Worst Bowl Names

[K-Roo]

Worst College Football Bowl NamesThe GMAC Bowl. (Central Michigan v. Troy, Jan. 6, Mobile, Ala.) Would anybody tune in to watch something called the AIG Bowl? Well GMAC is barely in better shape. This troubled lender has received $12.5 billion in taxpayer bailout money and is one of only a few big companies still limping along, unable to pay back the money. Somebody please explain how this sorry performance exemplifies the ideals of college athletics.The Roady's Humanitarian Bowl. (Bowling Green v. Idaha, Dec. 30, Boise.) Good sportsmanship, which this bowl promotes, wouldn't be the same without a corporate sponsor. And when Americans think of humanitarianism, the first thing that comes to mind is a Roady's truck stop.

[zen]

Seriously, the NCAA has no idea how cheap and hokie this stuff makes them look.I remember when I was a kid, new years day was all about the Rose bowl, orange, sugar, cotton, and it had a level of prestige and pageantry.

[g-mann17]

Seriously, the NCAA has no idea how cheap and hokie this stuff makes them look.I remember when I was a kid, new years day was all about the Rose bowl, orange, sugar, cotton, and it had a level of prestige and pageantry.

and each of those bowls were presented byRose - Pasadena department of tourismOrange - Orange growers association of AmericaSugar - Sugar industry of AmericaCotton - Cotton industry of AmericaBowls have always been corporately sponsored. It's just now they are done by companies like FedEx, Allstate, and Meineke instead of natural resource conglomerates.

[zen]

Seriously, the NCAA has no idea how cheap and hokie this stuff makes them look.I remember when I was a kid, new years day was all about the Rose bowl, orange, sugar, cotton, and it had a level of prestige and pageantry.

and each of those bowls were presented byRose - Pasadena department of tourismOrange - Orange growers association of AmericaSugar - Sugar industry of AmericaCotton - Cotton industry of AmericaBowls have always been corporately sponsored. It's just now they are done by companies like FedEx, Allstate, and Meineke instead of natural resource conglomerates.

But the names were geographic amorphisms. Everyone knew they grew oranges in Florida. It wasn't the Sunkist TM pulp-free orange-juice bowl.

[g-mann17]

Seriously, the NCAA has no idea how cheap and hokie this stuff makes them look.I remember when I was a kid, new years day was all about the Rose bowl, orange, sugar, cotton, and it had a level of prestige and pageantry.

and each of those bowls were presented byRose - Pasadena department of tourismOrange - Orange growers association of AmericaSugar - Sugar industry of AmericaCotton - Cotton industry of AmericaBowls have always been corporately sponsored. It's just now they are done by companies like FedEx, Allstate, and Meineke instead of natural resource conglomerates.

But the names were geographic amorphisms. Everyone knew they grew oranges in Florida. It wasn't the Sunkist TM pulp-free orange-juice bowl.

Then you are really just complaining about naming, which would be a great stance if we didn't play our home games at Infocision Stadium-Summa Field and all those rich people didn't have to pass through the House of LaRose Lobby on their way to the FirstMerit Foundation Club Level.For the most part do you say "It's time to watch the Allstate Sugar Bowl" or "It's time to watch the Sugar Bowl"?I'm going to bet that 99.95% of everyone says the latter. It's a necessary evil that effects almost no one, because it doesn't change the day to day for anyone. Heck I say the Info, or "ready to go campus for the game".

[Z.I.P.]

Worst College Football Bowl NamesThe GMAC Bowl. (Central Michigan v. Troy, Jan. 6, Mobile, Ala.) Would anybody tune in to watch something called the AIG Bowl? Well GMAC is barely in better shape. This troubled lender has received $12.5 billion in taxpayer bailout money and is one of only a few big companies still limping along, unable to pay back the money. Somebody please explain how this sorry performance exemplifies the ideals of college athletics.The Roady's Humanitarian Bowl. (Bowling Green v. Idaha, Dec. 30, Boise.) Good sportsmanship, which this bowl promotes, wouldn't be the same without a corporate sponsor. And when Americans think of humanitarianism, the first thing that comes to mind is a Roady's truck stop.

Manchester United's title sponsor: AIG. Of course it didn't take long last year for an enterprising entrepreneur to come up with T-shirts with the identical graphic spelled "I-O-U". Love it!

[zen]

Seriously, the NCAA has no idea how cheap and hokie this stuff makes them look.I remember when I was a kid, new years day was all about the Rose bowl, orange, sugar, cotton, and it had a level of prestige and pageantry.

and each of those bowls were presented byRose - Pasadena department of tourismOrange - Orange growers association of AmericaSugar - Sugar industry of AmericaCotton - Cotton industry of AmericaBowls have always been corporately sponsored. It's just now they are done by companies like FedEx, Allstate, and Meineke instead of natural resource conglomerates.

But the names were geographic amorphisms. Everyone knew they grew oranges in Florida. It wasn't the Sunkist TM pulp-free orange-juice bowl.

Then you are really just complaining about naming, which would be a great stance if we didn't play our home games at Infocision Stadium-Summa Field and all those rich people didn't have to pass through the House of LaRose Lobby on their way to the FirstMerit Foundation Club Level.For the most part do you say "It's time to watch the Allstate Sugar Bowl" or "It's time to watch the Sugar Bowl"?I'm going to bet that 99.95% of everyone says the latter. It's a necessary evil that effects almost no one, because it doesn't change the day to day for anyone. Heck I say the Info, or "ready to go campus for the game".

I think the comparisson between brand names sponsoring bowl games and sports venues are different.... though to tell you the truth, a venue would probably seem somewhat less tainted and perhaps more a true community asset if it did not have the whored out names. I had considered bringing up the sports venue issue in my earlier post, because I anticipated your response. Shame on me for being lazy.

[g-mann17]

Seriously, the NCAA has no idea how cheap and hokie this stuff makes them look.I remember when I was a kid, new years day was all about the Rose bowl, orange, sugar, cotton, and it had a level of prestige and pageantry.

and each of those bowls were presented byRose - Pasadena department of tourismOrange - Orange growers association of AmericaSugar - Sugar industry of AmericaCotton - Cotton industry of AmericaBowls have always been corporately sponsored. It's just now they are done by companies like FedEx, Allstate, and Meineke instead of natural resource conglomerates.

But the names were geographic amorphisms. Everyone knew they grew oranges in Florida. It wasn't the Sunkist TM pulp-free orange-juice bowl.

Then you are really just complaining about naming, which would be a great stance if we didn't play our home games at Infocision Stadium-Summa Field and all those rich people didn't have to pass through the House of LaRose Lobby on their way to the FirstMerit Foundation Club Level.For the most part do you say "It's time to watch the Allstate Sugar Bowl" or "It's time to watch the Sugar Bowl"?I'm going to bet that 99.95% of everyone says the latter. It's a necessary evil that effects almost no one, because it doesn't change the day to day for anyone. Heck I say the Info, or "ready to go campus for the game".

I think the comparisson between brand names sponsoring bowl games and sports venues are different.... though to tell you the truth, a venue would probably seem somewhat less tainted and perhaps more a true community asset if it did not have the whored out names. I had considered bringing up the sports venue issue in my earlier post, because I anticipated your response. Shame on me for being lazy.

I don't really see how you can say they are different. If anything it's worse. You go to any concert or event and it's sponsored "Metallica brought to you by Seven Seas." But considering it's what you have to do to get money, so be it. Call the restrooms Jimmy John's if it makes it less burden on the school, and let the football team play well enough to get an invite to the McDonald's Big Mac Bowl. And trust me, the NCAA loves the money flow.

[Dave in Green]

Economics 101 says someone has to pay the bills. So how about dumping all the sponsors and charging more for tickets? No one would object to higher-priced tickets in order to remove the commercial names and return to the purity of the past, would they?

[zen]

Understood and Agreed.Even so, it doesn't change the fact that it makes the game seem cheaper, less pure and less prestigious... particularly those bowl games. Just look at that list in the thread topic post.

[ZippyTuba11]

It's just as stupid for the bowls as it is for Infocision stadium. The guy naming out stadium could have named it anything he wants, but decided to plug in his own company name. It's just not classy.Why can't they come up with a good name, then just let the sponsor plug away advertisements in the stadium/on air for free?I still think everybody is still going to know who the sponsor is for the Peach Bowl by the annoying level of ads anyway, without going all out and renaming the bowl to the Chic-Fil-A Bowl. I rarely go to Chic-Fil-A anyway, but their whoring out of the bowl name makes me want to go there even less during bowl season.

[GP1]

It's just as stupid for the bowls as it is for Infocision stadium. The guy naming out stadium could have named it anything he wants, but decided to plug in his own company name. It's just not classy.

I don't have a problem with the name of our stadium.As far as it being classy, InfoCision made a large part of their money in religious fundraising scaring little old ladies into giving $25 at a time and pocketing almost all of that money. We gladly took the money from a not so classy business. Let's not kid ourselves about where that money came from.

[g-mann17]

It's just as stupid for the bowls as it is for Infocision stadium. The guy naming out stadium could have named it anything he wants, but decided to plug in his own company name. It's just not classy.

I don't have a problem with the name of our stadium.As far as it being classy, InfoCision made a large part of their money in religious fundraising scaring little old ladies into giving $25 at a time and pocketing almost all of that money. We gladly took the money from a not so classy business. Let's not kid ourselves about where that money came from.

To add with what GP1 is saying, look at any stadium and look at where the money came from, it is hardly ever "classy".

[ctmjbowes@sbcglobal.net]

To take it one step further, consider that athletics as a spectator endeavour, at any level, is nothing more than entertainment. We don't pay ticket prices for the goodness of it. We pay to be entertained. The exploitative aspects (naming rights, PSLs, outrageous ticket prices while also being forced to witness product placement and advertisements, logos all over uniforms, etc., etc.) will escalate until people stop paying attention. How long do you suppose it will be before 'mericans stop paying rabid attention to football?

[zen]

To take it one step further, consider that athletics as a spectator endeavour, at any level, is nothing more than entertainment. We don't pay ticket prices for the goodness of it. We pay to be entertained. The exploitative aspects (naming rights, PSLs, outrageous ticket prices while also being forced to witness product placement and advertisements, logos all over uniforms, etc., etc.) will escalate until people stop paying attention. How long do you suppose it will be before 'mericans stop paying rabid attention to football?

To be perfectly honest, I am not nearly the fan of pro football that I used to be. The process has been gradual over the years, but I can remember a time in my life when watching an NFL game was a fun event for me. What it has turned into now is a struggle for me to watch a commercial-fest with sporadic periods of football sprinkled in between.

[GP1]

To take it one step further, consider that athletics as a spectator endeavour, at any level, is nothing more than entertainment. We don't pay ticket prices for the goodness of it. We pay to be entertained. The exploitative aspects (naming rights, PSLs, outrageous ticket prices while also being forced to witness product placement and advertisements, logos all over uniforms, etc., etc.) will escalate until people stop paying attention. How long do you suppose it will be before 'mericans stop paying rabid attention to football?

To be perfectly honest, I am not nearly the fan of pro football that I used to be. The process has been gradual over the years, but I can remember a time in my life when watching an NFL game was a fun event for me. What it has turned into now is a struggle for me to watch a commercial-fest with sporadic periods of football sprinkled in between.

Do you guys realize the name Zips was from a sponsorship of a local rubber producer? We should all be careful to think that sports has not always been about money. It has.

[g-mann17]

To take it one step further, consider that athletics as a spectator endeavour, at any level, is nothing more than entertainment. We don't pay ticket prices for the goodness of it. We pay to be entertained. The exploitative aspects (naming rights, PSLs, outrageous ticket prices while also being forced to witness product placement and advertisements, logos all over uniforms, etc., etc.) will escalate until people stop paying attention. How long do you suppose it will be before 'mericans stop paying rabid attention to football?

To be perfectly honest, I am not nearly the fan of pro football that I used to be. The process has been gradual over the years, but I can remember a time in my life when watching an NFL game was a fun event for me. What it has turned into now is a struggle for me to watch a commercial-fest with sporadic periods of football sprinkled in between.

Do you guys realize the name Zips was from a sponsorship of a local rubber producer? We should all be careful to think that sports has not always been about money. It has.

Packers were formally a "project" of the Indian Packing company and the team name was derived from that.It has always been about money, and sports (which generates a great captive audience) is a good place to market so money is pumped into it. I think if Zen is having trouble with the NFL, he must be having trouble with NCAA, and all other sports as well. And you probably mistake what happened in your youth because during commercials you were running around like any kid would be.

[zen]

To take it one step further, consider that athletics as a spectator endeavour, at any level, is nothing more than entertainment. We don't pay ticket prices for the goodness of it. We pay to be entertained. The exploitative aspects (naming rights, PSLs, outrageous ticket prices while also being forced to witness product placement and advertisements, logos all over uniforms, etc., etc.) will escalate until people stop paying attention. How long do you suppose it will be before 'mericans stop paying rabid attention to football?

To be perfectly honest, I am not nearly the fan of pro football that I used to be. The process has been gradual over the years, but I can remember a time in my life when watching an NFL game was a fun event for me. What it has turned into now is a struggle for me to watch a commercial-fest with sporadic periods of football sprinkled in between.

Do you guys realize the name Zips was from a sponsorship of a local rubber producer? We should all be careful to think that sports has not always been about money. It has.

Is that right? I thought the story was that they had a vote and they chose something local at the time, and the zipper won.I'm not sure I'd have voted for that, but it's not unlike calling yourself the Seminoles because that's a recognizable regional indigenous tribe. And again, I had no problem with the NCAA allowing the Orange growers association sponsoring the orange bowl. Again, oranges are symbollic of florida. That's entirely different in my book from having the brand name of a muffler or snack chips on your bowl name.... and yes G-mann, I do have a problem with the NCAA, but like the NFL I deal with it. They haven't warded me off completely (yet). I don't go around burning a torch and making it my life's goal to complain about how the commercialism is going beyond just tainting the purity of the game and getting to the point of quashing the game atmosphere enough to drive people away. I can handle just walking away from it some day.... or more as it has really gone, just slowly losing more and more interest over the years. But it's a topic related to this thread topic, so I just wanted to get my opinion across about it.

[Spin]

Money makes the world go round and sponsorships, no matter how obnoxious at times, no matter what effect they have on the sport, are a necessity.Signed,Auto Racing Fan

[zen]

Money makes the world go round and sponsorships, no matter how obnoxious at times, no matter what effect they have on the sport, are a necessity.Signed,Auto Racing Fan

Touché

[Zipmeister]

It's just as stupid for the bowls as it is for Infocision stadium. The guy naming out stadium could have named it anything he wants, but decided to plug in his own company name. It's just not classy.Why can't they come up with a good name, then just let the sponsor plug away advertisements in the stadium/on air for free?I still think everybody is still going to know who the sponsor is for the Peach Bowl by the annoying level of ads anyway, without going all out and renaming the bowl to the Chic-Fil-A Bowl. I rarely go to Chic-Fil-A anyway, but their whoring out of the bowl name makes me want to go there even less during bowl season.

I understand that at one point he considered naming it Obama Stadium, but the architects concluded that the stadium would end up tilted so far to the left that everyone would fall out of their seats.

[GP1]

It's just as stupid for the bowls as it is for Infocision stadium. The guy naming out stadium could have named it anything he wants, but decided to plug in his own company name. It's just not classy.Why can't they come up with a good name, then just let the sponsor plug away advertisements in the stadium/on air for free?I still think everybody is still going to know who the sponsor is for the Peach Bowl by the annoying level of ads anyway, without going all out and renaming the bowl to the Chic-Fil-A Bowl. I rarely go to Chic-Fil-A anyway, but their whoring out of the bowl name makes me want to go there even less during bowl season.

I understand that at one point he considered naming it Obama Stadium, but the architects concluded that the stadium would end up tilted so far to the left that everyone would fall out of their seats.

Good point. I had heard they were going to name it Republican Party Stadium in honor of a lot of the fundraising InfoCision does, but then they realized the stadium would still lean to the left. Just not as much as if they named it Obama Stadium.

[g-mann17]

It's just as stupid for the bowls as it is for Infocision stadium. The guy naming out stadium could have named it anything he wants, but decided to plug in his own company name. It's just not classy.Why can't they come up with a good name, then just let the sponsor plug away advertisements in the stadium/on air for free?I still think everybody is still going to know who the sponsor is for the Peach Bowl by the annoying level of ads anyway, without going all out and renaming the bowl to the Chic-Fil-A Bowl. I rarely go to Chic-Fil-A anyway, but their whoring out of the bowl name makes me want to go there even less during bowl season.

I understand that at one point he considered naming it Obama Stadium, but the architects concluded that the stadium would end up tilted so far to the left that everyone would fall out of their seats.

Good point. I had heard they were going to name it Republican Party Stadium in honor of a lot of the fundraising InfoCision does, but then they realized the stadium would still lean to the left. Just not as much as if they named it Obama Stadium.

See I heard they were originally going to name it honor of Cheney, but they felt that Palpatine Stadium didn't roll of the tongue like Infocision.

[zen]

It's just as stupid for the bowls as it is for Infocision stadium. The guy naming out stadium could have named it anything he wants, but decided to plug in his own company name. It's just not classy.Why can't they come up with a good name, then just let the sponsor plug away advertisements in the stadium/on air for free?I still think everybody is still going to know who the sponsor is for the Peach Bowl by the annoying level of ads anyway, without going all out and renaming the bowl to the Chic-Fil-A Bowl. I rarely go to Chic-Fil-A anyway, but their whoring out of the bowl name makes me want to go there even less during bowl season.

I understand that at one point he considered naming it Obama Stadium, but the architects concluded that the stadium would end up tilted so far to the left that everyone would fall out of their seats.

Good point. I had heard they were going to name it Republican Party Stadium in honor of a lot of the fundraising InfoCision does, but then they realized the stadium would still lean to the left. Just not as much as if they named it Obama Stadium.

See I heard they were originally going to name it honor of Cheney, but they felt that Palpatine Stadium didn't roll of the tongue like Infocision.

Yes, they could have named the superdome in new orleans after the evil emperor's power to steer hurricane katrina too.

[g-mann17]

It's just as stupid for the bowls as it is for Infocision stadium. The guy naming out stadium could have named it anything he wants, but decided to plug in his own company name. It's just not classy.Why can't they come up with a good name, then just let the sponsor plug away advertisements in the stadium/on air for free?I still think everybody is still going to know who the sponsor is for the Peach Bowl by the annoying level of ads anyway, without going all out and renaming the bowl to the Chic-Fil-A Bowl. I rarely go to Chic-Fil-A anyway, but their whoring out of the bowl name makes me want to go there even less during bowl season.

I understand that at one point he considered naming it Obama Stadium, but the architects concluded that the stadium would end up tilted so far to the left that everyone would fall out of their seats.

Good point. I had heard they were going to name it Republican Party Stadium in honor of a lot of the fundraising InfoCision does, but then they realized the stadium would still lean to the left. Just not as much as if they named it Obama Stadium.

See I heard they were originally going to name it honor of Cheney, but they felt that Palpatine Stadium didn't roll of the tongue like Infocision.

Yes, they could have named the superdome in new orleans after the evil emperor's power to steer hurricane katrina too.

You say evil emperor, I say "Uniter of the Republic" got rid of almost all those bleeding heart Jedi too.