Please patronize our advertisers to help
keep theOzone.net free for everyone.

The-Ozone.net Mall

Interesting, Fun companies with interesting, quality products - and the-Ozone gets a piece of the action!

Football
Indianapolis A Great Choice For Big Ten's First Championship Football Game
By Tony Gerdeman

On Thursday, the Big Ten announced that the inaugural conference championship football game will be played in Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium.

The location shouldn't come as much of a surprise. Chicago may be where the Big Ten's money is counted, but Indianapolis is where it's earned. Indianapolis is essentially the Big Ten's home base for all things championship-related.

The men's and women's basketball tournaments have been held in Indianapolis many times. In fact only once since the women's tournament was first played in 1995 has the Big Ten held it anywhere other than Indianapolis.

The men's tournament has cycled back and forth between Indianapolis and Chicago over its first thirteen years, with seven of those tournaments taking place in Chicago. The next two, however, are scheduled for Indianapolis, giving them five in a row.

It isn't just the Big Ten, however, that enjoys Indianapolis. Over the last 20 years, the men's Final Four has been in Indianapolis five times, and they currently have an agreement to continue hosting it every five years.

Nine weeks and one day after the Big Ten plays their championship game in Indianapolis, the NFL will play theirs.

If there was a city that would have been voted “Most Likely To Get The First Big Ten Championship Game”, Indianapolis would have won it going away. Unless, much like voting a cow as the homecoming queen, the vote went to Detroit.

There is, however, still the small matter of deciding on actually having the conference championship game, as well as figuring out the divisions and whatnot. But obviously, the conference championship decision isn't one that we need to hold our breath on. It was made long ago, though we still don't know who will be getting the opportunity to play whom.

One step at a time.

The conference will now spend the next 30 days negotiating with the Indiana Sports Corp and Lucas Oil Stadium to actually be able to hold the game in the city and the venue that they've already decided is going to host their biggest game ever.

Indianapolis was practically begging for this game, so expect those 30 days to be well-received by all parties. And if you're some rag-tag circus, or the Harlem Globetrotters, and you were scheduled to be at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 3, 2011, you might want to start looking at alternative venues.

Once the Big Ten gets this deal finalized, they will proceed scheduling the game for the next few years out, which almost makes it sound like the championship game site will rotate. But perhaps we're being too eager in our reading between the lines.

Given that you have polar schools of thought on having an outdoor conference championship game versus an indoor game, Lucas Oil Stadium makes the most sense considering that it has a retractable roof and you can tell both bickering parties exactly what they want to hear.

But it's not just about the venue. The city of Indianapolis itself is so accustomed to hosting these things that it's second nature. The entire city is like a sports fan's ultimate bed and breakfast.

Dozens of hotels, restaurants, bars and...well, what else do you really need...all within walking distance of the stadium, make Indianapolis just about the most ideal site for a conference championship game as you could find.

It's the easiest place to get in and out of—in just about every facet. Once you get to your car, you're on the highway in ten minutes. Try finding the highway in ten minutes in Chicago. And try finding your car in Detroit.

This decision was an easy and logical one — and the fact that they got it right, should perhaps calm some Buckeye nerves that might be on edge now as they think about what the conference is going to do with the Michigan game.

Besides, has Jim Delany led you astray yet?

As Jim Tressel said after the announcement was made, “Indianapolis is the capital city of college athletics.” Plus, it's the only site where there's no fear of a local team making the championship game. Wait...I forgot about Detroit.

The site of the championship game may rotate from year to year, but Indianapolis is the only site that will always make the game solely about Big Ten football. When the game is in Detroit, it will be about helping out a dying city. When it's in Chicago, it will be about “venerable Soldier Field” (and it's spaceshipness). When it's in Green Bay, it will be about Lambeau Field—and somehow tangentially about Favre. And if it's ever in Cleveland, then I'll eat my hat.

Indianapolis is like a couple of Amish parents, and the Big Ten is like their teenage son. They're going to let him go out and experience life (and other venues), but they're confident that when he sees what he sees, he'll know where he belongs—and he'll come back home to Indianapolis.

Albeit with a couple of new tattoos and stories for years.

Donate by Check :

Ozone Communications
1380 King Avenue
Columbus, Ohio

Help us bring you more Buckeye coverage. Donate to the-Ozone.

Click here to email this the-Ozone feature to a friend...or even a foe.

(c) 2010 The O-Zone, O-Zone Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, rebroadcast,rewritten, or redistributed.