ESPN...$....and college football...

[USFCollin]

Let's not forget why those ratings for Tues.-Thurs. football are through the roof, and it's got nothing to do with people wanting to see two .500 MAC teams slug it out in November.  It's all about the national pastime... degenerate gambling on football.  That's right, as much as the NCAA wants to rail against it, the reason we can pick up a nice check on a weeknight is because of every loser in America is trying to recover from missing their Monday night teaser which was placed to try and get even from Sunday because they laid the wood on Wannstedt and Martz which they put action on because the tout "just knew" that Stoops would run up the score on this weeks patsy.  Weeknight football isn't in the best interest of the game, it's in the best interest of offshore sportsbooks, Vegas, and, as the late Chris Thomas used to call them, "short-term investment brokers."  Can Myles Brand just call it like it is, and admit that the NCAA"s biggest moneymakers (college football and the Big Dance) aren't hugely popular just because of school spirit and wacky undergrads who paint themselves before games?  This is #863 on the hypocrisy list behind "amateur student-athlete can generate tons of income for institution, but get nothing but a scholie that works out to less than minimum wage" and "it's in the best interest of the State of Florida to have the highest paid state employee wear a whistle, smile and say 'dadgum it' a lot, and lie to High School Seniors in living rooms nationwide."

In England you get your soccer package on satellite, and with it a channel where you can bet on the games from your remote control.  Can you imagine if Direct TV offered this service?  The divorce rate would skyrocket, and shares of Papa John's/Domino's would be the hottest thing on the NASDAQ.  

[smazza]

$$$$$$ makes the world go round

[goodknightfl]

"$$$$$$ makes the world go round "

You got that one right smazz...

[dabull80]

Dam Collin, wake up on the wrong side of bed ?  You seem very cynical.  Folks are going to gamble with or without football.

[BULLheaded]

Love football during the week! It's an inconvenience a couple times a year for USF games but as long as it is known ahead of time it's no big deal. With practically nothing on TV other then reality shows, depressing dramas and a zillion CSI's its **** nice to see football. Its also nice that it isn't the usual teams shown every saturday, I really enjoy the added variety of games.

OH and collin I don't gamble either so for me it is for the exact reasons you mention don't affect the ratings.

[JeffreyBEllis]

WoolyBully:

Perhaps you should consider extending an invitation to the Boneyard Banter message forum constituents regarding TheBullsPen.Com's live chat forum proceedings.

Coming from the keyboard of a USF fan rather than an ECU fan, perhaps Pirate fans would become more inclined to accept the invitation.

[WoolyBully]

I put it on BoneyardBanter. Saw where you'd done the same on Crossbones.

Bottom Line: Seems to me that both team's boards are very unenthusiastic about this game. We're "whistlin' past the graveyard" and ECU is really - I mean reeeeeaaallllyyyy - looking forward to the NCSU game.

[JeffreyBEllis]

WoolyBully:

I appreciate your attempt to post the message on the Boneyard Banter forum and yes, I have supported TheBullsPen.Com's live chat forum on various Internet message forums.

Regarding ECU's fan base looking forward to the commencement of the NCSU game in Charlotte, this is not a surprising revelation given the fact that ECU and NCSU are bitter arch-rivals with a long, arduous track record of nastiness in our tradition-rich history.

However, ECU must focus its attention squarely upon South Florida and Memphis before concentrating on playing a respectable contest against the Wolfpack at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

I can assure you that ECU is not overlooking USF in any fashion, particularly after last season in which many Pirate fans believe that Rosie Amato's officiating crew acquiesced a victory onto the laurels of the South Florida Bulls.

Moreover, ECU middle linebacker Chris Moore suffered a severe knee injury in 2002 against South Florida in Greenville which left him out of action for the remainder of the 2002 campaign and the 2003 season, respectively. Hence, there is an ample amount of motivational sources for ECU to play well against USF tonight.

Enjoy the game. Irrespective of the final result, I am anticipating a wonderful display of class, dignity and esteemed sportmanship shortly thereafter.