Honest take on bowl games.....

#1
KureVol

KureVol

Are you serious Clark?
Joined
Sep 25, 2007
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#1
The death knell for non playoff bowl games is ringing loud and clear. Sure it is a good mini vacation for the players but as a fan it is like an early season exhibition basketball game......it means nothing. Unless......it is made clear that it is just a chance for players that don't see the field much to get some PT. If I was a major college coach, I would make it clear that this is a chance to evaluate new talent and give freshmen, walk-ons, and otherwise unutilized players a chance to get some game experience. Make no mistake about it, the past few bowl seasons have not showcased the true teams that are on the helmet. Even though Georgia was better than FSU 2 years ago, they were not 60 points better! I will watch my Vols play Illinois in the extremely underwhelming Music City Bowl just like everyone else on this forum but I know that regardless of the outcome, that will not the Tennessee that I know.
 
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#3
#3
KureVol said:
The death knell for non playoff bowl games is ringing loud and clear. Sure it is a good mini vacation for the players but as a fan it is like an early season exhibition basketball game......it means nothing. Unless......it is made clear that it is just a chance for players that don't see the field much to get some PT. If I was a major college coach, I would make it clear that this is a chance to evaluate new talent and give freshmen, walk-ons, and otherwise unutilized players a chance to get some game experience. Make no mistake about it, the past few bowl seasons have not showcased the true teams that are on the helmet. Even though Georgia was better than FSU 2 years ago, they were not 60 points better! I will watch my Vols play Illinois in the extremely underwhelming Music City Bowl just like everyone else on this forum but I know that regardless of the outcome, that will not the Tennessee that I know.
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Bowl games matter if fans make them matter. Want Bowl games to continue show up, show out, spend money in the city. For players that opt out that is their right but for our men who go play lets show them why we are who we are. The market dictates all. Why do you think CFB has so many bowls when no other sports program in the world works this way? Because fans show up and support. Sponsors still make money with these bowls. That is why they have always existed. Give them a reason to continue having them.
 
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#4
#4
Hairy Vols said:
Bowl games matter if fans make them matter. Want Bowl games to continue show up, show out, spend money in the city. For players that opt out that is their right but for our men who go play lets show them why we are who we are. The market dictates all. Why do you think CFB has so many bowls when no other sports program in the world works this way? Because fans show up and support. Sponsors still make money with these bowls. That is why they have always existed. Give them a reason to continue having them.
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rigged these days
 
#7
#7
Bowl games contribute an incredible amount of financial support to college football. The do matter in that regard. They go away, a lot of college football programs / conferences will suffer as the money will not be there.

They would have to replace them by expanding the number of teams in the playoffs considerably, and not just to 16, more like 32, to replace the $$'s lost if they stopped them.

I'm sure if an SEC team opted out, the fine would be 2 or 3 times what the Big 12 fine is.
 
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#8
#8
volfan102455 said:
Bowl games contribute an incredible amount of financial support to college football. The do matter in that regard. They go away, a lot of college football programs / conferences will suffer as the money will not be there.

They would have to replace them by expanding the number of teams in the playoffs considerably, and not just to 16, more like 32, to replace the $$'s lost if they stopped them.

I'm sure if an SEC team opted out, the fine would be 2 or 3 times what the Big 12 fine is.
Click to expand...
You do not have to opt out. Just use it as a practice session with the subs.
 
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#12
#12
KureVol said:
The death knell for non playoff bowl games is ringing loud and clear. Sure it is a good mini vacation for the players but as a fan it is like an early season exhibition basketball game......it means nothing. Unless......it is made clear that it is just a chance for players that don't see the field much to get some PT. If I was a major college coach, I would make it clear that this is a chance to evaluate new talent and give freshmen, walk-ons, and otherwise unutilized players a chance to get some game experience. Make no mistake about it, the past few bowl seasons have not showcased the true teams that are on the helmet. Even though Georgia was better than FSU 2 years ago, they were not 60 points better! I will watch my Vols play Illinois in the extremely underwhelming Music City Bowl just like everyone else on this forum but I know that regardless of the outcome, that will not the Tennessee that I know.
Click to expand...
“it means nothing…” I have to completely disagree.

I get we are striving for championships here, but “not so fast”

I grew up a Tennessee Vols fan with great passion for my team. My school played the game against Miami…think it was ‘85. We were peaking in the Majors era. We were mostly owned by FL I believe at that time, much like it has been in recent history. Finally, Fulmer took the helm and capitalized on what we had built. We stuck with Majors for a long time… but it was time to move on.

Fulmer took us to a level most of us had not seen. We became spoiled. Then after one year in between winning the SEC East, and a bad season we fired him. We went through hell. Yet, I looked forward to every game and every new coach and every chance to play in a bowl game. I hated the off seasons, but looked forward to the next season every year—even though things looked grim… but I have never given up hope, let alone my Vols.

Then Danny and Huepel came along and took a classless DUMP that was left behind, restored its character, and got us to way past should haves to could haves overnight. It hasn’t been perfect, but it’s been far more than I think most of us expected ifro
this regime. Two 10+ win seasons and a playoff birth in 4 years after what we witnessed was an incredible feat.

Then right when we think we have things humming, our star QB leaves. Most of us thought 7-5 to 9-3 was realistic. We grab Aguilar, almost beat Georgia 4 times in one game, and don’t lose again until the 3rd Saturday in October. Sure the wheels came off a bit, we went 8-4 and got spanked by a team that should be in the playoffs, and things look as though there should be some changes.

Maybe that will happen, maybe it won’t. Hard to say. But while I’m thinking ma, this could be really bad and start a landslide in the recruiting front, Huepel not only salvages his top 15 recruiting class, he ups it to a top 7 class which apparently is the highest per player graded class we have seen in a loooooong time.

Regardless of the class, post season means A LOT and should to anyone that roots for our team—especially those who were around during the lull.

I am at this point over the disappointment and just happy to see my Vols play again before the end of the season. I’m happy to see our seniors play and rhe gift in Aguilar that we got to see this year. You know the highest passing yardage guy.

I love my Vols deeply. There have been some hard years throughout at times in my life where I wasn’t sure if there would be another year, and of all the things I would think of that I hoped to see again is another Vols season.

We are blessed to have what we have. Anything more is not something we are entitled to. In fact, our fans suck sometimes. But what we have has the past five years is a gift, and I intend to enjoy another post season game with this bunch and hope for another year, hope we play well, and hope we never experience the hell we have experienced with this program in the past.

While I think there should be some changes, sometimes I think F it, let’s roll the dice with these guys if Josh wants to. He gave me more than I ever thought he would, so I’m eating my humble pie and just being thankful this time around.
 
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#13
#13
vegasvolfan said:
“it means nothing…” I have to completely disagree.

I get we are striving for championships here, but “not so fast”

I grew up a Tennessee Vols fan with great passion for my team. My school played the game against Miami…think it was ‘85. We were peaking in the Majors era. We were mostly owned by FL I believe at that time, much like it has been in recent history. Finally, Fulmer took the helm and capitalized on what we had built. We stuck with Majors for a long time… but it was time to move on.

Fulmer took us to a level most of us had not seen. We became spoiled. Then after one year in between winning the SEC East, and a bad season we fired him. We went through hell. Yet, I looked forward to every game and every new coach and every chance to play in a bowl game. I hated the off seasons, but looked forward to the next season every year—even though things looked grim… but I have never given up hope, let alone my Vols.

Then Danny and Huepel came along and took a classless DUMP that was left behind, restored its character, and got us to way past should haves to could haves overnight. It hasn’t been perfect, but it’s been far more than I think most of us expected ifro
this regime. Two 10+ win seasons and a playoff birth in 4 years after what we witnessed was an incredible feat.

Then right when we think we have things humming, our star QB leaves. Most of us thought 7-5 to 9-3 was realistic. We grab Aguilar, almost beat Georgia 4 times in one game, and don’t lose again until the 3rd Saturday in October. Sure the wheels came off a bit, we went 8-4 and got spanked by a team that should be in the playoffs, and things look as though there should be some changes.

Maybe that will happen, maybe it won’t. Hard to say. But while I’m thinking ma, this could be really bad and start a landslide in the recruiting front, Huepel not only salvages his top 15 recruiting class, he ups it to a top 7 class which apparently is the highest per player graded class we have seen in a loooooong time.

Regardless of the class, post season means A LOT and should to anyone that roots for our team—especially those who were around during the lull.

I am at this point over the disappointment and just happy to see my Vols play again before the end of the season. I’m happy to see our seniors play and rhe gift in Aguilar that we got to see this year. You know the highest passing yardage guy.

I love my Vols deeply. There have been some hard years throughout at times in my life where I wasn’t sure if there would be another year, and of all the things I would think of that I hoped to see again is another Vols season.

We are blessed to have what we have. Anything more is not something we are entitled to. In fact, our fans suck sometimes. But what we have has the past five years is a gift, and I intend to enjoy another post season game with this bunch and hope for another year, hope we play well, and hope we never experience the hell we have experienced with this program in the past.

While I think there should be some changes, sometimes I think F it, let’s roll the dice with these guys if Josh wants to. He gave me more than I ever thought he would, so I’m eating my humble pie and just being thankful this time around.
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Ok . 90% of the book you wrote has nothing to do with today’s bowl game’s!

They don’t mean a lot to most people incuding some players. Some decline the opportunity to play at all, so that tells you how much they mean.
 
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#14
#14
I think the writing is on the wall. First players were opting out if they were planning to go pro. Then they were opting out if they were planning to transfer. Then they were opting out just because. Now entire teams are opting out. Next will be the fans opting out and then the sponsors.
 
#16
#16
I said it in another thread, but the bowls that want to survive should become cash payouts games.

Imagine a bowl game with a 2-3 million dollar NIL prize purse. That's about 25-50k per player on a roster of 88. Signed and deposited within 14 days of the victory. That'll put a fire in a lot of britches. Not all. But a lot. Maybe the MVPs on defense and offense get something even bigger. People will go out there to KILL the other team for money. That will make for some great television for the masses.

You want to stay relevant? Football is only about money now. And if you have enough money, it'll talk. Hell. Think bigger, think further. Imagine world where you have a bowl game with enough media and sport popularity to have double that prize amount. Get some of that Saudi blood money. No one cares anymore. So sell out and sell out hard, right? Now you're up to 100k a player.

Imagine a world where players would prefer to be selected for the "Las Vegas Mega-bowl" or whatever. It's not impossible to see something like that. Big prizes, big betting tie-ints, wagers, real gross stuff, but why go halfway? Dive the hell in. Just takes someone willing to get dirty enough. Heaven knows college football will be happy to get dirty with them.
 
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#17
#17
Voltopia said:
I said it in another thread, but the bowls that want to survive should become cash payouts games.

Imagine a bowl game with a 2-3 million dollar NIL prize purse. That's about 25-50k per player on a roster of 88. Signed and deposited within 14 days of the victory. That'll put a fire in a lot of britches. Not all. But a lot. Maybe the MVPs on defense and offense get something even bigger.

You want to stay relevant? Football is only about money now. And if you have enough money, it'll talk. Hell. Think bigger, think further. Imagine world where you have a bowl game with enough media and sport popularity to have double that prize amount. Get some of that Saudi blood money. No one cares anymore. So sell out and sell out hard, right? Now you're up to 100k a player.

Imagine a world where players would prefer to be selected for the "Las Vegas Mega-bowl" or whatever. It's not impossible to imagine. Just takes someone willing to get dirty enough. Heaven knows college football will be happy to get dirty with them.
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Or we could have relegation for the losers of the bowl games. The winners stay in FBS and the losers drop to FCS. That would do it.
 
#18
#18
The Tall Gguy said:
Or we could have relegation for the losers of the bowl games. The winners stay in FBS and the losers drop to FCS. That would do it.
Click to expand...

No. It wouldn't. The players can just transfer to teams that remain in FBS. There's no investment there. No one is tied to programs anymore. You can't motivate mercenaries beyond a certain point.

It's not realistic to assume players have any loyalty to schools. Some may. Most won't. That's the world the schools and the media networks have built.
 
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#19
#19
Voltopia said:
No. It wouldn't. The players can just transfer to teams that remain in FBS. There's no investment there. No one is tied to programs anymore. You can't motivate mercenaries beyond a certain point.

It's not realistic to assume players have any loyalty to schools. Some may. Most won't. That's the world the schools and the media networks have built.
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Oh, the transfer portal has to be ended for there to be any hope to save college sports.
I think the schools and conferences would lobby hard to make that happen if relegation was on the line.
 
#20
#20
Voltopia said:
No. It wouldn't. The players can just transfer to teams that remain in FBS. There's no investment there. No one is tied to programs anymore. You can't motivate mercenaries beyond a certain point.

It's not realistic to assume players have any loyalty to schools. Some may. Most won't. That's the world the schools and the media networks have built.
Click to expand...
Agree. Players that plan to transfer or opt out or out of eligibility could care less if a team got “relegated”.
 
#21
#21
vegasvolfan said:
“it means nothing…” I have to completely disagree.

I get we are striving for championships here, but “not so fast”

I grew up a Tennessee Vols fan with great passion for my team. My school played the game against Miami…think it was ‘85. We were peaking in the Majors era. We were mostly owned by FL I believe at that time, much like it has been in recent history. Finally, Fulmer took the helm and capitalized on what we had built. We stuck with Majors for a long time… but it was time to move on.

Fulmer took us to a level most of us had not seen. We became spoiled. Then after one year in between winning the SEC East, and a bad season we fired him. We went through hell. Yet, I looked forward to every game and every new coach and every chance to play in a bowl game. I hated the off seasons, but looked forward to the next season every year—even though things looked grim… but I have never given up hope, let alone my Vols.

Then Danny and Huepel came along and took a classless DUMP that was left behind, restored its character, and got us to way past should haves to could haves overnight. It hasn’t been perfect, but it’s been far more than I think most of us expected ifro
this regime. Two 10+ win seasons and a playoff birth in 4 years after what we witnessed was an incredible feat.

Then right when we think we have things humming, our star QB leaves. Most of us thought 7-5 to 9-3 was realistic. We grab Aguilar, almost beat Georgia 4 times in one game, and don’t lose again until the 3rd Saturday in October. Sure the wheels came off a bit, we went 8-4 and got spanked by a team that should be in the playoffs, and things look as though there should be some changes.

Maybe that will happen, maybe it won’t. Hard to say. But while I’m thinking ma, this could be really bad and start a landslide in the recruiting front, Huepel not only salvages his top 15 recruiting class, he ups it to a top 7 class which apparently is the highest per player graded class we have seen in a loooooong time.

Regardless of the class, post season means A LOT and should to anyone that roots for our team—especially those who were around during the lull.

I am at this point over the disappointment and just happy to see my Vols play again before the end of the season. I’m happy to see our seniors play and rhe gift in Aguilar that we got to see this year. You know the highest passing yardage guy.

I love my Vols deeply. There have been some hard years throughout at times in my life where I wasn’t sure if there would be another year, and of all the things I would think of that I hoped to see again is another Vols season.

We are blessed to have what we have. Anything more is not something we are entitled to. In fact, our fans suck sometimes. But what we have has the past five years is a gift, and I intend to enjoy another post season game with this bunch and hope for another year, hope we play well, and hope we never experience the hell we have experienced with this program in the past.

While I think there should be some changes, sometimes I think F it, let’s roll the dice with these guys if Josh wants to. He gave me more than I ever thought he would, so I’m eating my humble pie and just being thankful this time around.
Click to expand...
Right there with ya!
 
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#22
#22
The Tall Gguy said:
I think the writing is on the wall. First players were opting out if they were planning to go pro. Then they were opting out if they were planning to transfer. Then they were opting out just because. Now entire teams are opting out. Next will be the fans opting out and then the sponsors.
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ND is opting out because they are mad at not being included in the playoffs. If I am not mistaken the other two schools had their coaches go to other schools.
 
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#25
#25
GVol1966 said:
Ok . 90% of the book you wrote has nothing to do with today’s bowl game’s!

They don’t mean a lot to most people incuding some players. Some decline the opportunity to play at all, so that tells you how much they mean.
Click to expand...
How do U justify 90%??
What is your connection to the players mindset??

Go to the Vandy board......you're not a Vol fan...........👎
 
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