Finally, a decent barnstorming game?

[Terry in Crapchester]

Reports are that ND could face Maryland in Fed Ex Field in 2011. http://www.irishsportsdaily.com/footbal ... d-maryland

Certainly better than Arizona State in Dallas or Washington State in San Antonio. At least Maryland has some ties to the area.

[SunCoastSooner]

This was a supposed to be a funny thread, right?

[MuchoBulls]

Thought ND wanted to play a game in FL at some point?

[SunCoastSooner]

Thought ND wanted to play a game in FL at some point?

Probably did at one point but couldn't find a team from the west coast to meet them there to do it.

[Terry in Crapchester]

I'd rather see them play MD in Baltimore. The Crab Bowl (MD/Navy) is there this year.

Look on the bright side, Screw. That much easier for you to get your ND hate on in person.

This was a supposed to be a funny thread, right?

Notre Dame-Maryland?

Should I be excited?



yaaaawwwwn



Sorry, Irish and Terps fans, but that just doesn't get it.

When ND plays Alabama again, I'll perk up.

I said decent, not great.

I'd rather have a marquee opponent, particularly since the barnstorming game was advertised as being a bowl game-type atmosphere. If we can't have that, at least having an opponent with ties to the area is better than what we've gotten so far.

[PSUFAN]

Get an early flight.

-mtwoooolio

[Degenerate]

Maryland's an easier draw than Navy, anyway.

[campinfool]

Maybe they should go SEC and schedule Coastal Carolina or Citadel. That would grab the attention of the nation. Maybe even get the cover of SI.

[King Crimson]

i just wish the ND fans i know (one is a good buddy from college and another is a bandwagon type but good colleague) would not polish the turd on these goofball matchups (Wazzou in San Antonio, Baylor in the Superdome) as "letting the ND national (word is pronounced lovingly, sometimes with the lisp for aristos) fan-base see their team"....when everyone on planet earth knows its about recruiting in places like Texas, the mid-south (SEC country), east coast (NJ, Penn), Florida, etc.

the opponents have one thing in common: they aren't very good and while seemingly arbitrary the locations have a rationale. it's smart in a way, but it's also very utilitarian beneath the sheen of the apparent wackiness.

[Terry in Crapchester]

Actually, it's all about the NBC deal. That much has become clear by now. Viz. the NBC deal, it does two things:

1. Gives NBC an eighth date, without giving ND an eighth "home" game (which would look a little too obvious); and

2. Gives NBC a prime-time game, without ND's administration having the worry of policing 80,000 people on campus who have had an entire day before kickoff to drink.

As for the location/opponent dichotomy, there's a purpose to that as well: the location is always played outside the opponent's conference's market, so that NBC, and not the network of the opponent's conference, will have TV rights. With respect to that qualification, Maryland in DC works, in that DC is outside the ACC market, I believe. But it's not quite as bizarre a fit as Washington State in San Antonio. Fwiw, there has been some talk of ND-Miami in the Meadowlands as a future barnstorming game. That's probably about the best scenario we can get.

[King Crimson]

that's interesting. better be good TV money because it's hard for me to see more than about 45,000 people in the Alamodome to see ND-Wazzou or ND-Baylor in NO. can't speak to ND-Maryland in DC....probably better numbers there due to population density and just seems like a better draw (more ND alums/fans). my experience of Texas and NO doesn't say that's a "hot ticket".

[Terry in Crapchester]

DC is outside the ACC market

Uh, no. DC IS the ACC market for football. You realize UMD is in a DC suburb, right?

My bad on the geography. But the reason given (on the ND homer boards, at least) for the bizarre opponent/location combinations in the barnstorming games was so that NBC could televise the game. For example, if the ND-Washington State game had been played in Seattle, my understanding is that the game would have to be televised under the Pac-10's TV contract. I'm assuming that ND-Maryland will be televised by NBC, not quite sure what the difference is in that case.