Another 12:30 football kickoff Saturday, another breakfast tailgate. More of the same again next week.
No sleeping in on those days. Arriving at the stadium three hours before kickoff, leaving the house between 8:30 and 9. Forced out of bed two hours early to get the food and accessories together. Pity the organizers of our tailgate group who don’t have that luxury, arriving much earlier than we do.
The early starts take much of the fun out of game day, forcing fans and players alike to adapt their routines to a television schedule. The games are so early that nobody is really ready for them. A major hassle for people who stay out late on Friday evenings, the telecasts providing an inducement for them to stay home.
TV scheduling these days means you have to keep your plans on hold, sometimes until only a little more than a week ahead of time before the time is announced. The personal schedules of fans don’t matter to the networks. Noon games all but kill the game day experience and they put a serious crimp in meaningful pre-game tailgating.
No wonder there are empty seats at many venues. That would be true whether it’s the University of Louisville, Alabama or Ohio State. Noon is just too early. However, Alabama and Ohio State don’t have to deal with noon kickoffs because they are national contenders. There is no comparison between the atmosphere of an early afternoon kickoff and that of a night game.
Pity the poor players, forced to get physical before they’re wide awake, playing before less than capacity crowds. Any wonder the games get off in crazy ways sometimes, some teams often seeming to lack focus during the first half.
Unfortunately, the noon kickoffs are going to be with us for a while, or at least until UofL football gets back on the national radar again. The popularity of college football means that the networks can expect an audience no matter who’s playing, including the also-rans in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Some fans want to blame the University for agreeing to the morning kickoffs as if UofL had any choice in the matter, an acquaintance caustically accusing the school of “whoring out the fan base” for TV time. The truth is that league game times are actually decided in concert by the networks and ACC officials.
Let’s face it. A UofL-Syracuse matchup this season is not attractive to anyone outside the two universities. But it’s still college football, America’s favorite spectator sports, and there will always be a national audience needing to be fed.
No choice but to grin and bear it until Bobby Petrino makes UofL football a contender again.
“…grin and bare it…”
Bare it!?! Are we talking drop trou here? OK, let’s have a mass mooning of ESPN! Let ’em know how we really feel, eh? (Just having some fun at your expense, Charlie!)
Not a bad idea, Tom, but a Freudian slip. Thanks for alerting me.