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By Steve Hunt
FOXSportsSouthwest.com
January 10, 2011
Well, it hasn't happened yet but many think that one of the main reasons why the Cotton Bowl moved from its Fair Park namesake to Cowboys Stadium was to make the game a much more attractive target to the three letters that currently rule the college football landscape: B-C-S. The powers-that-be associated with the game definitely have plenty to offer the NCAA to become the fourth bowl game in the BCS rotation. Here's a look at those selling points:
A Tradition-Rich History
No doubt about it but the Cotton Bowl can definitely hold its own against the other heavyweights currently in the BCS rotation. The Rose Bowl, which has been around since 1901, truly deserves its moniker of the Granddaddy of Them All as it has been around longer than all of them. But the Cotton Bowl, which was first played back in 1937, is only three years younger than both the Orange and Sugar Bowls, which got their respective starts in 1934. And the Cotton has also been around over three decades longer than the Fiesta Bowl, which got its start way back in 1971. The Cotton has featured some of the biggest names in football history during its tenure, guys like Troy Aikman, Bo Jackson and Joe Montana, something the other current BCS bowls can also boast but the Cotton's rich and colorful history can definitely holds its own against the likes of the Rose, Sugar and Orange.
Stable Corporate Support
In one shape or form, Southwestern Bell has been affiliated with the Cotton Bowl Classic since 1995. Such stability when it comes to the sponsorship of a major bowl game in this day and age is rare. Sure, the name has changed from SBC to ATT in recent years but that's all semantics. Having such stability is definitely a good thing, especially in today's corporate-driven college football world. By contrast, the other BCS bowls haven't quite had the stability when it comes to sponsorship enjoyed by the Cotton. Only the Fiesta, which has been affiliated with Tostitos since 1996, has had the same corporate sponsor for more than only a few years. Over the last few years, the title sponsor for both the Sugar, which has had Allstate since 2007, and the Orange, which is currently sponsored by Discover but has been affiliated with FedEx in the past, have changed with some regularity.
A Top-Notch Facility
You can't really blame the fine folks who run the Cotton Bowl. They knew if they were going to make a realistic push at earning a spot in the BCS that their best chance to do so would be if their game was played at the sparkling, new Cowboys Stadium. So, they made a move that some were going to question no matter what. Of course, Jerry Jones' palace is hosting the Super Bowl in less than a month's time and is also slated to host the Final Four in the near future as well as a plethora of other events. So, there is no doubt that the palace in Arlington definitely has the solid reputation to host a BCS game and the national title contest every four years. Besides, it's always cool to see players, whether they're at the high school, collegiate or NFL levels, be dumbfounded by that giant scoreboard during their first visit to the facility.
Weather is no Longer a Factor
If there might have been a strike against the Cotton Bowl joining the BCS rotation back when the game still called Fair Park home, it might have been the weather. Having a game in early January in Big D is basically a crapshoot when it comes to playing conditions. There have been a number of years when the temperature has been balmy and the field conditions haven't affected the final outcome of the game. But as anyone who has called the Metroplex home for any period of time knows, you never can tell how the weather will be at the first of the year. Many fans remember the years where the Cotton Bowl was played in almost arctic conditions, like the year Texas A&M and Tennessee squared off on New Year's Day right after a vicious ice storm moved through the area or that bitterly cold contest between Texas and Miami back on the first day of 1991. By moving this game indoors to Cowboys Stadium, such weather concerns are now a thing of the past. Think about it, the other three games in the rotation are all played in climates that can best be called moderate this time of year. The Fiesta and Orange Bowls are both played outside but the weather in Phoenix and Miami doesn't call for much snow or cold this time of year. And the Sugar is played inside the Superdome down in the Big Easy, so conditions are never a factor there either.
