Bowl games in baseball stadiums....

[wbcbus]

Who is this for? Who is enjoying this more than a game in a normal football stadium?

For fans, most get a view at a worse angle, further set back from the field. For the players, you get a crappier surface.

At least with the NHL there's the novelty of it being outdoors. Football is already outdoors, so there is nothing unique about it.

It's like using an outhouse when you have a perfectly good indoor bathroom. Sure, it's different, but it's also worse in every possible way.

 

[psuro]

Who is this for? Who is enjoying this more than a game in a normal football stadium?

For fans, most get a view at a worse angle, further set back from the field. For the players, you get a crappier surface.

At least with the NHL there's the novelty of it being outdoors. Football is already outdoors, so there is nothing unique about it.

It's like using an outhouse when you have a perfectly good indoor bathroom. Sure, it's different, but it's also worse in every possible way.

Can nnly think of a couple of cities that use baseball stadiums for bowl games - NYC (Yankees) and Fenway (Boston). I think there may be a game in Arizona in the baseball stadium there, but not sure.

To a certain degree, the older basevall venues hosted CFB games in the early part of the 20th Century - they were the only stadiums that could handle the number of fans of the teams (aka Notre Dame, Army).

Nowadays, I think it's just to get some more usage of the stadiums. Beyond the nostalgia and use of the stadium - no idea what the benefit is (other than one more bowl game).

That said, the Pinstripe Bowl vs. Boston College was great and I had great site lines.

 

[Hardslider33]

Petco Park was used for the Holiday Bowl last night.

 

[NittPicker]

Petco Park was used for the Holiday Bowl last night.

Which was weird because SDSU is playing in a new football stadium out where the old Chargers stadium was. Maybe the bowl committee wanted the game to be played downtown so visitors would be more inclined to stay there and spend money. There are lots of hotels within walking distance.

 

[leinbacker]

Who is this for? Who is enjoying this more than a game in a normal football stadium?

For fans, most get a view at a worse angle, further set back from the field. For the players, you get a crappier surface.

At least with the NHL there's the novelty of it being outdoors. Football is already outdoors, so there is nothing unique about it.

It's like using an outhouse when you have a perfectly good indoor bathroom. Sure, it's different, but it's also worse in every possible way.

Its nostalgia, it’s how JoePa would have watched a football game when he was a kid.

 

[Ceasar]

In the early 90s I attended the PSU-MD game at Memorial Stadium, home of the Orioles. As the original poster noted, it was a horrible experience.

 

[wbcbus]

Petco Park was used for the Holiday Bowl last night.

Yeah, this is the one I was watching last night when I thought okay, enough already. You don’t even have the historic value of Fenway or Yankee Stadium (which is gone now too)

 

[BobPSU92]

I recall a college game played in Wrigley Field several years ago (Northwestern?), and the field barely fit. There was little room between a corner of the end zone and the wall.

 

[psu31trap]

Who is this for? Who is enjoying this more than a game in a normal football stadium?

For fans, most get a view at a worse angle, further set back from the field. For the players, you get a crappier surface.

At least with the NHL there's the novelty of it being outdoors. Football is already outdoors, so there is nothing unique about it.

It's like using an outhouse when you have a perfectly good indoor bathroom. Sure, it's different, but it's also worse in every possible way.

I went to Yankee stadium a couple of times to see a football game and the experience was horrible.

 

[Big_O]

I think there may be a bowl game at Tampa Bay Rays stadium in St. Pete. At least there used to be.

 

[BobPSU92]

Which was weird because SDSU is playing in a new football stadium out where the old Chargers stadium was. Maybe the bowl committee wanted the game to be played downtown so visitors would be more inclined to stay there and spend money. There are lots of hotels within walking distance.

A nice Omni Hotel is connected to Petco Park. That’s the Gaslamp Quarter. Lots of restaurants and shopping, plus the beach.

 

[Meat Lab]

Can nnly think of a couple of cities that use baseball stadiums for bowl games - NYC (Yankees) and Fenway (Boston). I think there may be a game in Arizona in the baseball stadium there, but not sure.

To a certain degree, the older basevall venues hosted CFB games in the early part of the 20th Century - they were the only stadiums that could handle the number of fans of the teams (aka Notre Dame, Army).

Nowadays, I think it's just to get some more usage of the stadiums. Beyond the nostalgia and use of the stadium - no idea what the benefit is (other than one more bowl game).

That said, the Pinstripe Bowl vs. Boston College was great and I had great site lines.

This.

Plus, it’s still better than this…….,

 

[Bkmtnittany1]

I went to Yankee stadium a couple of times to see a football game and the experience was horrible.

I went to Yankee Stadium a couple of times to see a baseball game and the experience was awesome… the Yankees lost!!!

 

[Metal Mike]

Have to agree with Creaser, Memorial Stadium was very bad for viewing the Maryland vs PSU football game. We sat behind the PSU bench and the tall players blocked our view of the field. This experience was made worse because PSU and Maryland tied.
The Steelers and the Colts had a playoff game in Memorial Stadium. The Steeler won and right after the game a light plane crashed into the upper deck.

 

[GrimReaper]

I recall a college game played in Wrigley Field several years ago (Northwestern?), and the field barely fit. There was little room between a corner of the end zone and the wall.

Actually 2021, NU v. Purdue. NU was supposed to play in Wrigley in 2022, but, for whatever reason, that didn't happen. Amnounced that it would also play there in 2024 and 2026, but we'll see if that happens.

 

[WanderingSpectator]

We love our seats at Chase Field in Phoenix. And while the weather in Phoenix is better than most of country this time of year, it can get pretty cold at night. So being inside definitely helps. I remember freezing my a$$ of one year at Sun Devil Stadium got the MN/Texas Tech game.

 

[BobPSU92]

Actually 2021, NU v. Purdue. NU was supposed to play in Wrigley in 2022, but, for whatever reason, that didn't happen. Amnounced that it would also play there in 2024 and 2026, but we'll see if that happens.

Thanks. Per the following article, they played in Wrigley in 2010. That’s the game I remembered.

11 Years Later, Northwestern Football Returns to Wrigley Field

Thanks to some stadium modifications, Northwestern football is ready to return to Wrigley Field for the first time in 11 years.

ontapsportsnet.com

A football field is not a good fit for Wrigley.

 

[NittPicker]

Thanks. Per the following article, they played in Wrigley in 2010. That’s the game I remembered.

11 Years Later, Northwestern Football Returns to Wrigley Field

Thanks to some stadium modifications, Northwestern football is ready to return to Wrigley Field for the first time in 11 years.

ontapsportsnet.com

A football field is not a good fit for Wrigley.

They had to play toward one end zone because the other end zone was a safety concern as shown below. At that point, why even bother following through with the gimmick??

 

[Hardslider33]

This.

Plus, it’s still better than this…….,

Yeah that’s become a joke, it was great once but hold it at a proper outdoor venue and then make it for 5000 fans or less and televise it. That’s atrocious viewing seating

 

[GrimReaper]

Thanks. Per the following article, they played in Wrigley in 2010. That’s the game I remembered.

11 Years Later, Northwestern Football Returns to Wrigley Field

Thanks to some stadium modifications, Northwestern football is ready to return to Wrigley Field for the first time in 11 years.

ontapsportsnet.com

A football field is not a good fit for Wrigley.

They had to play toward one end zone because the other end zone was a safety concern as shown below. At that point, why even bother following through with the gimmick??

Believe they had to do something similar for the early Pinstripe Bowls.

How many football stadia are situated so that the end zones are East-West? Imagine the fits it would give 98.9% of announcers when commenting on a runner's style. Herbstreit would have to pause for the better part of a quarter to comment on a play. Mushmouf would be thunderstruck. Hmmmmm, maybe we're onto something and more games should be played in similar configurations.

 

[Alphalion75]

Somebody needs to tell the Syracuse kids that they are losing 14 to 0. They celebrate every play like they won the Superbowl.

 

[Midnighter]

Can nnly think of a couple of cities that use baseball stadiums for bowl games - NYC (Yankees) and Fenway (Boston). I think there may be a game in Arizona in the baseball stadium there, but not sure.

To a certain degree, the older basevall venues hosted CFB games in the early part of the 20th Century - they were the only stadiums that could handle the number of fans of the teams (aka Notre Dame, Army).

Nowadays, I think it's just to get some more usage of the stadiums. Beyond the nostalgia and use of the stadium - no idea what the benefit is (other than one more bowl game).

That said, the Pinstripe Bowl vs. Boston College was great and I had great site lines.

I went too and while I liked the novelty of going to Yankee Stadium, it’s not in a great area, a pain to get to, and not ideal for football.

 

[WanderingSpectator]

Have to agree with Creaser, Memorial Stadium was very bad for viewing the Maryland vs PSU football game. We sat behind the PSU bench and the tall players blocked our view of the field. This experience was made worse because PSU and Maryland tied.
The Steelers and the Colts had a playoff game in Memorial Stadium. The Steeler won and right after the game a light plane crashed into the upper deck.

I was at that game as well. It was in Nov 1989. Horrible Stadium and unlike Fenway or Wrigley, zero nostalgia factor.

 

[PSUJam]

What about playing an NCAA D1 basketball game on an aircraft carrier floating in water? Brilliant!

 

[Woodpecker]

I was at that game as well. It was in Nov 1989. Horrible Stadium and unlike Fenway or Wrigley, zero nostalgia factor.

NFL ranks this as #49 Greatest Game:
For fans of great quarterback play and high-octane offense, the game film of the Jets-Colts contest on September 24, 1972 at Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium is worth watching. The protagonists were legendary QBs Joe Namath of New York and Baltimore’s Johnny Unitas, who was 39 and in his 17th NFL season. Unitas was fantastic, throwing for 376 yards and two touchdowns against no interceptions. But Namath was even better, completing 15 of 28 passes for a whopping six touchdowns and 496 yards, over 400 of them to two players: Rich Caster and Eddie Bell. Each quarterback threw a touchdown pass in the first quarter – Namath for 65 yards; Unitas for 40 – but three more TD throws by Namath in the second made it 27-20, Jets, at halftime. In the fourth quarter, following a 79-yard touchdown pass by Namath, Unitas responded with a touchdown pass of his own, cutting the lead to 37-34. But Namath wasn’t done: he put the game away with another 80-yard touchdown throw. It was Namath's 4th TD pass of 65+ yards in the game and the Jets won, 44-34.

 

[WanderingSpectator]

For the players, you get a crappier surface.

At the GRB in Phoenix, they bring in new turf to lay on top of the baseball turf. After the game, they lift it up and donate to a playground.

 

[LionJim]

Its nostalgia, it’s how JoePa would have watched a football game when he was a kid.

And my dad and his brothers. I once asked my Uncle Bill who the best college player he saw was. Johnny Lujack, he’d watch Notre Dame play Army in Yankee Stadium.

 

[Psumatt85]

In the early 90s I attended the PSU-MD game at Memorial Stadium, home of the Orioles. As the original poster noted, it was a horrible experience.

Great ball park for baseball, horrible for football. The psu seats we could not see past the 30. Can’t believe the colts played there

 

[LBUfanatic]

Yeah, this is the one I was watching last night when I thought okay, enough already. You don’t even have the historic value of Fenway or Yankee Stadium (which is gone now too)

But, despite complaining, you were watching it. That is all that matters to ESPN and bowl organizers. Simple solution if you don’t like it…don’t watch.

 

[wbcbus]

But, despite complaining, you were watching it. That is all that matters to ESPN and bowl organizers. Simple solution if you don’t like it…don’t watch.

It makes no difference at all for me the viewer on television. I didn’t attend.

 

[LBUfanatic]

It makes no difference at all for me the viewer on television. I didn’t attend.

You cared enough to start a thread railing against it. Just sayin’.

 

[wbcbus]

You cared enough to start a thread railing against it. Just sayin’.

Yeah, just saying I think it’s stupid for the fans and players, not that it impacts me personally.