Long-distance invite (Oregon wants Boise St. to move game to China in '09)

AP ^ | August 9, 2007

[ConservativeStatement]

BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- The University of Oregon is scheduled to travel to Boise State at the start of the 2009 season to play the Broncos on their blue turf, but the Ducks have suggested playing the game elsewhere -- in China.

Jeff Hawkins, Oregon's director of football operations, said that Oregon athletic director Pat Kilkenny made the invitation to Boise State athletic director Gene Bleymaier last spring.

Boise State is considering the invitation.

[stboz]

Uh....no. Boise kicked Oklahoma’s behind. What’s Oregon got to show?

[A message]

The Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots were scheduled to play in China this month but that plan collapsed after the NFL decided the country didn't have a fan base for the game.

Uh, duh.

[the anti-liberal]

In China?

What with the smog, tainted food and water, I guess the game is to see who comes back to the States with the most still living team members.

[dr_lew]

Do they have blue field in China?

[WilliamofCarmichael]

China is home to 16 of the world's 20 most polluted cities; water pollution affects as much as 70 percent of the country; air pollution is blamed for the premature death of some 400,000 Chinese annually . . .

That guy's trying to kill both teams!

[aliquando]

Why does’nt Oregon move their home game with Boise St. to Oregon. As an Auburn fan I would much rather play LSU in Calgary or Paris than in Baton Rouge!!

[SmoothTalker]

A stupid idea. It would cost a fortune to get the kids over, jetlag would be a problem, they’d miss lots of school (not like the school component of bigtime college sports really matters to most programs), and their own fans would have trouble watching. A stupid gimmic. I remember a couple years back when someone tried to rope UNC and MSU to play a basketball game on an aircraft carrier. Luckily that gimmic didn’t happen.

[Salvation]

Didn't get a ping, so sorry that this is a late Oregon ping.

Oregon Ping

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[Clinging Bitterly]

Oregon is a high budget program, so losing a home game on the schedule would be out of the question. That's about two million bucks in the bank. Boise State doesn't have as much gate, and the extra TV money for what would probably be a national spectacle (though not much else) would be a greater benefit to them financially, though I'm sure from the local fans' perspective they'd rather have the home game.

At the end of the day, money will probably trump the fans.

[TruthWillWin]

Do they have blue field in China?

Actually it is Red.