FL Tiger
02-04-2001, 07:16 PM
Here is my take from the 50-yard line at the Citrus Bowl:
The game was awesome.
#1 - People came from all over Florida to go to this game. My buddy and I drove four hours from Tallahassee. The two guys in front of us drove three hours from West Palm Beach. The guy next to me drove 3-1/2 hours from Fort Myers. Tailgaters surrounded the Citrus Bowl and started partying at 3 pm, five hours before game time. There were thousands of Floridians that wanted to see the game, showed up to the stadium without tickets and were turned away.
#2 - The football is a whole lot better than I thought it would be. I was very worried after the first series: Chicago had four penalties on their first drive and no positive yardage, Orlando threw for a TD in their first play. I figured it was going to be a Rage blowout, a lot of dropped passes, sacks, penalties, fumbles, and lousy football. It wasn't that way at all. There were 10 TD's and a field goal.
#3 - The stands were full of young people. My biggest complaint about going to Rams' games when I lived in St. Louis was that the corporate fat cats that shell out thousands for season tickets aren't paying any attention to the game. That was not the case in Orlando last night. There wasn't anyone that looked over 40 within ten rows of me. Everyone there was looking for a party.
#4 - The XFL did a great job of sprucing up an otherwise drab Citrus Bowl with a huge-ass video replay board, banners, portable sound system, and -- oh yeah -- lots of fireworks. Now if they could only do something about that ghetto that surrounds the stadium!
#5 - It was nice to attend a game once in my life that I actually make more money than the people on the field.
#6 - There wasn't anything tacky about the cheerleaders. No players talking smack over the PA, either.
#7 - I've read all the reports in all eight XFL markets as well as the AP stories at CNNSI.com and ESPN.com. There is a big difference of opinion between those that saw the XFL in person and watched it on TV. Both the Orlando and Las Vegas press loved the party atmosphere and the game itself. Check it out for yourself.
Orlando Sentinel: XFL sets off frenzy at the Citrus Bowl (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/football/pro/rage/orl-spt-xfl04020401.story?coll=orl%2Drage)
====================
Now, here are some things you may not have noticed at home:
#1 - Initially I hated the idea of a "ball scramble" in lieu of a coin-flip, but having seen it in person I guess I could live with it.
#2 - The video board only showed live NBC feed, minus the audio. Hardly any replays were shown, which was kinda disappointing.
#3 - Absolutely nothing happened at halftime. No dogs chasing frisbees, no guy jumping up-and-down on a trampoline. We didn't even get to see what was happening in the locker room. Nothing.
#4 - No one at the Orlando game wore a nickname on the back of their jersey, although I understand that happened in Vegas.
#5 - WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too much dead time between commercials.
#6 - No fault of the XFL or the Rage, but the Citrus Bowl ran out of beer midway through the third quarter. Bummer.
All in all, it was a great experience and definitely worth the $25 I paid. I look forward to going back next weekend to see the Rage play San Francisco.
The game was awesome.
#1 - People came from all over Florida to go to this game. My buddy and I drove four hours from Tallahassee. The two guys in front of us drove three hours from West Palm Beach. The guy next to me drove 3-1/2 hours from Fort Myers. Tailgaters surrounded the Citrus Bowl and started partying at 3 pm, five hours before game time. There were thousands of Floridians that wanted to see the game, showed up to the stadium without tickets and were turned away.
#2 - The football is a whole lot better than I thought it would be. I was very worried after the first series: Chicago had four penalties on their first drive and no positive yardage, Orlando threw for a TD in their first play. I figured it was going to be a Rage blowout, a lot of dropped passes, sacks, penalties, fumbles, and lousy football. It wasn't that way at all. There were 10 TD's and a field goal.
#3 - The stands were full of young people. My biggest complaint about going to Rams' games when I lived in St. Louis was that the corporate fat cats that shell out thousands for season tickets aren't paying any attention to the game. That was not the case in Orlando last night. There wasn't anyone that looked over 40 within ten rows of me. Everyone there was looking for a party.
#4 - The XFL did a great job of sprucing up an otherwise drab Citrus Bowl with a huge-ass video replay board, banners, portable sound system, and -- oh yeah -- lots of fireworks. Now if they could only do something about that ghetto that surrounds the stadium!
#5 - It was nice to attend a game once in my life that I actually make more money than the people on the field.
#6 - There wasn't anything tacky about the cheerleaders. No players talking smack over the PA, either.
#7 - I've read all the reports in all eight XFL markets as well as the AP stories at CNNSI.com and ESPN.com. There is a big difference of opinion between those that saw the XFL in person and watched it on TV. Both the Orlando and Las Vegas press loved the party atmosphere and the game itself. Check it out for yourself.
Orlando Sentinel: XFL sets off frenzy at the Citrus Bowl (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/football/pro/rage/orl-spt-xfl04020401.story?coll=orl%2Drage)
====================
Now, here are some things you may not have noticed at home:
#1 - Initially I hated the idea of a "ball scramble" in lieu of a coin-flip, but having seen it in person I guess I could live with it.
#2 - The video board only showed live NBC feed, minus the audio. Hardly any replays were shown, which was kinda disappointing.
#3 - Absolutely nothing happened at halftime. No dogs chasing frisbees, no guy jumping up-and-down on a trampoline. We didn't even get to see what was happening in the locker room. Nothing.
#4 - No one at the Orlando game wore a nickname on the back of their jersey, although I understand that happened in Vegas.
#5 - WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too much dead time between commercials.
#6 - No fault of the XFL or the Rage, but the Citrus Bowl ran out of beer midway through the third quarter. Bummer.
All in all, it was a great experience and definitely worth the $25 I paid. I look forward to going back next weekend to see the Rage play San Francisco.