How Marketing Ruins Tradition

Anyone who doesn’t think that college football is a business isn’t living in the real world. There is no way that anyone associated with college football in any capacity can begin to believe that it’s not about the money. You see, I’m not a huge fan of college sports, but I do realize that college football is just as much of a corporation as <INSERT BIG BOX STORE HERE>.

Furthermore, I’m all about the free market, and one of the best ways to generate long-term revenue in the sports world is naming rights. Perhaps the intense furnace-like heat I have been exposed to by sitting on the west side of DKR Memorial Stadium at 4pm on a cloudless September afternoon has skewed my perception about naming rights. But here it goes.

While I embrace the free market, I’m against is selling out the names of the college bowl games. I’m a traditionalist. Don’t hold it against me. The end result of naming rights is usually a mangled form of the original name that just sounds out of place. But marketing drones unite! You see, I am of the old school. I still refer to the Texas-Oklahoma game as “The Red River Shootout“. I refuse to let political correctness dictate the name of a tradition that has been going on since before political correctness was a term. Especially when it’s in my state!

It’s NOT “The Red River Rivalry”, damn it! But now that the marketing demons people with piles of cash have distorted tradition with hundred dollar bills (and lots of them), we’re subjected to the “AT&T Red River Rivalry”. What’s more, back in the good old days when it was called “The Red River Shootout”, I don’t recall anyone ever wanting to shoot anyone, which was part of the reason for the name change. Asinine, political correctness rears its ugly head.

That’s not the worst part. Look at some of the distorted names that represent college football. The Outback Bowl sounds like a place where people go to relieve themselves if they can’t afford indoor plumbing.

Speaking of political correctness, I’m really surprised that someone from the Hispanic community hasn’t complained about the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Perhaps they did and I missed it.

What about the other bowl games whose names consist of only the sponsor?

The Chick-Fil-A Bowl for instance (formerly The Peach Bowl), is a prime example of this absurd naming behavior. Since when did Chick-Fil-A become representative of Georgia in the way and to the magnitude that peaches have? I think Georgia has sold its soul. Does that mean we can call Ty Cobb “The Georgia Nugget”? I think not.

Then we have the Pappa Johns.com bowl. This game is played in Birmingham, Alabama. This makes sense. I can see the direct relation between Alabama and pizza. Plus, any college bowl game ending in “.com” is about 7 years too late to that party. Update your wardrobe, Papa!

Then there’s the Humanitarian Bowl and the Insight Bowl. Both of which I would have guessed would be played somewhere on the west coast (San Francisco to be more specific). I was wrong. (Idaho and Arizona, respectively). A mere geographical oversight, I’m sure. Since when does one of the most violent sports in the country get associated with the word “humanitarian”?

Then there are the bowl games that haven’t sold out yet. My respect! They include The Gator Bowl and the Alamo Bowl. That’s pretty much it. Our last ties to the good old days have dwindled down a reptile and some settlers who were overrun by the Mexicans. Don’t mess with Texas (please).