Making the call
I heard on the radio this morning that the 2010 game between Penn State and Indiana will be played at FedEx Field in Maryland. It's technically a home game for Indiana, although it obviously won't be, in reality, if they play it in Maryland. In exchange for giving up the home field advantage, Indiana gets $3 million, compared to less than a million that they'd get if they played it in Bloomington. Indiana's required to sell 7,000 tickets as part of the deal; FedEx field holds over 90,000, according to Wikipedia, so it's a safe bet the management thinks they can sell the remaining 83,000 tickets to Nittany Lions fans. Indiana's athletic department is pretty strapped, compared to the rest of the Big Ten, so from a financial perspective, it's a good move for them.
Although I can't know what the Nittany Lions or Hoosiers are going to look like for the 2010 season, the past 15 years of Big Ten history would cause me to bet on Penn State to win, no matter where the game was played. Bet rather heavily, if I did that sort of thing. So Indiana's giving up home field in a game that was very likely a loss anyway. Seems to me that no coach ever inspired his team by saying "Yeah, this one's probably a loss," especially a year in advance. And what about the Indiana students? I don't know how well the tickets would sell in Bloomington...since I attended PSU, I don't know how much interest a game generates when the home team isn't that good.
Let's reverse the situation, though -- my senior year at PSU, we played Indiana in basketball, during a time when they were #1 in the country. We knew that our guys were likely going to get killed, but everybody wanted to see that game, because, hey, Indiana! How often do you get to see Indiana play basketball? Well, every other year, if you're in the Big Ten, but that's not often. Incidentally, the Lions nearly won...they lost because of a foul in the final second, which everybody, even the Hoosiers coach, admitted was a blown call. So you never know when you might see something like that, which is what's awesome about sports. But the Indiana Athletic Department has decided that depriving their students and alumni of that chance is worth $2 million or more.
It's hard to blame them. Big Ten football makes insane amounts of money in general, and PSU football in specific. Penn State's athletic department turns a profit, you know -- that means that football pays for every other sport they have, with some left over. It's understandable that Indiana wants to take advantage of their annual game against PSU to get a piece of some of that. Heck, Temple does it every few years, when they play PSU at Lincoln Financial Field. But that, at least, is still nominally played at Temple's home field, and the students get a chance to go. I don't like this as the start of a trend...if, say, Maryland plays Florida State, is it OK for Maryland to move their home game to Raymond James Stadium?
Incidentally, I gave it about 30 seconds thought, and I won't be attending. Although I enjoy the chance to see Nittany Lions football in person, and I'd happily play to watch PSU beat Temple at the Linc, FedEx Field is only marginally closer to me than Beaver Stadium, so it's not really worth it. And, I mean...it's Indiana.
Although I can't know what the Nittany Lions or Hoosiers are going to look like for the 2010 season, the past 15 years of Big Ten history would cause me to bet on Penn State to win, no matter where the game was played. Bet rather heavily, if I did that sort of thing. So Indiana's giving up home field in a game that was very likely a loss anyway. Seems to me that no coach ever inspired his team by saying "Yeah, this one's probably a loss," especially a year in advance. And what about the Indiana students? I don't know how well the tickets would sell in Bloomington...since I attended PSU, I don't know how much interest a game generates when the home team isn't that good.
Let's reverse the situation, though -- my senior year at PSU, we played Indiana in basketball, during a time when they were #1 in the country. We knew that our guys were likely going to get killed, but everybody wanted to see that game, because, hey, Indiana! How often do you get to see Indiana play basketball? Well, every other year, if you're in the Big Ten, but that's not often. Incidentally, the Lions nearly won...they lost because of a foul in the final second, which everybody, even the Hoosiers coach, admitted was a blown call. So you never know when you might see something like that, which is what's awesome about sports. But the Indiana Athletic Department has decided that depriving their students and alumni of that chance is worth $2 million or more.
It's hard to blame them. Big Ten football makes insane amounts of money in general, and PSU football in specific. Penn State's athletic department turns a profit, you know -- that means that football pays for every other sport they have, with some left over. It's understandable that Indiana wants to take advantage of their annual game against PSU to get a piece of some of that. Heck, Temple does it every few years, when they play PSU at Lincoln Financial Field. But that, at least, is still nominally played at Temple's home field, and the students get a chance to go. I don't like this as the start of a trend...if, say, Maryland plays Florida State, is it OK for Maryland to move their home game to Raymond James Stadium?
Incidentally, I gave it about 30 seconds thought, and I won't be attending. Although I enjoy the chance to see Nittany Lions football in person, and I'd happily play to watch PSU beat Temple at the Linc, FedEx Field is only marginally closer to me than Beaver Stadium, so it's not really worth it. And, I mean...it's Indiana.