Auburn's Sports Information folks were kind enough to get some reactions to the Iron Bowl's move to Friday for the next two years. Here's what athletic director Jay Jacobs had to say:“Moving the Iron Bowl is part of fulfilling the contractual arrangements between the Southeastern Conference and CBS. It will also be the marquee rivalry game that day and provide tremendous exposure on CBS for our program and our state.”
And head coach Gene Chizik:
“The Iron Bowl is the best rivalry in college football and the conference and CBS moving it to Friday will signify the kickoff of college football’s biggest weekend.”
Scintillating stuff. (note the sarcasm) Just judging by those quotes, I'd gather that neither Jacobs nor Chizik care what day the game is played on. It's not going to change much with the intensity the rivalry is played with.
FYI, there have been five previous Iron Bowls played on Friday in the history of the rivalry:
- November 25, 1988 (Auburn 15, Alabama 10 in Birmingham)
- November 27, 1987 (Auburn 10, Alabama 0 in Birmingham)
- November 29, 1974 (Alabama 17, Auburn 13 in Birmingham)
- October 23, 1903 (Alabama 18, Auburn 6 in Montgomery)
- November 15, 1901 (Auburn 17, Alabama 0 in Tuscaloosa)
4 comments:
.....Count me among those who HATE this! A lot of football fans have to work on Black Friday, and even more are toting shopping bags. Then you've got folks like me who get together on Thanksgiving with family. Where we gather, you can't even get one bar on your Cingular phone, much less internet! If I manage to get tickets, I'll pretty much have to skip Thanksgiving...
I hate the idea because it is a work day. It will complicate getting to the game but I understand and support the decision. If the opportunity to make more money or better showcase the game arises, you have to be a moron to not move on it. It is a business decision and after all the b$#@%ing fans will find a way to adjust. It's not the end of the world!
Terrible, terrible move...athletic department is lost in the wilderness.
This is a horrible move! How is this fair to out-of-states students (like I used to be) who would love to go but now have to choose between the biggest game of their college career and thanksgiving dinner with their family. The out-of-states students have no time to travel to the game like they did when it was on saturday. If CBS wants to move the game to friday, move it to Friday the last day of class before thanksgiving break.
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