Jerry Palm on Matt & Miller

**Tornado man** · 11-18-2009, 02:46 PM

Originally Posted by hawkeyescott

That is why Fox and the Fiesta Bowl will want butts in the seats more so than ever this year and will try to get the best two travelling teams they can to fill the stadium. Besides the ratings will take care of themselves as it is the only game on that night and no Monday Night Football to compete with.

Penn State is even more known for packing stadiums than Iowa is, so this also is a wash.
It goes back to the superior national brand name of Penn State, the annual question of whether this might be Joepa's last game, and drawing as many peripheral sports viewers as possible. Yes, it's the only game on, but Penn State will attract and keep more viewers who aren't big football fans. Iowa will not.

**cycloneworld** · 11-18-2009, 02:48 PM

Originally Posted by hawkeyescott

I think you are missing the point about tv ratings this year. The spots for ads are sold based on last years ratings, so the spots for this years game are already sold. Well Fox won't have the Fiesta Bowl next year as it goes to ESPN so Fox won't care what the ratings are because the higher the ratings the more money ESPN can charge next year without Fox getting anything. That is why Fox and the Fiesta Bowl will want butts in the seats more so than ever this year and will try to get the best two travelling teams they can to fill the stadium. Besides the ratings will take care of themselves as it is the only game on that night and no Monday Night Football to compete with.

There will be butts in the seat no matter who is selected. That criteria goes out the window because attendance is rarely, if ever, an issue with a BCS game (see cybsball's post).

**DaddyMac** · 11-18-2009, 02:55 PM

Originally Posted by JonDMiller

My overall assertion is that the ratings for the potential bowl games are a distant third on the checklist of what the bowl folks want to achieve to begin with. That being said, for those that want to point out PSU as ratings gold, the Iowa-PSU game was not ratings gold. Yes, Iowa was involved in that game. But when people have taken Iowa through the years for bowl games, taking them ahead of teams that beat them on the field as recently as 2005 (over Michigan for Outback) and 2008 (over Northwestern for the Outback), TV ratings are not even come up in the debate.

Why were they taken? Because they fill up hotels and restaurants in Orlando - of course.

Goes without saying that Iowa will travel far better than Northwestern. IIRC - the Michigan comparison had that talk of "we shouldn't even go", the arrogance of a failed season for the Wolverines.

I don't think that we can say Iowa will travel any better (or necessarily worse) than PSU for a BCS game, however. The Fiesta is NOT the Outback.

I get what you're saying... I don't think the situations are really that comparable however. Perhaps I'm jaded - but I don't think Iowa is holding as many cards in this as PSU.

**cybsball20** · 11-18-2009, 03:02 PM

Butts in the seats is a much bigger issue for the games like the Outback and Cap One because they get pretty sparse crowd anyway. Any extra they can pack in is gold... The BCS games will sell no matter who is playing.

**ISUFan22** · 11-18-2009, 03:14 PM

It will be very interesting to see how well Iowa fans travel this year. If before the season you told Hawk fan that Iowa would go 10-2 (assuming they beat the Gophers), I'd bet almost all of 'em would have been ecstatic and traveling to wherever that bowl was (Fiesta or next Big 10 bowl in line) would have been fantastic.

Look to the current and how Iowa got to 10-2 (again, assuming a win Saturday), with the hype about a "for sure" BCS game and potential title shot going into the Northwestern game - only to lose to the Wildcats at home (again) and then a heart breaker to Ohio State - who knows.

Preseason 10-2 would have been viewed as amazing...today it's a letdown.

I think if it's Fiesta, the fans will travel quite well as AZ is a "favorite" destination for Iowans and, it's a BCS bowl. If it's not Fiesta and Iowa barely gets by Minnesota, fans may not feel so peppy about Iowa. If they lose this weekend, attendance will most certainly suffer for wherever their destination is.

I also wonder what kind of impact the horrid MBB season will have. I know technically not related, but fan moral is athletic program wide. Struggle to beat Minny, miss out on BCS and MBB keeps losing stinkers - it won't be a fun December for Iowa fans.

**JonDMiller** · 11-18-2009, 03:16 PM

Originally Posted by cybsball20

Butts in the seats is a much bigger issue for the games like the Outback and Cap One because they get pretty sparse crowd anyway. Any extra they can pack in is gold... The BCS games will sell no matter who is playing.

the tickets might get sold...but people filling them, meaning people coming to the game, is another factor. There were 10,000 empty seats last year for the Fiesta. Not in sold attendance, but in actual people at the game.

**JonDMiller** · 11-18-2009, 03:18 PM

Originally Posted by DaddyMac

I don't think that we can say Iowa will travel any better (or necessarily worse) than PSU for a BCS game, however. The Fiesta is NOT the Outback.

For the Fiesta bowl, I think Iowa has a hammer. 50,000 native Iowans living down there, 20,000 snowbirds...25,000 Iowa fans buying tickets to the Iowa-ASU regular season game in 2004...five game watch locations each week for Iowa games down there totaling over 1000 fans...two to one alumns Iowa to PSU in the Valley of the Sun..and so on

**hawkeyescott** · 11-18-2009, 03:41 PM

Originally Posted by DaddyMac

I don't think that we can say Iowa will travel any better (or necessarily worse) than PSU for a BCS game, however. The Fiesta is NOT the Outback.

I agree we can't really say who would travel better. I also agree the Fiesta is not the Outback and Iowa would travel better to the Fiesta and the last 3 times they have taken 20 to 25,000 people to the Outback. Iowa's only BCS game (the Orange Bowl) they took close to 50,000 and I think the Fiesta will take a hard look at that support.

**Bader** · 11-18-2009, 03:47 PM

Originally Posted by hawkeyescott

I agree we can't really say who would travel better. I also agree the Fiesta is not the Outback and Iowa would travel better to the Fiesta and the last 3 times they have taken 20 to 25,000 people to the Outback. Iowa's only BCS game (the Orange Bowl) they took close to 50,000 and I think the Fiesta will take a hard look at that support.

Well at least the bowls don't have to be concerned about the basketball team draining attendance eh?

**cyhiphopp** · 11-18-2009, 03:54 PM

Is it a 100% certainty that Stanzi will be back at full strength for any bowl? If there is any doubt, I am not sure I would take Iowa if I was a BCS bowl. Unfortunately, the last impression Iowa will have on the Fiesta Bowl comittee will be struggling with a backup QB. Not sure if that will play into anything.

**Tornado man** · 11-18-2009, 03:58 PM

Originally Posted by JonDMiller

For the Fiesta bowl, I think Iowa has a hammer. 50,000 native Iowans living down there, 20,000 snowbirds...25,000 Iowa fans buying tickets to the Iowa-ASU regular season game in 2004...five game watch locations each week for Iowa games down there totaling over 1000 fans...two to one alumns Iowa to PSU in the Valley of the Sun..and so on

Penn State is the favorite team of the Fiesta Bowl, and JoePa is the winningest Fiesta Bowl coach. They pack Phoenix. Their alumni base is much larger than Iowa's.
If Iowa plays in Phoenix, it's a regional game.
If Penn State plays, it becomes a national game.
If PSU beats Mich. State (a big if), this is a slam dunk.

**JonDMiller** · 11-18-2009, 04:33 PM

Originally Posted by Tornado man

Penn State is the favorite team of the Fiesta Bowl

According to your bowl sources?

**CycloneWarning** · 11-18-2009, 04:52 PM

Originally Posted by Bader

Well at least the bowls don't have to be concerned about the basketball team draining attendance eh?

LOL.

Has there ever been better proof that a good portion of the Iowa fanbase is just bandwagon fans? ISU fans stick with our programs through thick and thin (and there has been plenty of thin), but these great Iowa fans abandon BB like rats off a ship.

The funniest part about Iowa and the Fiesta bowl is they seem to forget they have some work to do this weekend. Feels like the Northwestern game all over. Maybe it is time for the Iowa SID to issue another memo comparing Iowa to Penn State and OkState?

**GoState** · 11-18-2009, 06:12 PM

Originally Posted by CycloneWarning

Has there ever been better proof that a good portion of the Iowa fanbase is just bandwagon fans? ISU fans stick with our programs through thick and thin (and there has been plenty of thin), but these great Iowa fans abandon BB like rats off a ship.

Careful, now. I remember sitting in Hilton in early 2000 wondering why the upper level was half-full. And I'll assume you are speaking only about Iowa basketball attendance and not football, given that they drew well in the 1970s which was a very dark period. And I won't even bring up how furious I was at Mac's last game.

And regarding the other topic (Palm's opinions): Yes, Jon is all Hawkeye, all the time, and that's fine. But I'll believe him over a number cruncher like Jerry Palm any day. Jon's track bowl track record is pretty good.