus Bowl Vs a top tier SEC team.
 

chri1673 said:
Tend to agree with this.

Also FWIW- Citrus bowl just finished a $200 million renovation so the stadium should be much nicer, Orlando however is still Orlando.

Definitely hoping for Citrus Bowl Vs a top tier SEC team.
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Then you're going to want Wisconsin to win and Alabama to lose.
 

bottlebass said:
.

Just an FYI for people, flying into LA might be an option then staying someplace on the coast between.
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Which would be awesome. Stay in Carlsbad or something.

Also the Heart of Dallas bowl is on NYD. Let's stop with the generation old idea that this means anything.
 

The only New Year's Day bowls this year are the Rose (semi), Sugar (semi), Cotton (Playoff Six), Citrus, and Outback (the latter two should have choice Big Ten vs. SEC match ups). The Heart of Dallas Bowl has been exiled to another date due to the Cotton Bowl returning to New Year's Day and reattaining major bowl status (it hosts a semi next season on 12/31 along with the Orange).
 

I'm surprised that no one mentioned anything about the $15 million donation to the football facility mentioned in Sid's column.
 



Sports_Realist said:
My point from the beginning has strictly focused on Minnnesotans and has no bearing on or connection to persons elsewhere, those persons outside of Minnesota being who I think you're referring to. My point is about hooking casual fans in Minnesota and increasing their level of support for the team, something that is admittedly an incremental process, but a process that has started in the past with a big win or memorable moment only to be stopped cold right away by a setback. Casual fans get on the road to being diehards only for the road to be quickly blocked. You don't get to points B and beyond without a point A. My contention is the Gophers will get better PR, media attention, and momentum in Minnesota by playing on January 1 afternoon as a prelude to the national semifinals in the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl than playing on the evening of December 27 after the Pinstripe Bowl and opposite the Wild, Timberwolves, and a multitude of other entertainment options and possible distractions. One game doesn't turn heaven and earth, but I see this as a piece of the larger puzzle. Joe Schmoe from Woodbury or Cambridge or Edina or Mankato or wherever who casually follows the Gophers is I think more likely to take an interest in a January 1 game "when the important games are played", to voice a certain mindset, than on a late December Saturday when the Sun, Independence, Pinstripe, and Military Bowls all take place.
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You may be right, but you also may be wrong. In order to be right you must have an objective, accurate finger on the pulse of Minnesota casual football fans. You also must have very good information about how these folks spend their Saturdays and New Years. I think it's likely you're stating your own habits and tendencies rather than those of a much larger group. To do that requires something other than anecdotal evidence and good old sounds-good reasoning. My own opinion is that we will get plenty of pre and post game publicity and that, along with a victory, is more important than which bowl it is or when it is played.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
Check tix to lax or even Palm Springs. Flights are usually reasonable. Sun Country flies to all three. SAN is fairly small and is always more $ than LAX. You will need a rental car but really, you would probably want one anyway.
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Only partly true. San Diego has a major airport. It's two miles from downtown. Many attractions are within walking distance, there is great public transportation to those that aren't, and the game is an easy trolly ride from downtown. You would NOT need to rent a car if you fly into San Diego.
 

Most likely scenarios for Pac 12 in Holiday bowl are:
USC, Arizona, and UCLA. Do a YouTube search on Bowl Game radio and listen to 12/3/2014 episode.
Most likely from B1G: 4 Targets (all from West): Wisconsin, Nebraska, MN, and Iowa.

I will stick with not factoring the Citrus and stick with Outback.
Will absolutely puke if Maryland or Nebraska gets an Outback trip for a number of reasons.
 

cjbfbp said:
Except the projections consistently have shown AZ St. in the Holiday with USC going to the San Francisco (Foster Farms) Bowl. AZ St. beat USC on the road and they are ranked #17 by the CFP rankings.
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Listen to Bowl Game Radio on 1090 out of San Diego. This week's episode did NOT mention ASU at all.
 

We'd have a good match-up against a good team. We'd be unopposed in terms of other games. San Diego is a nice area, which would be a major 180 from the crappy Texas bowls that we've seen the past few years.

That said......the 27th is a crumby day for the game. Fans will have difficulty making their way out there due to being so close to Christmas. Perception means a whole lot more than many think. A 27th game doesn't scream "THIS IS A MARQUEE MATCHUP!!!". Look......the Texas Bowl was unimpeded last year on ESPN. Most outsiders were probably indifferent about the game.

The Citrus Bowl would be the best we could ask for. Since that seems very unlikely.....I've got my fingers crossed, hoping for the Outback Bowl. May have some competition.....but all three games at the time should be good match-ups and people will tune into the game that is most intriguing while others will flip back and forth. Being a lead in for the playoff semis would be neat. It would be a heads up to the nation that the Gophers are no longer a pushover.
 

FlaGopher23 said:
If we play USC is a complete letdown. I don't know when the last time I heard anything about them this season. On the other hand every sports station talks about every SEC team ad nauseum so therefore we would get much greater exposure if we play in Florida against an SEC team.

Playing USC would be a non-event.
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Here is what you will hear about them (I've watched them 2 times): they are a team to watch for next year and the reason they didn't beat / compete like USC historically has is because they get winded and depth is lacking due to scholarship limitations. I've heard announcers say that in both games I watched so I'd expect that to continue.
 

USC will play in San Francisco and ASU will get San Diego if the Pac12 or either of the schools has anything to say about it.
 

maxwellsmart said:
You may be right, but you also may be wrong. In order to be right you must have an objective, accurate finger on the pulse of Minnesota casual football fans. You also must have very good information about how these folks spend their Saturdays and New Years. I think it's likely you're stating your own habits and tendencies rather than those of a much larger group. To do that requires something other than anecdotal evidence and good old sounds-good reasoning. My own opinion is that we will get plenty of pre and post game publicity and that, along with a victory, is more important than which bowl it is or when it is played.
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Let me ask you maxwell, if I may, the following question:
In your opinion, do you believe more Minnesotans (regardless of being described as casual, die-hard, or anything else) would watch the Gophers on 12/27 or 1/1?
 

I'll jump in and say the Outback typically leads the Holiday in ratings. Nothing to say about Minnesotans, just general TV population
 


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