Do you guys think its fair to hold the Pac-12 Title Game at the home teams venue rather than a neutral site? All the other major conferences hold it at neutral sites. SEC = Georgia Dome (Falcons). Big 10 = Lucas Oil Stadium (Colts). ACC = Bank Of America Stadium (Panthers). I just think Qualcomm (Chargers) would be the best venue for a neutral site for the Pac-12. Weather would be good, grass field, its closer to more campuses then the CLink, its a larger city than Seattle, and a better area to visit this time of year.

I just don't think its fair that a team gets home field advantage like its set up right now. Stanford getting to host UCLA at home is ridiculous. If my team had to travel to Death Valley, the Swamp, Bryant-Denny, or Sanford Stadium I would feel like thats a total disadvantage.

I love it.

If a team doesnt think its fair they should have won more games.

Its just another incentive to win as many games as possible and get the best record so you can host the game. Its not a true home game though, both teams get half the tickets (technically) its just played at the home venue. Plus there's lots of corporate seats and everything so its not like its part of the season ticket package or anything.

If it wasnt this way I would want it so the game goes on a rotation of all 12 stadiums. I would hate it if it was down in So Cal every single year.

_________________

Of course it's fair. Why have it in LA every year, that only rewards the LA teams.

Thats a good point. If they keep the tickets at 50/50.

L.A. isn't San Diego.

LA and San Diego are basically one big city, so who would draw more fans if say Oregon played USC? Well, it's an hour and a half drive for the USC fans. It's a day plus for Oregon fans. So yes... it would be rewarding the LA teams. This is just like when they attempted to move the Apple Cup to the Clink every year saying it was a neutral site. Well, who is more likely to come? People who drive at most 50 miles (Husky fans) or those who have to drive all the way across the state from Pullman?

San Diego would essentially be a home game for UCLA and USC in the same way that it would be a home game for the Husky at the Clink, and a homer for the Arizona teams if it were played in the Cards stadium.

_________________

R.I.P. Dad. I miss you. You will never be forgotten
1/12/39 - 8/7/08

Its a lot more San Diego then Pullman, or Salt Lake City, or Corvallis, or even Palo Alto is. I dont know this to be mathematically true, but just from looking at a map it seems like the Pac 12 probably covers more miles and greater distances then most conferences do. Like the SEC even though it covers many states it seems like they're all more tightly grouped. So it makes less sense out here in the West to play it at one spot because there's no good central spot in the Conference.

I suppose if we wanted to find a good centralized location we could play it in Boise, Idaho or something.

_________________

When you live in the NW, they are

_________________
I got passion for my Hawks and I ain't afraid to show it

Yeah I get it. I made the trip from Arizona to Tacoma. Stopped half way in Sacramento. I was just thinking it would be the best conditions, and best location, best weather. I just hope to see a 50/50 fan base represented at Stanford otherwise I'll feel its just a cash grab to make more money.

I think having an actual home team is best for two reasons:

#1: Home crowds are louder than mixed crowds, they just aren't cheering for both teams.

#2: Neutral locations usually favor one team a little more than the other. For example, if UW plays USC in the championship game and that game is located in LA or San Diego, that location obviously favors USC. It would be like a road game for UW. It goes without saying that a Pac-12 neutral location would never be in Washington or Oregon. It would probably be in southern California somewhere. As is the case for the Pac-12 basketball tourney.

_________________

"I believe there’s merit to the idea that once something in life becomes conventional, it’s no longer the safest path to success." -Matt Waldman
"If everyone's thinking alike, no one's thinking." -Bill Walsh

In bad traffic it can take four hours or more to get from LA to San Diego.

_________________
Help bring peace to the South LA / Puget Sound communities. Are you in?
http://www.abetterla.org | https://www.causes.com/fb/donations/new?cause_id=62891&fundraiser_id=14387774&m=2799c87f
http://www.abetterseattle.com | https://twitter.com/#!/ABetterSeattle

I wish it'd travel around to the various sites personally.

_________________

Official Tharold Simon Fan Club Member

"Thank you Jesus for creating Dr. Pepper and giving me $100,000"

Yeah... "Jesus" gave you a university tuition courtesy of a popular soft drink.

Pathetic and embarassing how many empty seats there are in that stadium. Looks like its barely over half full. Stanford fans won't even show up for their really good team at home, so i'm guessing the crowd would be even smaller if it was at a neutral site.

_________________

Wow, that was the longest sack I've ever seen.

Yeah I was gonna say that San Diego and Los Angeles are definitely not one big city. It's taken me 3.5 hours to get to San Diego before with the traffic.

Mora better not throw his freshman kicker under the bus like he did Olindo Mare. Great game though.

He might want to throw his snapper under the bus though. Pretty bad snap, although I doubt he would have made the kick even if was perfect. Not on that field in those conditions.

_________________

You're probably right about the neutral site thing JSeahawk. Its kind of hard to travel and be there on a Friday and like you said the crowd wasn't even full capacity for 2 schools in the same state. Maybe the Pac-12 Championship just doesn't have the same luster as some of the other conference championships. Just seems crazy because growing up as a kid the Rose Bowl was a big deal for us kids.

Stanford especially has a pretty weak fan base that doesnt show up much. If that game is at Oregon, Washington, USC, or several other schools in the conference its an easy sell out.

The one thing i would change if i were in charge is the time of the game. Move it to Saturday night. Friday at 5 is a terrible time for a game and makes it awfully tough for many fans to get to. Or if you're going to keep it on Friday move it back a few hours. If you play it at 5 on the west coast it seems like a west coast conference pandering for an east coast audience.

_________________