Around the Big Ten

[Jamie H]

The logo indicates it is B1G. No one has any f'ing clue what it means. Just like no one has any idea what our divisions are named or which one they are in. Ask Delany-he has all the answers in that empty head of his somewhere.

Whoops, looks like the question was already answered up thread.

[UMStan White]

"SEC is helped a lot by not having nearly as many NFL teams in its region; B10 has the Bears, Vikings, Packers, Steelers, Eagles, Browns, Bengals, Colts & Lions. The money being spent by fans on these teams hurts their college competition.'

That doesn't make any sense at all. SEC territory has Miami,Tampa Bay. Jacksonville, Atlanta, Tennessee and New Orleans and Charlotte that's just outside SEC territory. Besides, pro fans are not necessarily college fans and vice versa. My guess is you can't point to any statistics that supports such a theory.

[JRB]

NFL teams might hurt commuter-school universities in major metro areas(Houston, Cincinnati), but I doubt you'd find an AD or coach at a major state school that would argue the local NFL team is some sort of hindrance to his program.

[WM Wolverine]

Most the teams you've listed have a very short history in the NFL, which allowed their college team to gain a lot of traction. B10 country has lengthy history of NFL franchises.

[whodean]

In general, fans are much more passionate for college than Pro down here.

People that are not sports fans in any other way are rabid college football fans (think women).

[WM Wolverine]

College teams have far more history in the south relative to their NFL competition. In the north, NFL franchises have a lengthy history.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Don't only look at the NFL but look at ALL pro sports. The entire Southeast did not have a single, major professional sports team until the Braves moved to Atlanta after the 1965 season. By the end of the 60's the NFL had put franchises in Atlanta, New Orleans, and Miami and the Hawks had moved from St. Louis to Atlanta. Tampa Bay came along in the late 70's.

Except for the Dolphins, none of these franchises had any sort of sustained success before the 1990's. The Hawks had a couple good teams in the late 80's but never even made it to the Eastern Finals and have never had a loyal or established fanbase.

Most pro franchises in the South have either existed for only 20 years or have a history of mediocre to abysmal performance. I think that made college teams much more likely to win out in the battle for sports dollars. Otherwise I'm not sure how you explain why Southerners (or folks in Oklahoma or Nebraska) are so much more passionate about college sports than people in Boston & New York.

Five states in the SEC's home region still don't have a single pro team: Arkansas, Mississippi, Kentucky, Alabama, and South Carolina. Pro teams in North Carolina and Tennessee are all less than 20 years old. Louisiana's only long-term pro team was an NFL punchline for decades; same goes the Buccos & Tampa Bay.

[hack]

Also, the SEC is a conference totally filled with SEC programs. Up here there's only Ohio that's an SEC program.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Also, the SEC is a conference totally filled with SEC programs. Up here there's only Ohio that's an SEC program.

Your second attempt to hijack a pretty good discussion and steer it to another inane flamefest instead. Well baited, sir, but to no avail.

[hack]

Lately I've been meaning to look up election fraud on a state-by-state basis. Louisiana and Florida would certainly be expected near or at the top of that leaderboard.

[JRB]

I'd go Illinois, Louisiana, and Florida as your top three.

[hack]

In all seriousness, and in a different context, I have been thinking about this. Do you think it is a more telling trait when it's essentially a single city and perhaps a family vis-a-vis a widespread thing across many counties or parishes? I think so, but interested in opinions on that.

[Chuck Mallory]

State of Michigan representing the B1G, good to see!

[Paul L]

97.1 (Detroit's sports talk station) reporting Jerel Worthy is going pro.

[lineygoblue]

Good.