"That is what bowl games are all about...how many people travel, how many people turn on the television set." IS IT ANY WONDER THEY WANT USC IN THE SUGAR BOWL?? L.A. (not La.) = ratings
I have heard that USC is a team whose fans don't bring large numbers to away games. Given the choice between LSU and USC the Sugar Bowl would choose USC because too many LSU fans will either drive to New Orleans the day of the game or they already live in the New Orleans area. I wouldn't doubt for a second that the Sugar Bowl people would have rather it had worked out for Georgia or Tennessee to play the Sooners than a team as far away from here as California. Fans from nearby states would drive to N.O. in large numbers as well as those who would fly in but I would think that the vast majority of USC fans who go to the game would fly and a lot of people who would drive a few hundred miles won't drive a couple of thousand miles.
My main point was the TV ratings, which in reality is what Herbstreit/ESPN/ABC are banking on. No doubt LSU would put asses in the seats, but L.A. would be a nielson rating delight.
sugar bowl in my IMHO doesn't give a crap about the ratings, it all about the $$$$. the only reason sugar bowl people would consider usc over lsu, and the only reason is it might would bring more tourism and $$$ for the town i.e. flights, hotels, that stuff. they know they will sell out the game one way or another. they have already been paid for the bowl game. the only person who cares about ratings is abc, cough, espn. who signs herbstreit's checks, exactly. every lsu fan probably knows someone in new orleans and will most likely get there by driving, but there would be ten times the amount of lsu fans in NO as uscuk fans. the funny thing i have seen no one hit on yet is the only reason usc is ranked ahead of lsu is b/c they lost on sept. 27 and lsu lost on oct. 11. the polls work like a 1923 assembly line with a bias. sorry we couldn't help you'll out last weekend, losing to the rainbows is a fuking disgrace, especially when we could have blown them out. anyways, go lsu, syr, boise st.
