#Hokies AD Whit Babcock says he's communicated with ACC office about three straight midday kickoffs. Not great for business or for fans.— Mike Barber (@RTD_MikeBarber) September 24, 2014
This is a man that just knows what the hell he's doing. If he limits nooners then he could play Sandstorm on loop during the entire game and I would not care one bit.
Sadly we must deal with this issue for most of this year before we see a change.
My question is, would you rather have a noon televised game or a later kickoff yet it only be shown on something like ESPN3?
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Personally, and perhaps selfishly, I'd rather have a later game even if not televised or not televised as well. But I won't comment on what is best for recruiting, etc. I just enjoy later games more than noon games. You can only have so many keds and eggs before you are left wanting more time to drink, party, have fun, eat, etc....
Just my $0.02.
Later kickoffs. I'd prefer improved atmosphere (and team performance, it seems) over more TV exposure.
ACC wants everybody on TV somewhere. Wake Forest/Army was on TV. Just the way it is.
If the Hokies don't want noon starts, don't fall behind ECU by 21 in the 1st qtr, and don't lose the game against a TRIPLE OPTION team on 4th and bleeping 15.
We were given a noon start against GT after just knocking off the #8 team in the country and before the bye week immediately after
With improved performance, TV exposure will come. Then we can have our cake (or pie) AND eat it too.
Cookies
Pie is the ONLY correct answer.
Cheesecake #TeamHybridDesserts
Ok. I understand summer is ending now (or soon for those lower states) but it all about TEAM ICE CREAM (btw, you can mix cookies, pie or cake with it)
At this point in the season, it isn't really up to Whit to make the team better.
Of course he does.
Later, but for selfish reasons. Too much soccer/responsibility during noon games. I can make it home and enjoy some beers and football later in the day while finding it online if need be. Whatever allows us to win, I'm all for. And this year the noon'ish games don't look to be producing; beer-wise or win-wise.
Whit definitely has his finger on the pulse of the Hokie Nation
Ya know, its about damn time we stood up for ourselves when it came to ACC scheduling. We carried this damn conference for the better part of a decade keeping everyone somewhat relevant while the likes of FSU, Clemson, and Miami tried to get their acts together, and the thanks we got was a bunch of noon games and a crossover rivalry with lowly BC scheduled by the conference itself (in collaboration with Raycom & ESPN). There's no reason we shouldn't have more 3:30 kickoffs and a yearly Saturday night game for our biggest home game if not for the fact that we've been a complete yes man and haven't started throwing our weight around. I'm glad to see we're finally putting our foot down about it. The march of the nooners has to stop.
As team deemed "most desireable" for SEC expansion, I feel like we defniitely have some weight that we have not been throwing around enough. Agreed 100%
This comment x100.
FWIW googling "preach gif" came up with numerous interesting results. I was definitely more entertained looking through those than I should have been.
I prefer a mix. I don't like noon kickoffs all the time, but if we lose at noon I can generally get over it by bedtime. If we win, I don't have to. For all late games, it ends up ending at like midnight and I can't get to sleep until like 230.
And since I just turned in my cable box, anything that isn't televised on ABC in PA (aka none of our games) will have to be on ESPN3/phreak for me anyway. On a computer without a functioning sound card.
So whatever.
Hdmi to tv?
At least you won't wake up your neighhhhh-bors.
...I'll see myself out.
Google Chromecast
I don't pay for cable, and chromecast has changed my sports viewing experience this season.
Right now I'm streaming SportsCenter onto my TV while eating breakfast, and it is a beautiful thing.
ABC is the only broadcast channel you can get?
No but we don't play at Notre Dame or Navy, so NBC is out.
We don't play against anyone with a Fox contract (PAC12... and Big 12?), so they're out.
And we aren't in the SEC, so CBS is out unless we play in the Sun Bowl again.
There's a local channel that plays a game each week, too, but I seem to see Wofford playing Delaware every week on that channel.
Plus ABC usually gives me a second or third tier choice of Big Ten noon/330 games anyway.
So, ESPN3 or phreak
stream2watch bro. install adblocker though. just about every sporting event you can imagine and live tv streams.
I was thinking that if you had a digital antenna, you could get the ACC Network affiliate over the air. Especially if you didn't want to hear ESPN's interns calling our games.
God bless VTPhreak
I'm the complete opposite of you when it comes to video equipment.
It was all about realizing that I was paying Comcast 75$/mo to watch ESPN and South Park reruns.
And South Park reruns are free online. Free South Park
Right, so the only thing I sacrifice is the ESPN family, which I only used for college football anyway.
I still get the SEC game on CBS, a couple ABC games (noon and 8 pm normally), and when Notre Dame plays at home, I get those. Now that Fox has jumped into the fray, I get some Pac12, too, but I don't get to choose which games I watch anymore.
But I don't get GameDay. Bummer.
If you have WiFi in the stable, use the Watch ESPN app.
or use Phreak's access online
If the options are Noon ESPN national, Noon ESPN regional, Noon/Noon-thirty Raycom, or later ESPN3, my order of preference is later ESPN3 followed closely by Noon ESPN national, then ESPN regional, and way down the line Raycom. My preferred game time slot is around 3:30.
Ditto.
Later Kickoff.
My theory is that a later kickoff is generally better for the local Blacksburg/SW VA economy. Later kickoffs mean more people show up early, spend more time/money downtown, will grab a meal at a local establishment, and potentially stay the night. Lots of people stay the night on noon kickoffs, but I feel nooners can mean more up-and-back trips for fans. It can difficult for some of the Northern VA, RIC, and 757 to come up the night before a noon game unless they take a half-day vacation.
With regards to stimulating the town of Blacksburg, a mid afternoon (between 3 and 4) kickoff gives the opportunity for people to buy all 3 meals in Blacksburg. But Noon games do allow for day trips for fans in all the areas you mentioned if they are willing to forfeit tailgating.
Yes - Ideally, 3-4p kickoffs are a great time for games: Plenty of time to grab stuff from the bookstore/downtown/etc, plenty of time to tailgate, and then the game ends at the perfect time to catch a dinner somewhere in town and have rails to celebrate.
Glad to see that Whit speak up against skin cancer aka the noon kickoff. As a pasty white man, I loathe the noon kickoff for all the usual reasons and then some.
As to the question, get rid of them period.
A) Ain't nothing like Lane at night.
B) If we are playing a decent team, it will more than likely be televised. If we're playing low level teams at noon, who is going to watch us but Hokie fans and fans of the other team? Let's just be honest here.
C) Later kickoffs keep people in Blacksburg longer, bringing more money into our beloved Burg.
D) More time to tailgate!!!
E) More time to tailgate!!!
F) Did I mention more time to tailgate?!!!
G) The sun doesn't like pasty kids such as myself.
H) Speaking as a married man, people who can't make it to the game might find it easier to work on honey-do lists and then catch the game. The wife's happier, everyone's happier.
Haha. H - so true!
Sunscreen my friend, and a hat.... especially if you are in east or north
Somewhere during tailgating the importance of sunscreen becomes lost on me.
It can never be lost on me. I've used SPF 30 and reapplied every couple hours of sun exposure, and still come away from game day pink.
This last game, I ran out of sunscreen and my friend was like "We need to pick up sunscreen, too." He reached for the 30, and I told him 50 or I will burn.
Maybe you're not drinking enough for it to be lost on you.
Maybe I'm drinking too much.
Nah!!!
Also, I'm just gonna go ahead and say it. Whit is positioning us for a Black Friday night game against UVa
Gawd - lets hope so.
Myself and several others are interested in going if it is later than a 2pm start time. As much as i love Blacksburg, spending Thanksgiving night in Blacksburg is just not happening.
I stated the same thing, sort of, in the 'Miami game moved to 8pm kickoff' thread.
I sure hope so. It would be tough to drive down there the morning of for a noon game.
As of right now, there aren't any night games scheduled for that Friday. Stanford vs. UCLA is a 3:30 kickoff. Nebraska vs. Iowa seems like a big matchup that should be a night game. However, last year there were two games that kicked off between 7 and 8 pm, in 2012 there were 4, and in 2011 there was one (one kicked off at 10pm).
3:30 eastern is 12:30 pacific, so they have a local nooner. East coast nooners are 9:00 pacific. Who's going to watch that?
Nooners do not help with national exposure.
If we're gonna be on at noon, I'd rather be on ESPN itself. That way it's on right after Gameday for those too lazy to change the channel.
Plus, they usually have the actual kickoff already teed up by the time the broadcast starts, so there's not a lot of waiting around for that normal broadcast intro BS:
Fowler: "We're sending it to Blacksburg!"
Game announcer: "You're watching the ACC on ESPN. It's a beautiful fall day in Lane Stadium where we have the Yellowjackets of Georgia Tech playing the Virginia Tech Hokies! Hokies have won the toss and opted to defer."
KICK!
However if the game is on at 12 broadcast misses/doesn't show enter sandman and that's the best damn part of the broadcast IMO... Other than actual gameplay.
While I like seeing Sandman, the only time it ever gets respect is on Thursday night games, when they actually have time to show everything. Most of the time, there's usually something going on over Sandman.
The worst case was on an ACC Network broadcast, they still have their stupid studio music playing as they cut to Lane and you can hear Sandman, and the announcer says "Ah, the best entrance in college football!" Then shut up and let me hear it, morons!
Dream scenario (for me):
Blackout theme for the game
Get blackout drunk during the tailgate
Make it into the game and cheer my ass off for the Hokies without knowing it
Come out of the blackout to a Hokie's win
Don't black out for the games, especially the UVa game. You don't want to be so drunk you don't remember the eventual epic beatdown we put on them this November for #11.
I was mostly just joking. I love me some tailgating and getting really drunk during it, but I like to be kind of sober during the game, so I try to slow down during the end of the tailgate.
I actually was concussed in a motorcycle accident in 2011 on the same day as the Duke basketball game. When I was recovering that night in the hospital, my dad got to tell me the good news again and again and again and...
I dug deep into the atlHOkie imgur vault for this one:
just used this recently but i love it.
I want to downvote Jim Weaver.....
Here are the games that are yet to be decided on when it comes to the UVA game:
My only worry is that they have a 3:30 slot filled with Stanford/UCLA, so they definitely won't want to put Nebraska/Iowa at noon due to their location. That leaves a night game, and it could easily be us (or it could be ECU- fighting for a New Year's 6 bowl) playing at noon.
Our best case scenario is that ESPN wants a late night game and Nebraska/Iowa gets pushed back to 10pm Eastern and they have 2 slots for 7/8pm games. I would be pumped for a 730 ESPNU game. Are you listening e$pn?
Whit slipped up in the RIC Hokie Club Kickoff Dinner and said that we were approached to play in the "Friday Night" game against UVA. Certainly times are subject to change but the intent was to be a night game.
I completely discount the theory that Whit 'slipped up' in making any comment whatsoever. he is EXTREMELY savvy about public statements. There is a huge difference in tossing a nugget to the faithful who listen closely, and in 'slipping up'. Nobody in their right mind would want a noon or mid-afternoon slot on Black Friday. A significant portion of the fan base would be crippled by that(due to certain spousal shopping preferences).
Whit knew exactly what he was saying, and multiple other instances of him 'revealing' details in advance of official announcements have already proven that Whit knows how to feed the multitudes with parcels of select information.
tossing a nugget sounds like a euphemism for something I very much doubt Whit would do to a donor.
Yeah. Not my point. The point was it was leaked that it is to be a night game during the event I attended. No emphasis on Whit's intent or lack there of.
I would hope for the sake of the poor Iowa'ers that the game is not being played after 7pm. I distinctly remember their 2012 game being played in sub 0 windchills and that no one was outside until right before kickoff because it was so cold.
I'm going to say that's a nooner. No way they penalize the kids or fans with an after dark game out there.
Nebraska/Iowa was at noon last year on Black Friday.
Iowa owns noon. VT just rents.
Senior staff in dining services have been told to plan for a 7 PM kickoff. I guess they tell them in advance to plan meals/staffing. Of course, ESPN could always change their mind.
Of the power 5, Only pac12 games get 10 pm or later kickoffs.
I'd be willing to play on ESPN 8 "The Ocho" if it meant no noon games.
If it's almost a sport, we've got it here.
Welp, looks like LOLUVA has that channel on lockdown. Next!
Top Priority is TV, no doubt. that is eased a little bit with ESPN3, but not completely. For top opponents where there is some national appeal, a noon kickoff in exchange for ESPN national is fine. for W&M, WMU, etc, stick us on ESPN3 (or ESPN2/U) and give the home fans a 3:30 game. It seems an ACC Network would give the league more flexibility/time slots to work with, too!
We don't need an ACC Network. The SEC Network opened up plenty of slots for us on the ESPN family of channels.
This is odd, because for years Weaver insisted that season ticket holders preferred earlier to later. Yet no one seems to be standing up for "earlier" anymore.
i think 1:00 was the ideal time for many due to the fact it allows them to drive in/out on gameday within reasonable hours. $250 hotel rates with 2 night minimums can drive a lot of people away.
that said, my ideal game time has always been 3:30. i love the added tailgate time (i start at 8:00-9 AM, so 6-7 hours is more than enough) and post gaming while watching the prime time games (at tailgate and/or downtown).
and in full disclosure, as a dad with 2 kids in youth sports 4 hours away from blacksburg now, i recognize that my opinion is of little consequence these days. i go to more away games than home games, and am lucky to make it to 1 home game each year any more...
That's because Jim Weaver pulled a 'Roger Goodell' and twisted semantics on a regular basis. What Weaver actually said on TTL was that he 'polled' Hokie fans and the overwhelming response was that noon games were preferable.
The truth is several factors - Frank likes noon games so the team doesn't have to wait 'all day' to play and so he can prep for the next week on Sat evenings, not Sunday mornings. Weaver talked to a very tiny group of moneyed donors who are ancient and hate sugar cookies but like noon games so they can still make the Golden Corral 5:00 buffet special. Third and most important factor is that Weaver LOVED to volunteer VT for the crappier scheduling in the ACC so he could suck up and win brownie points with Swofford and the colonial ACC charter members.
From what I understand, that part is absolutely correct. Weaver was bothered by the fact that there was such a public outcry against VT joining the conference, so at times he went out of his way to appease what the front offices wanted to try and put us in a favorable position. Unfortunately, all this positioning didn't do a damn thing to our reputation as the conference still looked to crap all over us whenever they got the chance. For example, not trying to get us a better opponent in any of the Orange Bowl appearances, the absolute shaft job we got with the basketball tournament selection committee (the one year where the Wake AD couldn't even accurately represent the schedule we played, and HE was supposed to be the one vouching for us), the annual crossover rivalry with BC when Miami was the one who pressed for them to be an ACC member, and the parade of nooners.
I'm glad we finally have someone in charge who is willing to stand up for us in the front offices. There's basically a pending invite on the table for us to join the SEC whenever we want if you listen to what the inside sources are saying. We have a lot of weight we can and should be throwing around when it comes to how we're treated by this conference. Its about damn time we started acting like it.
Miami didn't want us in the ACC, Frank beats them pretty regularly.
let the ballsofsteel swing low and without prejudice!!!
all the more reason to love whitt. thank god he's standing up for us
We've got lights on top of the stadium, right? Might as well use 'em.
#Whitness
Selfishly speaking, because I live up on Cape Cod, it's not an issue of where the games are televised, but if the games are available for viewing at all. If we're ranked, I can find the games on TV. When we're not ranked, sometimes the games aren't shown up here and some other ACC game will be broadcast instead (e.g., BC).
I'm sure this affects potential recruits as well from outside the immediate ACC viewing area. If VT isn't on TV, then those guys from PA, OH, IN and other states aren't seeing the Hokies play either.
Winning takes care of just about everything, doesn't it?
I live in OH and the VT games usually make it on ESPNU. This is most likely due to the OH St game being on ABC and the other B1G games on their network. whoever mentioned the fact that all the conf having their own network opens up time slots for us was absolutely right.
The only time we have to worry about regionalization of games is when we're on ABC or the ACC Network. But I think in most cases, they use the reverse mirror on ABC and ESPN2, so both games are shown nationally. I know the ACC Network occasionally broadcasts two games at once, but I think the regional sports channels will pick up the second game.
We haven't been bumped down to ESPNU yet this year. I think the reason we had so many games on that channel the last two years was because we weren't that good. The 3 consecutive weeks in 2012 on the U was really annoying for me because I had DISH at the time, who didn't carry the HD feed.
Until my PS3 gets the ability to natively stream ESPN3, meaning that I won't have to hook my laptop up to the TV, I'll take the televised games.
Don't tase me, bro.
get a Roku or Chromecast. cheap way to solve that problem. ESPN3 looks great (most of the time) on my Roku. It's come a long way from the ESPN360 days, but still has a long way to go to match HDTV.
Depends on the HDTV channel - Fox broadcasts of NFL games is horrible.
I have a Chromecast on a 60" HD set. Quite a lot of the time I find it gets me a better picture than I get through my TWC box.
well, your carrier is another variable. CBS could look great at a FiOS house and awful at a Cox house, etc. (just a made up example)...
I used FOX NFL broadcasts as an example because they only film their NFL games with 720p cameras when the industry has almost exclusively moved on to 1080p. Its why their games always look so fuzzy, especially when compared to CBS.
but don't most (all?) cable companies still broadcast in 720P? isn't it the lowest common denominator that matters?
I'm pretty sure ESPN and CBS Sports both broadcast in 1080i. I also believe most, if not all regular broadcast shows (that is, dramas, sitcoms, etc) are all filmed in 1080p as well. Its pretty noticeable on my TV when something isn't 1080, and really, the only one that sticks out is when I'm watching NFL on Fox.
Unless this has just rolled out in the last couple of months, I don't think anyone is broadcasting in 1080p. I think we're still a couple years away. I think currently the two options are 1080i and 720p, with heavy skewing toward the latter.
CBS broadcasts in 1080i
Appreciate the feedback - adjusted for accuracy
All Disney owned channels are 720p. For ESPN, they prefer that because it works better for sports.
Holy crap. I've just found another way to not be productive.
Also, I'm way behind on my tech and I admit it. I'm a bad Gen-Y-er. (or am I a Millennial? I still don't know)
Relevant, and funny:
I have to admit, I like the later games for multiple reasons. But one reason is on days I can't tailgate it gives me more time to do errands around the house and yard before the game.
I'm going to get orange poster board and cut out an upvote arrow and personally hand it to Whit.... I work saturdays till 5:30pm so the later the better!
Definitely prefer the 3:30 games for all the tailgating, honey-do, travel reasons mentioned. Plus, when in attendance, you get to enjoy Lane shinining in the day, and under the lights by the end. Who doesn't enjoy a sweet maroon/orange sunset after a victory?
A few more tidbits from Whit:
Where's my Led Zeppelin?
Getting rights to a LZ song? Ain't nobody got time for that!
Let's just have one of our journalism majors ask Kurt Cobain for an interview.
I'd think there would be a serious backlash if he changed our entrance ritual.
I thought the balance at the last game was much better.
Lots of traditional in the beginning and more electronic later.
We heard the band more.
Still needs more cowbell though.
Regardless of the outcome
The man has has heard the requests.
The man has acted.
In Whit We Trust.
About that whole "if we start winning we'll get more night games" thing....
GT @ UNC was just scheduled for a 7:30 pm kickoff
Georgia Tech is undefeated, Bro.
Which would make sense if the game was at Georgia Tech, but its not. Its at UNC.
GT is undefeated, but the bigger point is that they are ranked... no matter where they are playing a ranked team is usually more attractive to viewers than 2 unranked teams
And we were ranked 17th and playing at home the week after a win over the #8 team in the country on the road when we played ECU, who is a MUCH better program than UNC. Didn't matter, we still got a nooner.
GT is a ranked team playing on the road against a terrible opponent, and UNC fans are rewarded with a night kickoff.
But nobody outside the mid-atlantic knows who ECU is, without going back and looking, I would have to guess that there were probably higher marquee matchups that weekend
I'm going to try and prove a point here, but it's going to take 2 posts to get through it as I need your response first so bear with me.
On the day we played ECU, here is the schedule for other ACC Home games. I'm looking at home games only because the conference has some say in those game times when negotiating with ESPN and their networks. Please select which game you believe we should have been switched with:
12:00 PM Georgia Southern @ Georgia Tech
12:00 PM East Carolina @ #17 Virginia Tech
12:30 PM #21 Louisville @Virginia
3:30 PM Arkansas State @ Miami (FL)
3:30 PM Kansas @ Duke
8:00 PM #9 USC @ Boston College
I have a feeling I know which one you'll select, but let me know.
Arkansas St @ Miami
I don't mind letting Duke get the 3:30 kickoff against Kansas, and the USC-BC game was set up to be a pretty good matchup. But Arky St at Miami? People had to drum up interest to say "oh, Miami might lose" and they beat em like a drum 40-21.
ECU vs VT was a highly regarded Group of 5 @ a ranked Power 5 coming off a win @ #8 the week before.
Arky St vs Miami is a lowly regarded Group of 5 @ an unranked Power 5 program who was already spanked by Louisville.
Those two games should have been flipped. Wouldn't have even hurt broadcast numbers because, even as bad as they are, people still watch Miami football.
To be fair, Noon in Miami in early September is in the high 80's typically. At least at 3:30 it gives a chance to cool a little, and be even better by the end of the game.
In September? I'm not so sure. I know here in NC, temps usually climb during the day til about 5pm during the sweltering heat months (August to mid-Sep). I could be mistaken, but aren't the days usually longer down there, meaning the temps are rising for longer?
Not the answer I was expecting as I figured the Duke/Kansas game would be your pick, but regardless, same kickoff time. And you must look at it in regards to information before the game occurred, not looking at the result of the game. So that game was an ESPNU network game vs ESPN which was our noon game. Granted that not every home receives ESPNU as part of their TV package, you're already facing a limited audience. But, for the sake of argument, let's assume that everybody has ESPNU and can see any game on the ESPN/ABC family of networks as well as other major networks such as CBS. So now, instead of competing with Ohio State (#22) and Kent State (do you think more people are going to tune in to watch the team that lost or won the big game the weekend before), Boise State vs UConn, Louisville vs LOLUVA, and WVU vs Maryland as well as a few other smaller games, we now are competing with the likes of UGA (#6) vs USCe (#24), Texas Tech vs. Arkansas (Big12 v SEC > ACC v anyone unless ACC is FSU or Clemson), and a 4:00 Ole Miss (14) vs Louisiana-Lafayette. If I was a neutral fan waiting for my 7:30 game or having already watched my noon game, I would pick UGA vs USCe every day of the week over watching ACC vs AAC. I'd watch the Texas Tech/Arkansas game before then. But yet at the noon slot on national TV, the only game that we're really competing with is the Ohio State game after we just beat them the week before.
In this day and age where anyone with a cable provider that gives you ESPN at home who has a $35 Chromecast can watch any game on the ESPN series of networks, I really don't care very much about what network we're on.
I'd much rather see VT play a 3:30 game on ESPNU than a nooner on ESPN. I really don't give a rats ass about what other people are doing while we're on. If they watch us, they watch us, if they don't they don't. Our viewership isn't going to drive our national successes and isn't going to get us more money in a TV deal. What will get us more money is kickoffs at times that don't absolutely suck for fans that attend the games, through tickets sold and food/merchandise bought in Blacksburg.
I printed out the schedule from Hokiesports.com before the season started. It already had the game time for ECU determined as noon, either on ABC, ESPN, or ESPN2.
So the noon part was determined long before we beat Ohio State and got ranked.
Bing to the O.
With some of the games, The networks will exercise a six day option, where they will hold off announcing a time. This usually has a lot to do with previous weeks performance.
The game times for the first 3 weeks are set in advance.
And they tried to change the start time of our first game from 3 to noon and Whit told them to pack sand and settled for moving the game a half hour later.
Don't forget TV takes into account the time zones of Both teams, not just the home team. If you switch Kansas Duke the game would be kicking off at 11:00 for anyone in Kansas watching. The same thing for Ark ST - Miami. The USC game is at 5:00 in Cali as is. That is why the later games are later, and they would not want to switch. You want a later kickoff schedule a team in the Central time zone instead of ECU.
Flip side: UCLA at UVA was noon ET, 9 am PT. I know that UVA went out to a Pac-12 school a couple of years ago, and the game was a night game out there, which was the late night show over here.
Even VT at LSU in 2007 was rough with a 9:15 ET kickoff, even though it was only 8:15 for LSU in CT.
And while not a regular season game, our bowl at the end of the 2002 season was something like 10:30 PM on New Year's Eve. Not really fair for an East Coast team.
I was at that bowl game. Against Air Force in PacBell Park in San Francisco. Was a great environment. Close victory over a triple option monster. Rode the train from near the hotel at Union Station to the stadium - the trains were packed with VT fans! The football team had a very good time at that venue (we stayed at team hotel). Fun trip (we lived in the Santa Cruz Mountains at the time). Kids were young then and had fun (1 is college graduate and working now, the other graduates this December). My son ended up on the USAF Falcon football team.
Memories!!
Here...have one of my straws. I have plenty. No need to grasp.
Techsideline has a great article regarding this topic. It's a subscriber article, so I won't divulge much. Basically, we were carrying the viewership & ratings for ESPN's noon spots. Doesn't necessarily explain the ACC network games, but it might. Overall point is that a more than average amount of people tune into our games, so both networks are filling a tough time slot w/ them.
So we're getting punished with a bunch of noon games for the fault of having too devoted a fanbase that will watch games regardless of the timeslot?
If thats the case, then to hell with ESPN.
Enough with the whining about noon kickoffs. As long as our game is on TV, it shouldn't matter when we kick off. Non-East Coast teams are "punished" with dealing with East Coast viewing times. The Red River Rivalry/Shootout is at 11 AM local time this weekend. Missouri hosts UGA at 11 as well. Wazzu and Stanford play at 6 PM local time on Friday night just so the East Coast can watch it at 9 PM. UCLA kicks off at 12:30 this weekend against Oregon. That's a top 20 matchup before 1:00 local. There was a time when VT football games weren't available either on TV or ESPN3. If you'd like to get away from noon kickoffs, we'd likely have to go to that. It has been said that Whit is trying to bring up a rule to the ACC that no one team can dominate a certain time slot, whether it's at noon or at 7:30, but the continuous claims of being a victim of noon kickoffs is tiring.
Except that it negatively impacts attendance and other gameday events, as Babcock has repeatedly and officially stated. The problem isn't that we have to play an occasional nooner, it's that the bulk of our homegames have been consecutive nooners.
Negatively impacts attendance how? You mean to tell me that if we had 7:30 game times we'd have sell outs every week? Ticket sales are not affected as much as we like to think by game time and ticket sales directly relates to attendance. And with regards to other gameday events, what specifically does it negatively impact? The amount of time that you can tailgate? Am I the only person that goes back to the tailgate after the game to continue tailgating and watch/listen to the other games? My ideal game time is 3:30 as far as attending goes for many reasons, but every week we hear someone whine about noon games.
Because almost every week is a noon game.
Of all the times I'd like to see a game, noon is my least favorite. Gimme a different least favorite every once in a while.
Whit can definitely say that noon games has negatively impacted the new Hokie Village that he has started. If Hokie Village starts 3.5 hours before kickoff at noon, but most fans do not show up with their families until 10am, the families only get 1 hour of Hokie Village time, which is not long enough to build momentum and make it a gameday focal point for some fans. I know the Village has not attracted the number of fans that he thought and I bet Whit is pointing at the noon-noon 30 kickoff times as partly to blame.
I agree with you in that 3:30 is the most ideal game time.
I can respect that it affects the Hokie Village stuff, but the complaints regarding noon games started long before the Hokie Village. I would have loved to check out the Hokie Village for the Western Michigan game when I was there, but alas it was a 12:30 game. I understand people don't like noon games. I don't particularly care for them either, but it seems that every week someone either starts a thread complaining about noon games or throws out the usual "ESPN/ACC hates us which is why they have us at noon again." As much as we respect the horse on a treadmill, we like to beat dead horses often.
Agree completely. Leg sir!
I loathe noon games for a variety of reasons, but the prime 3 are as follows:
1 - It drastically reduces tailgating time. Especially now, when I am not a student anymore, and I have to find a hotel off campus and a decent drive away. You have to wake up at the crack of dawn (either extremely hungover from the night before, or having forgone drinking the night before because of said noon game) then drive out to campus, set up a tailgate, and get things going. Usually, this means getting set up by 9, assuming you can get everyone moving, which really only leaves about 2 hours or so of legitimate tailgating before you have to go to the game. If you're looking to grill anything, the person who mans the grill will do nothing else for the duration of the tailgate.
2. It neuters the Lane experience, mainly because of the lack of tailgating based in issue #1. Try as we might, fans just aren't into noon games the way they are at 3:30 or 7. It lessens our home field advantage, which is a bad thing for the program.
3. It slashes the revenue Blacksburg could make during the weekend games. For a nooner, people usually arrive night of the game, stay in a hotel, wake up early, go tailgate in the lots, and then leave after the game. People just don't have the time to head downtown to the campus stores to shop, or the restaurants to eat, and the town suffers for it. For 3:30 kickoffs, and especially night games, downtown is bustling throughout the day. This hurts the economy of the area, which, in turn, hurts the downtown gameday atmosphere that Blacksburg can provide.
I'm sick and tired of getting slotted at noon. We are one of the 3 or 4 big boy premier programs of this conference and we should be treated as such. At least once a season, the ACC should push for one of our games to be a primetime showcase event on the weekends, and yet we're routinely slotted into the worst possible time slot for those who actually attend games. I don't think that ESPN hates us, but I do wonder about the ACC at times. Between the constant noon games, the complete shafting in the NCAA Tournament Selection in like 2008 or so (the Wake AD couldn't even accurately describe our schedule, and he was supposed to be our conference appointed liaison), our annual crossover matchup with Boston College when it was Miami who demanded the ACC brings them in, etc. I dunno, sometimes I really do get the feeling that the ACC does not appreciate having us in this conference, despite everything we did to keep it relevant for the decade after expansion. Without Virginia Tech, this conference likely doesn't exist anymore with the way everyone else fell into the gutter, and our thanks is a string of nooners, and a crossover rivalry with one of the worst fanbases in one of the worst locations in the conference.
I'm glad Whit is starting to stand up for us. SEC insiders have confirmed we were at the top of their expansion list as recently as last year. We have a strong loyal fanbase that apparently drives demand during broadcasts. We have the weight to throw around in order to try and reward the fans with some weekend primetime games, and its about damn time we started throwing it around.
I participate in these weekly " I hate noon kickoffs" threads because we know people look at this forum.
By participating in these threads it keeps sending a message out that we want a later game. I don't care which one but we need a kickoff sometime after 3PM sometime. I appreciate the opening day at 4. It really got my appetite whetted for a nice long day in Blacksburg.
If the threads bother you, then don't click on it. It's a constructive message we're sending and supporting our guys to move that kickoff time.
Constructive involves looking at the big picture, not just the one that involves us. These threads nearly always dissolve into "ESPN hates us," "the ACC owes us," and, my personal favorite, "this is all Weaver's fault." Whereas if you look at the comment I posted above comparing the draw of the game to the logic behind determining kickoff times, it might make a little more sense. It's a business and a business wants to make money. The way these guys continue to make money is with high ratings. So if they can have people watching ESPN Network games from the ACC Noon kickoffs to the end of the PAC12 games at midnight, they are happy. People take it like it's a personal insult that we get scheduled for a national broadcast game at noon. Babcock is trying to get us later games, but if we are respected enough to be the draw during a certain time frame that they want to put us on national TV, that should be a compliment whether our fans enjoy a noon kickoff or not.
If a guy is sitting on his couch watching the game then I don't care what time he's forced pick up his remote to turn to the channel. That's quite a bit of effort and commitment there.
It's not a personal insult and frankly, your argument there is a strawman.
Sounds like blowing smoke up my nether regions. Don't want to feel complimented, I want to feel fulfilled for my football day after spending a few thousand $ a season at Blacksburg.
Kickoff time is determined for that guy who is on his couch though, not the fans in the stand because there are more watching it in HD than in person. But agree to disagree regarding the reasoning for kickoff times. Understand, I'm not a fan of the noon ESPN kickoffs, but I still accept them for what they are and can appreciate the reasoning behind it. The ones I dislike are the 12:30 Raycom broadcasts which are a completely different situation given that they are regionally broadcast and not national.
Of course it's for the TV time, that's never been in dispute.
Doesn't mean I should not use what small influence I have to see if I can get one to my liking.
With the advent of TV show recording so that it can be watched at any time the viewer wants, it should have less influence over time.
I want to accelerate that time.
It's pretty easy to understand how an abundance of noon games is bad for business (including attendance and game day activities). And again, the AD himself has confirmed this.
Oh well:
I think the constant complaining is due to the vast majority of recent home games being noon - 1pm kickoffs. VT has played in that slot 7 of the previous 9 home games with the tenth being a 1:30 pm kickoff. I doubt you would see as much commentary on the kick off time if VT only played a third or even half of the games at noon.
We'll go to the games and watch them on TV even if they're played at 9 am (hopefully not giving ESPN any ideas) but some 3:30 or later starts at least half the time would be a welcomed change.
^ THIS. Variety is the spice of life.
Guys- I want a women with curves, dd's,a perfect face and an amazing personality.. I can help purchase some of those items for her but it will come out of my pocket... my point is....
If we want to get better game times we need to consistently win the easy/expected games have a huge win by 10 or more and continue with a big upset every year or two... Its all about what you're willing to do for ME. If we constantly lose to mediocre talent why are we going to get rewarded with a prime time game?
I understand the fact that early games/nooners hurt the blacksburg economy and surrounding area but do you really think ESPN/ABC/CBScare about anything other than supporting the SEC? If your answer to that is yes then there lies the problem..
Yep, that's it... just win games and all those weekend night games will just flock in
Which is totally why Coastal bottom-dweller UNC is about to host their second of the season against GT.
UNC was ranked when they hosted SDSU on ESPNU.
GT is ranked and undefeated playing at UNC this week.
I can do this all day.
I think the biggest thing people need to understand is that ESPN and the networks don't care about the local economy/ what ever else the school has planed for pre game entertainment. Its all about the $$$$$ and which teams will get the biggest draw not only from fans of those teams playing but also the casual college football fans that want to watch ranked teams
This is one of the primary reasons there have been so many critics of the ACC/ESPN deal. And as it becomes obvious that ESPN owns the ACC and intends to use ACC football as filler for non-SEC slots, the criticisms will grow. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a way for schools like VT to protect or advance their own interests when they conflict with those of the mothership. It kinda' looks like the ACC sold out for "exposure" (at least when it comes to football) and VT may be along for the ride - at least for the foreseeable future.
As someone who is not in a typical VT market who ends up getting the game on a local channel that doesn't normally carry college football (except, like, Towson vs. Delaware, who seem to play every week), I'm torn. The additional exposure when we aren't getting a better slot is fine by me, but I would definitely prefer to get the exclusive ABC game every now and again.
I believe ESPN carries every VT game online. Even the ACC Network/Raycom games are on ESPN 3. I think that's part of the contract, that every ACC game has to be broadcast in some format by the mothership. I bet the AD would be happy with one Saturday primetime home game, and two or three 3:30+ games with the rest parceled out by the annual Thursday nighter and ESPN pick 'em (likely nooners). 3:30 games are the sweet spot. They don't have the hype of primetime spots but they're in a slot that works for travelers and tailgating. There aren't near as many t.v. timeouts. And no Tom Rinaldi-style puff propaganda gets shoved down your throat.
That's incorrect as away OOC games are controlled by that school's TV contract and thus our contract has no control over it. Thus far, ACC teams have had 4 games that were not available on any ESPN network channel or ESPN3. Those games were played at FIU, Utah State, and USF.
Sure, when I said "ACC games," I was talking about games where the home team is an ACC team and didn't make that clear. But the only non-ACC (OOC) away games VT would play would include a P5 opponent (which would be broadcast), or ECU (which would have to get picked up by someone (and likely would). Broadcasting is another negative in scheduling non-P5 opponents. But usually VT is a big enough draw that someone wants to pick up the rights. I guess my point was to agree that it's not super difficult to watch Hokie football anymore, even in exotic broadcasting locales.
ESPN owns all ACC games. They sublicense one to Raycom for the ACC Network, and one to Fox for the "RSN" game. But, they also have a habit of forcing you to watch the television for games that are usually broadcast over the air. They've been getting a little better about throwing ABC games up on ESPN3 (since ABC isn't a channel in the WatchESPN app). The big problem is that ACC Network and RSN games are usually blacked out where they're available on TV (which is actually a good chunk of the country, looking at the affiliate lists).
ECU being in the American has a contract with ESPN, who also sublicenses games to CBS, mainly for their cable sports channel.
UNC/SDSU was set before the season.
Look at this way... with the noon games, we can all have our cardiac arrests before dinner time.
There is no single factor. Results on the field matter. The gameday environment matters. The kickoff time matters. We need to improve on ALL of those things if you want to sell out every week.
As for all 7:30 game times (my personal fantasy), that reminds me of a quote attributed to someone @LSU: "The difference between a day game and a night game at Tiger stadium is that during a day game you can smell the bourbon in the stands, but during a night game you can smell it on the field!"
Short answer; probably. Whether I'm going to the game, or watching them on TV, no one despises the nooner more than me. However, it is a blessing that there isn't much competition with other games at noon & apparently in a lot of cases our viewership & ratings are out-pacing similar teams at later time by a significant number. That's more eyes on VT football, and not just the eyes of our diehard fans. I think we have more casual fans than some might realize, & nooners are an opportunity for those folks to tune in.
I like that this allows me to see VT games in Pennsylvania live on television without cable.
I dislike...well I dislike something.
Oh! I dislike that our games aren't on ESPNDeportes in Spanish because that would allow me to get them free through Amazon FireTV
Looking at Ohio State's schedule makes me extremely jealous
Looks like three reverse mirror games. I'll be getting them all on ABC undoubtedly.
They usually don't reverse mirror the primetime game.
But looking at ESPN's overall schedule, the Penn State and Illinois games are showing with ABC/ESPN/ESPN2, which means they haven't decided the network yet. Michigan State is only showing ABC and ESPN3, which means that's getting Fowler and Herbie.
They'll reverse mirror some primetime games, and I'm guessing that'll have to happen with either the Illinois or Penn State games, those games can't be on both networks. I'm surprised they're committing to time slots for those games already.
But yes, Michigan State against OSU will definitely be on ABC. Wait, maybe not. ESPN's College Football Schedule for Week 9 shows the game as ESPN, ESPN2, or ABC.
So maybe all of these just indicate possible network destinations.
OSU/MSU is week 11. That one is only showing ABC/ESPN3. The week 9 and 10 games are showing ABC/ESPN/ESPN2.
What am I even doing anymore. I was definitely looking at OSU/PSU.
Time to head back to the barn for a bit and quit wasting everyones' time.
1.) Because there's three primetime games.
and
2.) They know their schedule for the next month without resorting to non-Saturday games. (Not that non-Saturday games are bad, but the only reason we know our schedule for the rest of the month is because both games are on Thursday.)
I think the best game time for me was when I was a student for the Clemson game in 2011 when it was played at 6 pm. Late enough to give (non-student) fans time to drive down and lots of time to tailgate for everybody but ended early enough to get back to apt/house to go DT. Still had the night time experience without ending at like 10 pm or later
I would totally dig a 6 pm start... even on Thursday. That 8 pm Miami start is going to set me back a bit. With the game not ending until close to midnight, that's going to be a long drive back to North Cakalaka,
you might as well take a few Brew's to the head like katy perry did and forget driving home!!!
As much as I love waking up at 9 am on Saturday mornings to my severe hangover from the night before, I have lost a lot of respect for College Gameday for bringing her on. Only connection to Ole Miss she had was her manager??? Dumb. She knew jack shit about college football and the only reason why people gave two shits about her picks is because she has status. She was so annoying and ruined the whole fun of the celebrity guest picker.
Seriously? You were bothered by her lack of college football expertise? It's important to you that the celebrity guest is a football expert? Or just that it is a male? I double checked and saw no sarcastica, so I have to hope you just forgot to include it.
There's this concept called - growing your audience. Inclusion of a total college football novice who is a huge celebrity in another arena helps accomplish that. Especially when the guest happens to be an attractive female that also visually appeals to the core base. And that's not sarcastic at all.
that and didn't she pick Ole Miss and Miss St to both upset? I don't think any guest picker that was an actual fan would have done that. Novelty sells dude. Yeah sure, she doesn't know anything but she was hyped up and got into it. She is right up there with Paul the Octopus in the novelty factor.
She did indeed pick both Mississippi schools to win. On top of that, she ripped the elephant head off old senile Lee Corso. As a capper, she knew the LSU corn dog reference, which many hardcore college football fans don't understand. What's more entertaining than an SEC dig like that? To me, her appearance ranked up there with the Eminem-Brent Musberger interview.
I'm with you. That was just good TV.
Yes im serious. Mad enough to not watch it again, not at all, she is a one time thing. It was more annoying than anything. The guest picker absolutely does not have to be male or a football expert, cause there have been other celebrity guest pickers that werent that, but they werent annoying as hell, at least they are usually a fan, alum, funny, or witty. I'll give it to her that she knew that LSU corn dog story, but other than that she was dreadful to listen to and watch.
Im all for growing your audience, I get that. But if you were already watching gameday, then 99.9% chance you are already a college football fan or certainly not a novice. The only reason why they asked her to be the guest picker is because she was already in town for her show the day after, so it was convenient for them.
Now I will definitely agree with you that she is an attractive female.
her fake country accent was awful and completely obvious.
However she fit the bill perfectly for a game day picker, she knew the corn-dog and acted like an absolute clown and the crowd loved her. I think she was pretty hammered during the show anyways which wouldn't surprise me.
well crowds at gameday will usually go crazy for anything as long as you pick against their rivals or the upset. But yea, I thought the same thing of her being hammered after she brought out those cups filled with who knows what and how she was acting.
Ok, the guest picks are the last 5-8 minutes of the show. You could take this time to go make lunch, go to the bathroom, walk the dog, turn the volume off, check the line-up for the day.
And they had the Oregon Duck on there, and he can't even talk. And to be honest, it was one of the best guest picker segments ever. I'm not going to blow away a 3 hour show for a week-to-week 5 minute segment. And convenient is the name of the game for that. It's a complete dog and pony show, but let's not forget the other 4 people on there are picking the games too.
I
idk man desmond went to Michigan so I'm not sure he counts this year due to him being on the suicide watch list.
Well I look forward to most to the picks, but I never said I am not going to watch Gameday ever again because of her, I just said she was annoying. And I agree, The Oregon Duck was probably one of the best pickers through his funny props and was entertaining even without talking.
So, you disliked Katy Perry for her lack of football knowledge (despite getting both Mississippi schools correct), but you thoroughly enjoyed the Oregon Duck who picked all of the teams with bird mascots or mascots that could fly.
its a bye week.. give him a break
That's hilarious, because, you know, he's a duck (a flying bird if you will). He was being a homer.
Again, I disliked her because she was very annoying and not funny. Her lack of knowledge just didn't help. Miss St for colors!! yay!! Ole Miss for rowdying up the fans and her manager, could have called that a mile away. The Oregon duck was at least creative and entertaining in everyone of its picks.
Sounds like someone must have gotten blocked by Katy Perry for stalking on Twitter!
J/K...
I would be devasted!!!
....sarcastica
TV People: 5
Whit: 0
Well...I have to work that day, and we only get over the air channels. So at least I get to see the game that day, without having to stare down at my phone.
TV People: "It's not noon, Whit."
It's 12 o'clock somewhere!!!!
Nooners later in the year, when it's more likely to be cold, are easier to take than the entire month of September.
After looking at the schedule for Nov. 28 for all sports, and the possible implications of the game I wouldn't be surprised to see ESPN pick up LOLUVA game for a primetime slot. You better be ready to bundle up for that one.