He said crap location
Also I am pretty sure you can watch online for free. I did last year.
Remember last years game was on ESPN (which is great) but at noon on a Friday. I had to take a vacation day just to watch it. The Barstool game is in the week of between Christmas and New Years
I wish it was on Espn but everything else about it (opponent-date-location) is as good as we get in the MAC
You planning to go if itās in Tucson?
Thereās always Nogo!
Someone on the MAC board said that Potato Bowl reps were at the NIU game the other night, for what thatās worth.
Another detriment regarding Tucson is getting there. Itās easy for me since I have OāHare nearby so there are direct flights, but those coming from CVG or non-hubs will have a layover or need to fly to Phoenix and rent a car for a two-hour drive. Not that other MAC cities like Montgomery or Boise are easy either, but itās another strike against Arizona.
An increased number of flights to Boise -all major airlines options- cannot guarantee the weather but great town, restaurants, bars, etc - we would welcome you to one of the best cities in the US!
I know the bowl tie ins arenāt favorable, but I really want to play Tulane.
I hope so. I have gone to Mobile all 3 times. I went to Frisco. I went to Shreveport. Couldnt go to the Bahamas last year because of job and it could be a problem this year. Couldnt go to St petersburg because day after christmas
The only way I would be excited about having to get to Tucson from NC on Dec 30 is if one possible scenario plays out like some have suggested it might. Miami plays in Tucson on Dec 30 and Washington plays Tulane or Alabama in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan 1 in Glendale. I plan on being with my kid in SF through NYE and heās down to do both bowls. He grew up with me in Seattle sonheās a big fan of both teams, plus he played D3 sports so we claim each otherās teams. Easy cheap flights from the BA to PHX.
Otherwise, Iād like one of the early bowls - MYR, Cure, Toastery or Boca - for Miami.
There also might be a chance if Miami and Toledo are 10-3, 11-2 or 12-1 they may go to a totally different bowl to fill in for P5 conferences if they donāt have enough eligible teams. It has happened before, it could happen again. Not saying it will but just a possibility.
Good point. The American might have as many as 9 teams ineligible for a bowl. They have a guaranteed 7 right now and two more possibles.
Thatās one reason I think the MAC might have some flexibility working w ESPN to place their teams, particularly if a non MAC bowl game is available for us to fill.
Both Fox and The Atlantic have us in the Arizona Bowl, vs. either Fresno State or Boise State.
I would think the East Champ has some say but guess not. I hope Miami does not end up in a stupid stream only bowl.
Iām not sure I understand the grumbling about stream only. The NFL has stream only games. The EPL, one of the biggest leagues in the world, does stream only games often for huge matches. Within the next 10 years, there are going to be ALOT of stream only sports (especially if ESPN craters which is a real possibility given their outlook from the cable industry sub collapse). It wouldnāt surprise me if the demise of the Bally Sports Network for NBA regional coverage results in many NBA teams going to stream only broadcasts in the very near future.
I get why Barstool isnāt appealing for many other reasons, but the streaming aspect seems so outdated. Is there any TV sold in the last 10 years that doesnāt have smart features built in?
Yeah I have smart TVās and Roku so itās not a problem for me to stream the game; that said, obviously it will mean far less viewership and exposure for our bowl game, so itās still a bit of a negative to me.
OTOH, based on projected match ups (which understandably means little at this point), we could get a very good opponent like Fresno in that game, or perhaps Boise State. Understand that Boise is having an off year (currently 5-5) but they are what Iād call a ānameā program (much like we were in the 70ās) of the so called G5 conferences. So, beating them would be satisfying.
I think a lot of people hear āstreamingā and assume theyāll have to watch on their phone or laptop. Iām assuming Barstool has an app that would allow one to watch via Roku, etc. on a smart tv?
Yes they have apps.
I donāt even buy a game buried on espn2 on a weekday is better exposure than Barstools bowl. Barstool, for all their criticisms, is a huge sports media platform with only 1 game vs dozens on espn. I think last I checked itās something like only 30% of adults under 30 have cable and less than 50% under 50 have it.
I know many on this board are way outside the barstool demo, heck Iām barely on the older end of their target, but itās really no worse than the other options. Iād prefer it to Boise or Detroit as destinations and im sure the players would love it.
Honestly I think itād be one of the better games to get probably (although the family probably preferred our trip to Atlantis last year).
And PFT Commenter is the guest picker on Gameday this week which is shit-your-pants amazing. In other words, donāt just poo poo the Arizona Bowl if thatās where we go. Youāll figure out how to watch and you might even enjoy it.
Portnoy and Clancy both suck but everyone else is solid. Just go in with an open mind.
We are going to be in Colorado during the holidays so am selfishly looking for a bowl that fits MY schedule.
More importantly, weāre playing on championship weekend, 1 of 20 or so teams playing, and playing on an ESPN network, which I think means more from an exposure standpoint.