I am excited about Urban's push for more November night games and the B1G being much more open to them now. I think there are mainly pros, with very few cons, in having November night games. Yes the weather and the cold are a concern, but I think both fans and recruits won't mind a few degree drop in an atmopshere like The Shoe at night! It doesn't seem like The Game will be played at night anytime soon, however, if Urban pushes hard enough, it could be sooner rather then later. It may be tougher TV schedule wise to go up against some of the other match ups, like SEC games, in November but just think about all the people that miss tOSU games because of where they are. A noon game in Columbus is 9:00am on the west coast. How many people that aren't die hard Buckeye fans get up to watch it? Now a 5:00pm time for The Game in Cali would be huge to help recruiting and fans in general. The Game is just one example and that's just exposure for tOSU and Mich. The whole B1G could benefit from this, especially PSU, NU, and Wisky. The others could as well, but perhas not as much. I think it could help the whole confrence. It gives the B1G that much more exposure late in the season as well as opposed to now when many people and recuirts that don't watch games until later in the day don't see much B1G action in November. It's not like the whole B1G will be playing every game at night in November, but at least one or two B1G night games on Saturdays would be great. This has potential to add another big recruiting day as well for the schools that add night games in November. I don't see much downside to this other then the weather and temp and how much worse are those really just a few hours later on the same day? What do you guys think? Are you as excited for the possiblites as I am? Are their more pros or cons that you can think of that I haven't thought of yet?
Permanent lights at the Shoe?
Honestly who cares? The cost of renting the lights probably makes 0 difference on whether we play night games.
Say it costs 30,000 to rent the lights for a game, I bet the lights would cost 300,000 to install pluss maintenance.
I agree that we should play more night games though. I have been to 5 of the 12 night games at the shoe and can say the atmosphere is really special compared to early games.
Who said anything about cost? Was just throwing it b/c it sounds as if we are going to have quite an increase in night games. At least a much higher rate than 12 over 122 years.
Since you mentioned it, By your own cost estimates...if we have 2 night games a year now, it would make sense to buy permanent fixtures as they would pay for themselves after 5 years.
Also, I have been to 7 of the 12 night games. BURNT! WOOOOOOOOOOOO
Chief,
Is WOOOOOOO Indian talk?
WOOOOOOOO is Ric Flair talk!
I'd more like 330 games in november that end in the dark as opposed to start in the dark.....but if it comes between night and noon games im all for night games at the shoe....the place is fun to be at in that atmosphere......
I think that the later games are just better 12:00 < 3:00 < 8:00 no matter what month.
The last noon game i went to (other than UM this year) was Purdue in 2010. I had to set an alarm to go to the tailgate to watch a 49-0 snoozer. If it were at night we would have an entire day to marinate.
to me the weather excuse is lame. high school games kick off at night in November. heck, the state title games go into the first weekend December. i look forward to the first night scUM game, itll be an amazing atmosphere.
+1 I agree about the weather being a lame excuse and that's a Reall good point about the high school playoff games! And a night scUM game would be crazy?
It has more to do with the day than the time of year. I've been to UM games at the shoe when it was roughly 55 degrees (2004 ish) and when it was so cold we tailgated in the car, roughly 2000 (ish).
The temp difference between 12:00 noon and 8:00pm is what? 10-12 degrees?
If you're going to charge me a premium price for the big games they better be at night. I don't care what month it is. There was nothing better than the 2011 Wisconsin game. Hugging complete strangers after the touchdown and then rushing the field. Amazing!
I'm good with night games up until November... From that point on give me 3:30 games. That would give recruits enough time to make it up on Saturday's and also experience The Shoe when the sun goes down. Living in TN I probably won't make it to more than 1 game a year anyway , so my opinion really doesn't matter. I'll probably save my money and go to the B1G title game each year instead.
There are some very valid points concerning night games. However, the west coast advantage is greatly over exaggerated. I'm sure there are some valid numbers to back it up, but from my personal experience, football on the west coast is nothing like what the east coast and midwest is like. I actually believe noon games (9 pacific) help for viewership on the west coast. College Football mania as we all know and enjoy in Ohio really does not exist on the west coast. Here are some examples:
1. I took my family to the incredible OSU/TTUN 2002 game in Columbus. We began the day early with breakfast on campus, but made stops to "gear" up early. We then enjoyed our breakfast and revelry that is OSU football pregame until game time. The game was a marvel. Fans going crazy, teams clashing. You know the outcome. After the game we had to drive to Cleveland to go see my 90 year old parents. During that entire day, there was never a time anywhere on our travels through Ohio that we did not see the majority of people donning some sort of Scarlet and Gray. The "Michigan Still Sucks" jokes were frequent everywhere. Even the following day. My kids all commented after the trip that they had just witnessed football mania for the first time in their lives. And we had taken them to many west coast Buckeye games and many other west coast games as well. Football fans out here are far more casual that what we are accustomed to in Ohio, or for that matter any where east of the Rockies. Game days in states up and down the coast are NOTHING like what we experience in the midwest. You literally would never know your team is playing at home once you are 5 miles off campus. This is not the case in the midwest. Heck, true fans of UW and WSU football think that their rivalry is comparable to OSU/TTUN, but anyone who has actually seen the mania in Ohio and TSUN knows that there is not comparison. And, our game at noon (9 am local) actually has as good as if not better ratings than the Apple Cup played later in the day. They have even had that game moved off prime networks and shown on Fox Sports Northwest on occasion. Now, you may think that only proves your point of later games garnering better viewership, but once the day gets rolling out here, most people have many other things to do. It is far more "socially correct" to do something other than watch football in the afternoon or evening. Heck, fall weddings on Saturdays are common place out here!
2. Remember the stir when the BTN started televising games? Certain cable providers decided not to carry the network, and the uproar that occurred was heard around the nation. Well, this last year the Pac 12, or whatever they call themselves, decided to have their own network. Many games were only televised by that network, and it was only available by a few select providers. It was next to impossible to actually view one of their broadcast games. Do you recall anywhere near the outcry that ensued when a few cable companies in the midwest tried to stiff the BTN? There was hardly a whisper about it out here. Because college football just does not have the rabid following we are accustom to in the midwest.
3. Whatever college football fans they do have out here are actually pretty loyal to their own teams and league. That's just the way it is. For the most part the Pac12 fans watch Pac12 football when it is on. When OSU has played night games against other B1G teams (or non Pac12 teams) it is next to impossible to watch them in any sports bar because the Pac 12 games dominate that time slot out here. There are specific sports bars that cater to the OSU fan base - I'm sure you have seen threads on here where transplanted Buckeyes are asking where in the world can they gather to watch a game. Most sports bars may have the game on, but it will be on the small TV in the corner. And, even though many of our fans love an 8 pm game, the actual preferred time out here is 5 pm PST (gives them much more time to socialize after the game), which coincides with our 8 pm EST game time across the nation. The 8 pm PST game times are usually reserved for visiting teams from the east coast to ensure maximum travel distress for the visiting teams. My point here really is "why go head to head with west coast games when you can dominate the early time slot?" And, for what it is worth, the BIG games in the early slot draw much better that other conferences in that same time slot including the SEC. At least there is somewhat of a natural rivalry between the Pac12 and B1G to generate interest in those off Pac12 time slots.
So don't expect great ratings on the west coast for evening games. There are plenty of other good reasons to have evening games in November. This is not one of them.
It's Ohio State. Usually our November home games are Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan, etc.. I don't care if it's 0-10 degrees out. The shoe will be filled. I don't necessarily agree that having it later doesn't help on the West Coast. Maybe TV ratings don't go up that much but we're really not going for general viewership when talking about getting out of 9 o'clock starts in Cali. It's all about giving some of the top recruits a chance to see "The Game" and the like in November when normally they'd all still be asleep.
I've been to countless night games, whether it's the 2006 "The Game" or a NFL night game. They're beyond more exciting than a noon kick off. They're also 10x louder than a noon game. Gives us another advantage.
So basically you are saying that you wouldn't mind the OSU/TTUN game to be televised at the same time as USC/UCLA, Cal/Stanford, UW/WSU, Oregon/OregonSt, or AZ/ASU? I can guarantee that none of those games will be at 9 am on the west coast, but most likely several will occupy the 5 pm slot out here. And, you would be surprised how many people actually function quite well early out here, and indeed do roll out of bed to enjoy football beginning at 9 am (they watch it on TV, don't have to make the trip to the stadium). Most recruits will likely watch the school they want to go to / have interest in regardless of the broadcast time. Heck, we just brought in Marcus Baugh from CA and 3 recruits from TX (in Baugh's case, he had never even visited OSU for a game before he committed - saw them all on TV). Broadcasting time of our games seemed to work out just fine for them. And, any recruit worth their salt is usually spending their Saturdays traveling to and enjoying some game somewhere. The last thing they are going to have time for is watching another game live on TV - particularly one that is broadcast at the same time games are played live out here. (interesting enough though, they have this thing called a DVR that most HS kids use to record games and watch them at a later time).
I guess what I am really trying to say is the local game time in Columbus makes more of an impact on recruits who actually attend the game instead of watching it on TV, particularly if those recruits are from afar. I agree that there is nothing in the world like attending a night game in the shoe. But, if we were to experience that same feeling on TV, most of us would stay home to watch the game (as we all know, that is just not possible). And, we have never had a night game for TTUN, but I will compare the atmosphere for that game (when they were not coached by RR) with any game I have ever witnessed in the Shoe, afternoon or night. Like one of the posters said above, our Nov games usually involve some combination of PSU, TTUN and or WISC. The Shoe will always be packed for those games. And, the ratings in the east and the midwest are what will drive the broadcast rights up. If they are better at night, and we make a better impression on visiting recruits, it makes sense to do so. But don't think because the game is on at 5 pm instead of 9 am that you will draw a larger audience on the west coast - most fans and recruits will be watching the west coast teams at that time.
Some night games seem to get pretty good exposure for tOSU/B1G:
Other games on that day include: Miami (FL) vs. Notre Dame(30 mintue start before tOSU game), LSU at Florida, UCLA at Cal, Washington at Oregon, West Virginia at Texas, Texas A&M at Mississippi, Georgia at South Carolina, Georgia Tech at Clemson, Arizona at Stanford, Washington State at Oregon State, full schedule for that day click here.
Colder at night? Layer up. True fans don't let little things like weather get in the way.
I watched the Ohio State vs. Indiana night game on 6th street in Austin last year. Yes, Texas played earlier that day and lost badly, but the No. 22 Texas A&M at No. 23 Louisiana Tech game started an hour after the Indiana game, and even with both the Johnny Football hype starting big in Texas and the No. 3 South Carolina at No. 9 LSU game starting at the same time, there were a lot of people watching the tOSU game and it gave tOSU a lot more exposure in Texas then an earlier game would have. I doubt many people would have watched that game if it was on TV earlier, and as mentioned before, we got three guys from Texas this year...