Sigh.
Why Louisville? And why not UC?
There's lots of reasons. We'll get into some of them. But I'm going to focus on feel.
(What you are about to read makes me want to throw up all over my keyboard.)
Go to Nippert Stadium. What do you sense? Quaintness. A nice, little historic stadium that still largely resemembles the place where Sid Gillman coached the Bearcats and where the Bengals began life. You feel it's charm, but you don't necessarily feel like you're at a big-time college football venue.
Go to a game at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium? What do you feel? A beautiful, modern structure, complete with 21st century amenities, great sightlines, wide concourses, and usually packed stands. It might not feel like Ohio Stadium or Bryant-Denny Stadium, but it feels pretty big time.
Go to your average game at Fifth Third Arena? Does it feel big-time? Do the half-empty stands give it the feel of a major sporting event? Do the faraway seats up top that require a chiropractor visit scream "HUGE?" It feels like what it is, a glorified urban basketball gym, badly in need of an update and a makeover. And with a few exceptions, you don't feel like you're at an important sporting event.
Go see a game at the Yum! Center in Louisville. You feel like you're at an NBA game. And an important one at that.
The University of Cincinnati has a ton going for it, both inside and outside of athletics. I'm a proud Bearcat fan and I appreciate the gains they've made in sports in so many different ways. And I completely understand the obstacles they've overcome and the ones they still must deal with.
But it's hard to think about what your average UC sporting event feels like and consider it on the same scale as what you see and feel when you drive 100 miles south.
I know that will rub some Bearcat fans the wrong way. Hell, it rubs me the wrong way. But if you're being objective, and you're being truthful, I think you have to agree with me. Are there reasons and various mitigating factors in play? Sure. And does what happened today completely torpedo UC's chances of changing league? Not with the landscape continuing to shift (as it has my entire lifetime, BTW), but if you were a decision-maker for the ACC, all things considered, wouldn't you go with what you feel? And which of the two schools' football and basketball programs feel big time to you?
When I get done vomitting, I'll talk about this today on ESPN1530
Guests
3:04 - Marvin Lewis
3:42 - Brett McMurphy, ESPN College Football reporter, broke UofL-to-ACC story
4:42 - Brian Kenny, MLB Network, on Broxton, Chapman, and next week's winter meetings.
5:33 - Whit Babcock, UC Athletic Director
Topics
It's not over for UC, but does it feel like it?
UC's search for stablility and certainty.
Why the Reds overpaid for Broxton and why that could be okay.
Why the Broxton decision makes me think of last offseason
Do you need to feel big to be big?
What did Ryan Madson owe the Reds?
The awesomeness of this....
Plus, this morning I had to drive to Lindsay's house to change a flat tire at 7:00am. This will trigger today's #MoEggerTQD. The fun starts at 3:04 today on ESPN1530. Go to this on Sunday.
