Running 2011 Bowl Season Thread- Match-ups on Page 1

Right. But that's the "Do they deserve to be selected based on their on-field performance?" argument. All I'm saying is...the Sugar Bowl selected VT and Michigan for a reason, and both teams will likely live up to those expectations.

I can't see how anyone -- even myself -- could argue that VT "deserved" to be selected. That's dumb.

That said, if there's a bunch of empty seats there -- is that expected? -- than yeah. The Sugar Bowl looks dumb on all accounts: Failing to select "deserving" teams and failing to select teams they figured would show up in masses.

 

Above: Virginia Tech fans traveling well. Lunchpail D! Enter Sandman!

 

That's the ACC title game, not a bowl game.

2011 Discover Orange Bowl
VIRGINIA TECH 12 vs Stanford 40
January 3, 2011 - Miami Gardens, Fla
Sun Life Stadium - Att 65,453

2009 Orange Bowl
VIRGINIA TECH 20 vs KANSAS 7
January 1, 2009 - Miami, FL
Dolphin Stadium - Att 73,602

2005 Sugar Bowl
VIRGINIA TECH 13 vs AUBURN 16
January 3, 2005 - New Orleans, La.
Louisiana Superdome - Att 77,349

2006 Gator Bowl
VIRGINIA TECH 35 vs LOUISVILLE 24
January 2, 2006 - Jacksonville, FL
Alltel Stadium - Att 63,780

 

Are those attendance figures actual butts in the seats, or tickets sold (ie, purchased by the participating schools but probably not all of them sold to actual customers)?

There were a TON of empty seats at the Orange Bowl last year. Even more after the Tech section emptied out in the second half as Stanford dismantled the Hokies.

 

My point still stands.

Virginia Tech's cred as a well-traveling unit is bogus.

 

And the same stadium, for comparison's sake:



That's the regular season game between Georgia and Florida in 2010. Great game, but both teams sucked and neither won the SEC East. And yet. I'm not seeing any tarps or entire decks empty.

But hey. Lunchpail D! Enter Sandman! Travel well!

 

On StubHub, Cotton Bowl tickets (standing room only, even) cost nearly 5 times what a Sugar Bowl ticket costs.

Clearly all those Va. Tech fans who won't buy from the school are creating massive demand

 

I looked on Va. Tech's site. The cheapest seat, with a fee, they were selling was $123.

On Stubhub, the cheapest seat was going for about $50, which, add the fees, would be about $60.

Couple that with the "proxy tickets" (what a fucking joke), does Va. Tech really think their fans are that stupid? If they want to go, they're not going to buy them from their own web site.

 

So how do those numbers compare to what the bowl games had attracted the season before VT played? Take a look:

2011 Orange Bowl (Stanford 40, VT 12) - 65,431
2010 Orange Bowl (Iowa 24, Georgia Tech 14) - 66,131
Net Change: -1.06%

2008 Orange Bowl (Virginia Tech 20, Kansas 7) - 74,111 (the 2009 Orange Bowl was VT vs. Cincinnati, so I assume you meant this one. Since the 2009 Orange Bowl only drew 57,821, you probably want to ignore that. Also, I don't know where you got 73,602 from.)
2007 Orange Bowl (Louisville 24, Wake Forest 13) - 74,470
Net Change: -0.48%

2006 Gator Bowl (Virginia Tech 35, Louisville 24) - 63,780
2005 Gator Bowl (Florida State 30, West Virginia 18) - 70,112
Net Change: -9.03%

2005 Sugar Bowl (Auburn 16, Virginia Tech 13) - 77,349
2004 Sugar Bowl (LSU 21, Oklahoma 14) - 79,342 (note: was national title game)
Net Change: -2.51%

Total Attendance of Virginia Tech bowls mentioned: 280,671
Total Attendance the Previous Year: 290,325
Net Change: -3.33%

If Virginia Tech has some quality to drive huge ticket sales and fill stadiums at bowl games, it isn't reflected in the bowl games you mentioned. Their last two bowl games had smaller attendance figures than games the previous year featuring teams such as Georgia Tech, Louisville and Wake Forest.

 

Right. I'm not saying VT draws more fans to bowl games than other teams. I'm just saying that there will be more VT fans in the seats than the number of tickets sold through the VT athletic department. People see the "VT has only sold 9K of the 17,500K tickets!!" and equate that with "No one from VT will show up!!" That's not accurate.

Those numbers also don't show a dramatic decrease in attendance when VT is involved, either. And whoever posted above is right, and I hadn't thought about it. The attendance figures might be tickets sold and not actual butts in seats. Then again, who buys a bowl game ticket and doesn't go? Can't imagine there are thousands of those.

 

Florida and Ohio State have each sold about half of its allotment for the Gator Bowl.

6-6 teams.
Jan. 2 game when people have to be at work on Tuedsay.
Meaningless game.

 

Are any teams traveling well if they have to play in the Conference Championship Game a few weeks before?