St Pete Bowl Maybe Not...

[Blackice12]

Even though it seems inevitable there could be a chance USF does not go to the St Pete Bowl.  If USF continues to struggle for the rest of the season and goes 0-3, the St Pete Bowl committee may look to another Big East team to fill the slot due to lack of fan support.  The Bowl Committee also makes commitments to local restaurants and hotels which a lot of USF fans may not utilize.

[Compute-a-bull]

How much non-FL attendance do they expect for this thing exactly?

For instance, the Sun Bowl was undoubtedly made up of mostly local fans masquerading as USF/Oregon fans (which is fine), they certainly didn't use many hotels. I know the hotels were booked up pretty good (at least mine was), but it wasn't 50K Oregon/USF fans at the game, I wouldn't even say it was 10-20K combined.

At least if USF went to the bowl we'd fill the place up and make great use of the restaurants nearby. The hotel capacity may not be all that high, but face it, not many Memphis/Rutgers fans (for instance) would show up in droves, it'd be a lot of locals going to watch the game. Or it'd be an empty stadium, one of the two. Neither of which would contribute more to local business than we would.

I just don't see any fans attending this (new, ******) bowl with much enthusiasm unless its USF and/or UCF. It doesn't look like UCF will even become bowl eligible though (need to go 4-1 starting tonight), so that leaves us.

[theman123]

For attendance purposes, lets take a gander at all of these BE teams that could fill our place.

West Virginia- Would be a huge disappointment, waste of money for a lot of fans.  Before christams, why bother.

UConn- They don't have a very established fan base to start, could be an okay bowl for them, but still thats what 1,000 miles to travel.

Cincy- As for UConn an okay bowl, but same with them, why travel so far for a pre christmas bowl.

ULouisville-  Would probably have the largest in attendance, I think the closest to St. Pete(I don't know exactly, WVU may be closer), but still, this again is an unattractive bowl for less than wealthy that don't care to much.

Pitt- Would be almost as bad for them as the Int Bowl would be for us.

RU- Such a far travel for a pre-christams bowl,  same with most teams.

I'm just saying, this is just a huge travel for a lot of teams, especially since its a pre christmas bowl

[smazza]

i dont think the last place big east team(usf) would be going to any bowl

[BrandonUSFSig]

Many USF fans who would normally attend a respectable bowl game may not attend a St. Pete Bowl to celebrate what would certainly be a mediocre season at best. If the team isn't able/willing to coach/play to its fullest potential, why should the fans?

[No_Willie_Jokes_Yet]

i dont think

^^Fixed it for you.^^^

[MikeG]

Many USF fans who would normally attend a respectable bowl game may not attend a St. Pete Bowl to celebrate what would certainly be a mediocre season at best. If the team isn't able/willing to coach/play to its fullest potential, why should the fans?

assuming we win a few more games-- and we end up playing someone interesting from CUSA or elsewhere (they do not have many teams already qualified for a bowl yet out of CUSA)-- I can see some serious interest from our fans in a game like that.

let's just see how it pans out. We can sit here and complain and worry about our team for two weeks or we can just wait for the next game. Put me in the latter category

[WoolyBully]

Same here...and lets face it. The ESPN St. Peetie Let's Fill Three Hours of Broadcast Time Bowl  is one more game...even just one...that would be hard to skip, regardless of opponent. Of course, I'd like to think that it doesn't become a habit...

[Sunil]

For attendance purposes, lets take a gander at all of these BE teams that could fill our place.

West Virginia- Would be a huge disappointment, waste of money for a lot of fans.  Before christams, why bother.

UConn- They don't have a very established fan base to start, could be an okay bowl for them, but still thats what 1,000 miles to travel.

Cincy- As for UConn an okay bowl, but same with them, why travel so far for a pre christmas bowl.

ULouisville-  Would probably have the largest in attendance, I think the closest to St. Pete(I don't know exactly, WVU may be closer), but still, this again is an unattractive bowl for less than wealthy that don't care to much.

Pitt- Would be almost as bad for them as the Int Bowl would be for us.

RU- Such a far travel for a pre-christams bowl,  same with most teams.

I'm just saying, this is just a huge travel for a lot of teams, especially since its a pre christmas bowl

Don't sell RU and WVU short. RU has a decent number of Alumni in this state who would happily make the short drive over to see them. As for WVU, it would be a dissapointment...but the Eers fanbase is one of the more loyal groups in the conference. Neither would pack the stadium like USF...but I think they'd have a decent turnout.

[JoeB]

Sunil is right.  WVU has the best fans in our conference, as far as when it comes to travelling to bowl games.