<p>The college I attend, the University of South Florida, didn’t have a football team until 1997. I guess the alumni felt left out not having a team, so they got the ball rolling to help start a team. The program started small in 1997, but is now a competitive Division I FBS team in only 14 short years. The football program at this point I’m sure operates in the red financially, but on balance football has added much to the university overall and has tied alumni from pre-football days closer to the university. USF football opens its 2011 season against Notre Dame in 19 days!</p>
<p>re: post #79- Picturing a bunch of guys banging their heads/helmets together and grunting…
Ahhh, thats so much better.</p>
<p>Of course people who don’t care would not even know whether they are missing out or not. I don’t feel I am missing out on great opera either. The question was put rather poorly to start. It’s just a great networking opportunity for those with a common interest. Women used to complain about feeling left out in the office when men went on golf outings. A few now play but it really has not changed much. Same with college football. Why else would schools be adding all those expensive suites to their stadiums. Most are bought by corporations and business people to entertain clients and friends.</p>
<p>[Luxury</a> Suites | The Drive For Husky Stadium](<a href=“http://www.huskystadium.com/seating-ticket-information/premium-seating/luxury-suites]Luxury”>http://www.huskystadium.com/seating-ticket-information/premium-seating/luxury-suites)</p>
<p><a href=“http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/wis/genrel/auto_pdf/CR_suites_8188.pdf[/url]”>http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/wis/genrel/auto_pdf/CR_suites_8188.pdf</a></p>
<p>“I’m sorry if you think that athletics and the unwashed heathens that participate them take away attention from culture, but can you keep that to yourself?”</p>
<p>No one said that athletics was full of unwashed, unworthy heathens. The question was put to those of us who did not go to football-heavy schools, do we feel left out on fall Saturdays, and the answer is no, we don’t feel left out.</p>
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<p>Well, then there you have it. Yet opera-goers never seem to question whether non-opera goers are missing out. They just seem to accept that some people like opera and some people don’t and that’s how the world turns. Why is that, do you suppose?</p>
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<p>Of course. We needn’t be “educated” that college sports is big businesses - that’s not new news. (It’s always trotted out as though we don’t know that colleges spend a lot of money, sports bring in a lot of revenue, and many many people enjoy the games.)</p>
<p>But play along with me here. The executives at XYZ Corp have just bought a luxury box at ABC University’s new football stadium and are entertaining their clients there on a lovely, crisp fall afternoon. But some of the executives at XYZ weren’t necessarily *alumni * of ABC. Nor are their clients. I guess they don’t have standing, then. They’re just a bunch of wannabes, pathetically cheering for a team that they don’t have a right to cheer for. Am I on target, here, barrons?</p>
<p>I’m confused. Pizzagirl, are you trying to say you DON’T like college football?</p>
<p>Now I am beginning to understand why the players smack their heads/helmets together :rolleyes:</p>
<p>All this football talk prompted me to do a mock draft. I stunk the place up.</p>
<p>So the question could be - do those of you who don’t care about college football feel you’re missing out on a great networking opportunity by not paying attention to it. My answer is yet again, no :-).</p>
<p>“Just picking some random school you did not attend and being their “fan” is not meaningful in male college football fan society. The only exception is if the school also represents your home state. Otherwise you are just a wannabe with no standing.”</p>
<p>Finally, someone who understands why I started this thread. If you’re from, say, NY, and you went to, say, Wesleyan or Marquette, by the rules of Dudedom, you literally have no MEANINGFUL major college football affiliation*. It’s quite possible that such a person might feel left out at the corner bar because he’s listening to his wife talk about the latest Lifetime movie while Virginia Tech alums and natives of Pennsylvania are swilling the suds and high fiving each other while they watch VPI and PSU/Pitt on the 52" TVs.</p>
<p>*Except for maybe religious reasons. This is why Notre Dame has such a big following. No matter what state you’re from, if you’re Catholic, you CAN have a meaningful affiliation with it. Ditto BYU, etc.</p>
<p>^^Funny, but my university’s head football coach Skip Holtz graduated from and played football at Notre Dame, and his dad Lou was Notre Dame’s head football coach. The Holtz’ are going up to South Bend with USF’s football team to crunch Notre Dame Sept. 3rd.</p>
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<p>How do such people ever get by in life? Forget helping the homeless in Guatemala and the hungry in Nigeria – perhaps a better EC for an aspiring college applicant is starting a charity to raise funds to pay for these poor souls’ counseling needs. Or at least enable them to treat everyone at the bar to a round on them, so that that their buddies at the bars will forget that they don’t have a meaningful college football assocation.</p>
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<p>You still don’t get how important geography is, Schmaltz. In New York City, college football is, and always will be, a fringe sport. There are too many more important things going on. And it has nothing to do with opera. If there’s a baseball game on a Saturday afternoon, almost nobody cares about college football, at the corner bar or anywhere else. Although I’m sure there are some places where the lonely dudebro alums of big-time football schools congregate, those places are the exception.</p>
<p>Very true about locale. Football is king in the south, including Florida. Baseball is a much bigger deal across the board in Metro NY than football, same with basketball being a bigger deal than in south.</p>
<p>Obviously not a club you wish to join. Certainly fine by me. But it works for many people for both a personal enjoyment and as a bonding/business opportunity. Please don’t ever ask me to join you in your box at the opera or your feed the homeless gig. But I would go to a game in Evanston. And I would not care who the Wildcats were playing. Men are still dominant in business and that’s just how we roll. You can get by in business without ever playing golf or going to a game. But don’t cry when somebody else closes a deal on the course or at the game.</p>
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<p>Really just college football. Pro football is a very big deal here, and after baseball finishes it’s Jets/Giants 24/7 for a long time.</p>
<p>The rest of the country really does not care what NYC does. But those stuck there make do.</p>
<p>[Where</a> To Watch College Football In NYC: 2010 Edition](<a href=“http://guestofaguest.com/sports/where-to-watch-college-football-in-nyc-2010-edition/]Where”>http://guestofaguest.com/sports/where-to-watch-college-football-in-nyc-2010-edition/)</p>
<p>[Will</a> College Football Sell in New York? - WSJ.com](<a href=“Will College Football Sell in New York? - WSJ”>Will College Football Sell in New York? - WSJ)</p>
<p>Yea, I meant college football–pro football is big in NYC. When I last visited NY in spring I saw kids playing baseball all over the place, more so than in Florida. Baseball and basketball are big in Florida, but football is the big dog!</p>
<p>barrons-
Did someone pour vinegar in your corn flakes or something? You are being particularly ascerbic these days. Cut it out, would ya?</p>
<p>Pg, you are so funny. Without even trying hard, as others do. ;)</p>