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	<title>Stiletto Sports &#187; A Girl&#8217;s Guide to the college Bowls</title>
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		<title>The BCS Mythical National Championship</title>
		<link>http://www.stilettosetsports.com/the-bcs-mythical-national-championship/</link>
		<comments>http://www.stilettosetsports.com/the-bcs-mythical-national-championship/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 08 Jan 2010 01:13:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Stiletto Jen</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[A Girl's Guide to the college Bowls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[college football]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bcs championship game]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[college football championship]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mythical national championship]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[texas longhorns vs alabama crimson tide]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stilettosetsports.com/?p=7861</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The BCS Championship Game is one of the most anticipated game of the college football season. But does it even really matter?<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/the-bcs-mythical-national-championship/">The BCS Mythical National Championship</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com">Stiletto Sports</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;"><a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stilettosetsports.com%2Fthe-bcs-mythical-national-championship%2F"><img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stilettosetsports.com%2Fthe-bcs-mythical-national-championship%2F" height="61" width="51" /></a></div><p>So remember a few months ago we talked about the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of college football? We went through the <a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/girls-guide-to-college-football-the-rivalries/">rivalries</a>, the <a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/college-football-vs-nfl/">differences with the NFL</a>, the<a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/girls-guide-to-college-football-fbs-bcs/"> post season bowl games</a> and even mentioned the <a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/a-girls-guide-to-bowls-part-iii-the-bcs/">Bowl Championship Game</a>. But there is one thing we really didn&#8217;t go over in full depth: the national championship. And there is a reason for that.</p>
<div id="attachment_7862" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/mythical-national-championship-bcs.gif"><img class="size-medium wp-image-7862" title="mythical national championship bcs" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/mythical-national-championship-bcs-300x193.gif" alt="" width="300" height="193" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">from rocky mountain news</p></div>
<p>See, the FBS is the only NCAA sport that does not have an official tournament or playoffs to determine the winner of the season. Yes, there is a BCS Championship Game and the winner is declared the national champ but&#8230;. those two teams that go to the BCS game are handpicked according to stats, rankings and other random criteria that have been interpreted by a panel of “experts.”  They don&#8217;t play in a post-season elimination to see who is the best. This leaves the season&#8217;s true winner wide open for debate.</p>
<p>So basically, last year the panel said “hmmm, we think Florida and Oklahoma are the two best teams this year.” And then Florida and Oklahoma got to be in the big game for the 2008-09 season.<br />
And last year, I’m sure Florida and Oklahoma were thrilled. Utah, USC and Texas, however, were not. I know, it sounds like sour grapes, jealousy or sore losers but it&#8217;s not.</p>
<p>All three of them believed they were the No. 1 team last season and wanted to have their chance to prove it in the championship game. Utah won its post season bowl game and was the only team to go undefeated in the 08-09 season—unlike the two teams that were chosen as the best teams in the country to play for the championship game.</p>
<p>There is a ton of controversy around the BCS rankings and decisions. Utah is not the first undefeated team to be left out of the championship game. It actually happens quite a bit! In fact, the BCS rankings, especially for the championship game are so controversial that the Associated Press asked for their poll to be removed from decision making process. The AP Poll features the Top 25 rankings according to sportswriters and analysts from all over the country.</p>
<p>Even though the BCS declares the winner of the championship as the No. 1 team of the season, the AP Poll does not always agree. There technically is no college football national champion. The BCS National Championship Game is affectionately known as the <em><strong>Mythical National Championship</strong></em>.</p>
<p>So who will be this year&#8217;s Mythical National Champs? The Texas Longhorns or the Alabama Crimson Tide</p>
<p>**What really sucks for the 2010 BCS Championship is right at the beginning of the 1st quarter, Texas Heisman Nominated QB Colt McCoy was hit hard with a major shoulder injury and had to be replaced by a freshman backup. So it&#8217;s like a championship between the No. 1 team, and a No. 16 team&#8230;. very sad. You almost want them to call the game and do it again another day because even when &#8216;Bama wins, everyone will always say &#8220;wonder what would have happened if McCoy stayed in&#8230;..&#8221;</p>
<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/the-bcs-mythical-national-championship/">The BCS Mythical National Championship</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com">Stiletto Sports</a></p>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>It&#8217;s Beginning To Look A Lot Like College Bowl Season: 2010 BCS Bowl Games Breakdown</title>
		<link>http://www.stilettosetsports.com/its-beginning-to-look-a-lot-like-college-bowl-season-2010-bcs-bowl-games-breakdown/</link>
		<comments>http://www.stilettosetsports.com/its-beginning-to-look-a-lot-like-college-bowl-season-2010-bcs-bowl-games-breakdown/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:33:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Stiletto Jen</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[A Girl's Guide to the college Bowls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FootballFeatured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[college football]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[2009-2010 bowl games]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[alabama crimson tide vs. texas longhorns]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bcs bowl games]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bcs standings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[selection sunday]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tcu vs. boise state]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stilettosetsports.com/?p=7370</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Selection Sunday is over and the College Football Bowl Season schedule is set! <p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/its-beginning-to-look-a-lot-like-college-bowl-season-2010-bcs-bowl-games-breakdown/">It&#8217;s Beginning To Look A Lot Like College Bowl Season: 2010 BCS Bowl Games Breakdown</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com">Stiletto Sports</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;"><a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stilettosetsports.com%2Fits-beginning-to-look-a-lot-like-college-bowl-season-2010-bcs-bowl-games-breakdown%2F"><img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stilettosetsports.com%2Fits-beginning-to-look-a-lot-like-college-bowl-season-2010-bcs-bowl-games-breakdown%2F" height="61" width="51" /></a></div><p>Selection Sunday is over and the College Football Bowl Season schedule is set! But the first Bowl Championship Series (BCS) game doesn&#8217;t start until January 1st. So does that mean we have almost a month off from college football?</p>
<p>Eh, not so much no.</p>
<p>The Big 5 Bowl Games that make up the BCS (Rose, Sugar, Fiesta, Orange, BCS Title) are the ones that feature the best teams in the country and are the ones that everyone is eagerly anticipating. But there are 29 other bowl games to tune into! The first game is the New Mexico Bowl on Dec 19th featuring Fresno State and Wyoming. Can&#8217;t make it without college football until then? The FCS (or <a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/girls-guide-to-college-football-fbs-bcs/">Football Championship Subdivision</a> of NCAA football) is in their final championship stretch until Dec 18. NCAA.Com has <a href="http://www.ncaa.com/sports/m-footbl/champpage/m-footbl-div1-index.html">the full schedule.</a></p>
<p>Here is a quick rundown of the BCS Bowl Games that were announced during Selection Sunday. As January grows closer we&#8217;ll be doing an in depth analysis of each games. Well, okay, we&#8217;ll be doing some kind of analysis&#8230;&#8230;.</p>
<p><strong>Rose Bowl</strong> see my blog about the <a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/a-girls-guide-to-the-bowls-part-ii-the-pretty-rose-bowl/">pretty Rose Bowl</a> for additional information.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/logo-rose-bowl.jpg"><img title="logo-rose-bowl" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/logo-rose-bowl-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a></p>
<ul>
<li>Features the Big 10 and the Pac 10.</li>
<li>Played in Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California.</li>
<li>2009 is the 95th anniversary of the Rose Bowl (in it&#8217;s current stadium. It has been around since 1902 in other forms)</li>
<li>Brought to us by citi.</li>
<li>January 1:<em> #8 Ohio State (10-2)  vs. #7 </em><em>Oregon (10-2) 4:30 p.m.<br />
</em></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Orange</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/orange-bowl.png"><img title="orange-bowl" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/orange-bowl.png" alt="" width="150" height="174" /></a></p>
<ul>
<li>Features the champion of the Atlantic Coast Conference.</li>
<li>2009 is the 75th anniversary of the Orange Bowl.</li>
<li>Played in Dolphin Stadium in Miami, Florida</li>
<li>Brought to us by FedEx</li>
<li>January 5: #10  <em>Iowa (10-2) vs. Georgia  Tech (11-2) 8 p.m.<br />
</em></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Sugar</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/small-sugar.gif"><img title="small-sugar" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/small-sugar.gif" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a></p>
<ul>
<li>Features the champion of Southeastern Conference</li>
<li>2009 is the 75th anniversary of the Sugar Bowl</li>
<li>Played in the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana</li>
<li>Brought to us by Allstate</li>
<li>Because Florida, champ of the SEC, was chosen for the Championship game this year the Sugar Bowl features 2 randoms instead of 1:</li>
<li>January 1: <em>#5 Florida (12-1) vs. #3 Cincinnati (12-0) 8:30 p.m. Florida, who was ranked No.1 until their devastating loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship got bumped to No. 5 in the ranks, but is still considered by many to be the elite team and the one to really beat.<br />
</em></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Fiesta</strong>:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/fiesta.jpg"><img title="fiesta" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/fiesta.jpg" alt="" width="104" height="93" /></a></p>
<ul>
<li>Features the champion of the Big 12 Conference</li>
<li>Played at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona</li>
<li>2009 is the 38th anniversary of the Fiesta Bowl</li>
<li>Brought to us by Tostitos</li>
<li>January 4: <em>#4 TCU (12-0) vs. #6  Boise State (13-0) 8:00 p.m. Both teams were undefeated this season and should be a good game, yet highly anti-climatic. Would be much more noteworthy if they were playing a big name instead of each other. </em></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>BCS National Championship</strong>:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/bcs-2010-national-championship.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-7373" title="bcs 2010 national championship" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/bcs-2010-national-championship-150x150.jpg" alt="bcs 2010 national championship" width="150" height="150" /></a></p>
<ul>
<li>Features the #1 and #2 Ranked teams in the BCS standings</li>
<li>Is held every year at one of the BCS Bowl sites</li>
<li>This year it is held in the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California</li>
<li>January 8: <em>#1 Alabama (13-0) vs. #2 Texas (13-0) 8:00 p.m.  Both teams have had more bowl appearances than any other team. Alabama 57 bowls, Texas 49. The game pitts Heisman Trophy nominees Mark Ingram (Crimson Tide) and Colt McCoy (Longhorns) against each other. Alabama clinched the No. 1 spot after their beatdown of the Florida Gators in the SEC Championship.<br />
</em></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/its-beginning-to-look-a-lot-like-college-bowl-season-2010-bcs-bowl-games-breakdown/">It&#8217;s Beginning To Look A Lot Like College Bowl Season: 2010 BCS Bowl Games Breakdown</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com">Stiletto Sports</a></p>
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		<item>
		<title>Girl&#8217;s Guide to College Football: The FBS, FCS, BCS&#8230;OMG! WTF?</title>
		<link>http://www.stilettosetsports.com/girls-guide-to-college-football-fbs-bcs/</link>
		<comments>http://www.stilettosetsports.com/girls-guide-to-college-football-fbs-bcs/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:51:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Stiletto Jen</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[A Girl's Guide to the college Bowls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[college football]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[college football 101]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[college football basics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[college football conferences]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[college football powerhouse conferences]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fbs v. fcs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[football for dummies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[football subdivisions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[girl's guide to college football]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[guide to the college football bowls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ncaa football]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the bcs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[what is a college football bowl?]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stilettosetsports.com/?p=6455</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Just like in the NFL, college football is broken down into divisions and conferences. But that's where the similarities end. College Football's structure is completely different. And weird.<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/girls-guide-to-college-football-fbs-bcs/">Girl&#8217;s Guide to College Football: The FBS, FCS, BCS&#8230;OMG! WTF?</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com">Stiletto Sports</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;"><a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stilettosetsports.com%2Fgirls-guide-to-college-football-fbs-bcs%2F"><img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stilettosetsports.com%2Fgirls-guide-to-college-football-fbs-bcs%2F" height="61" width="51" /></a></div><p>Just like in the NFL, college football is broken down into <em>divisions </em>and <em>conferences</em>. But that&#8217;s where the similarities end. College Football&#8217;s structure is completely different. And weird.</p>
<p>Okay. So, in college, the divisions are DI, DII, and DIII. Division I is the best so that is the one we are going to focus on. Within each division there are conferences. And then&#8230;.within that structure, there are actually two <em>subdivisions</em>.</p>
<ol>
<li> <strong>Football Bowl Subdivision</strong> (FBS)</li>
<li><strong>Football Championship Subdivision </strong>(FCS)</li>
</ol>
<p>The teams that make up the FBS are the games that everyone tunes into. In fact, when I started to tell my roommate (a huge Ohio State fanatic) about all I had learned about the FBS and the FCS, he looked at me like I grew seven heads and said “um yeah, no one cares about that. The FBS  games are what we watch.”</p>
<p>So why aren&#8217;t all teams in the elite FBS? Because the NCAA divides the DI schools into division based on their attendance at games and their scholarships (in other words, do they have enough cash and financial backing for their program to be in the elite).</p>
<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/college-football-team-map2.gif"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-6496" title="college football team map" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/college-football-team-map2.gif" alt="college football team map" width="700" height="427" /></a></p>
<h2>The FBS</h2>
<p>The <em>Football Bowl Subdivision</em> is comprised of</p>
<ul>
<li> <strong>Six “Powerhouse” Conferences</strong>. They are like the A-list celebrities that you want at your party.</li>
<li><strong>The “Mid-Majors” </strong>The high end B-listers.</li>
<li><strong>The Independents:</strong> The randoms celebs that everyone accepts as must-haves at the party, but have no idea why&#8230; like Paris Hilton&#8230;.</li>
</ul>
<p>In 2009, there are 120 schools that make up the FBS. More can join every year as long as they prove themselves worthy.</p>
<p>The <em>Football Championship Conference</em> is comprised of the other conferences. In other words, these are the people at the party that can provide good entertainment value but no one really cares if they don&#8217;t show up.</p>
<p>Oh and one more point, conferences with 12 or more schools are allowed to split into more divisions (i.e. east/west) and can have divisional championship games within their own conference.</p>
<h3>The Powerhouse FBS Conferences:</h3>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong><em>The Atlantic Conference (ACC)</em></strong><br />
<em> East                                                                                                         West</em><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/acc-logo.jpg"><img class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-6480" title="acc logo" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/acc-logo-150x150.jpg" alt="acc logo" width="150" height="150" /></a><br />
Boston College                                        	         Virginia Tech<br />
Clemson                                                    	                     Georgia Tech<br />
Florida State                                                                  Miami<br />
Maryland                                                	                     Virginia<br />
North Carolina State                          	         North Carolina<br />
Wake Forest                                           	                     Duke</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong><em>The Big East</em></strong><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/big-east-logo.gif"><img class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-6481" title="big east logo" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/big-east-logo-150x150.gif" alt="big east logo" width="150" height="150" /></a><br />
Cincinnati<br />
USF<br />
Pittsburgh<br />
UConn<br />
Syracuse<br />
West Virginia<br />
Louisville<br />
Rutgers</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em><strong>The Big 10</strong></em><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/big-10-logo.jpg"><img class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-6482" title="big 10 logo" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/big-10-logo-150x150.jpg" alt="big 10 logo" width="150" height="150" /></a><br />
Michigan<br />
Purdue<br />
Penn State<br />
Ohio State<br />
Wisconsin<br />
Northwestern<br />
Minnesota<br />
Mich State<br />
Iowa<br />
Indiana<br />
Illinois</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em><strong>The Big 12<a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/big-12-logo-small.gif"><img class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-6486" title="big 12 logo small" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/big-12-logo-small-150x150.gif" alt="big 12 logo small" width="150" height="150" /></a></strong></em></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Colorado                                 	       Baylor<br />
Iowa State                              	       Oklahoma<br />
Kansas                                   	       Oklahoma State<br />
Kansas State                         	       Texas<br />
Missouri                                 	       Texas A&amp;M<br />
Nebraska                                Texas Tech</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em><strong>Pacific-10:</strong></em><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/pac-10-logo.jpg"><img class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-6484" title="pac-10 logo" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/pac-10-logo-150x150.jpg" alt="pac-10 logo" width="150" height="150" /></a><br />
USC<br />
UCLA<br />
Stanford<br />
Oregon<br />
Arizona<br />
Washington<br />
California<br />
Wash State<br />
Arizona State<br />
Oregon State</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em><strong>Southeastern Conference (SEC):</strong></em><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/sec-logo.gif"><img class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-6485" title="sec logo" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/sec-logo-150x150.gif" alt="sec logo" width="150" height="150" /></a><br />
Arkansas<br />
Alabama<br />
Florida<br />
Georgia,<br />
Kentucky<br />
Vanderbilt<br />
Mississippi<br />
Tennessee<br />
Auburn<br />
Mississippi State<br />
South Carolina</p>
<h3>The Mid-Majors:</h3>
<p>I&#8217;m not going to spend time running through all the teams in these conferences.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Conference USA:</strong></li>
<li><strong> Mid-American (MAC):</strong></li>
<li><strong> Mountain West:</strong></li>
<li><strong> Sun Belt</strong></li>
<li><strong> Western Athletic (WAC)</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>The FBS Independents</h3>
<p>Somewhere in between the Powerhouses and the Mid-Majors come the Independents. They split from their conferences for various reasons but still participate in the high profile games.<br />
They are:</p>
<ul>
<li> Notre Dame</li>
<li> Army</li>
<li> Navy</li>
</ul>
<h2>The FCS</h2>
<p>The rest of Division I college football conferences  make up the Football Championship Subdivision.</p>
<p>These conferences don&#8217;t partake in the whole Bowl Phenomenon that everyone else is so crazy about. Mostly because of financing. The schools in these conferences don&#8217;t pull in enough attendance and financial backing to support a bowl game. Instead, they have a 16 team elimination process/playoffs at the end of their season—like most other NCAA sports.</p>
<p>I&#8217;m not going to go too in depth with the FCS because, like I said earlier, all of the attention in college football is on the FBS but here is a quick rundown of the conferences:</p>
<p><em>Big Sky, Big South, Colonial Athletic, Great West, FCS Independents, Ivy League, Mid-Eastern Athletic, Missouri Valley, Northeastern, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Pioneer, Southern, Southland, Southwestern Athletic.</em></p>
<h2>The FBS &amp; The BCS</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/bowl-championship.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-6478 alignleft" title="bowl championship" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/bowl-championship-300x268.jpg" alt="bowl championship" width="300" height="268" /></a></p>
<p>As if it wasn&#8217;t confusing enough, the college football bigwigs created the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) to really complicate it.</p>
<p>So remember those six powerhouse conferences of the FBS? Not only do they make up the core of the Football Bowl Subdivision, they are also the<strong> six BCS conferences.</strong><br />
<em> </em></p>
<p><em>Breaking it Down:</em><br />
Let&#8217;s take the Florida Gators (Go Gators!) as the example.<br />
Florida is in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) so: The Florida Gators are in a powerhouse conference in both the Football Bowl Subdivision and the Bowl Championship Series.<br />
Memorize that. It will score major brownie points (although, not if the crew you are out with are FSU or Oklahoma fans!)</p>
<p><strong><em>So what&#8217;s the deal with the BCS?</em></strong><br />
Way back in the beginning there was only one bowl: The Rose. By the 1940s it grew to 5 and in the &#8217;70s swelled to 11.  Currently there are 34 college football bowls,  So over the course of time, and as more and more bowl games started to pop up in the post season, the elite wanted to separate themselves from the pack.</p>
<p>The BCS is made up of five key bowl games: The Rose, The Orange, The Sugar, The Fiesta, and the Bowl National Championship Game. Think of them as the Limoges of college football bowls.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/bowl-championship-series-bowls.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-6476" title="bowl championship series bowls" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/bowl-championship-series-bowls.jpg" alt="bowl championship series bowls" width="377" height="200" /></a></p>
<p>Each bowl features a conference and the top ranked team of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and SEC have an automatic place in their host’s bowl (i.e. the ACC hosts the Orange Bowl so the No. 1 team in the ACC automatically gets to play in the game).  Oh, and Notre Dame automatically gets to go if they are ranked in the top 8 because their athletics director helps with BCS standings and decisions. (Sure, that seems fair and not at all like bribery).</p>
<p>In addition to competing to be No. 1 in their respective conferences, all the teams are battling to be the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked BCS teams in the country because those two head to the BCS National Championship Game. The winner of that game is declared the national champ and No. 1 team in the country for the season. To some people.</p>
<p><em>How it works:</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/bcs.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-6479 aligncenter" title="bcs" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/bcs-300x106.jpg" alt="bcs" width="300" height="106" /></a><br />
</em></p>
<p>The BCS uses a very complicated set of stats, polls and math to determine the top  teams in the country. This is widely debated and topic of controversy every season. I would break it down, but I really have no idea. Even seasoned college football fans have a hard time understanding how the rankings come to be. Because shock of all shocks, they had to go and make it all complicated with all sorts of crazy rules. Think I’m kidding? Check out the BCS Football Selection Procedures if you don’t believe me.</p>
<p>One rule that you should be aware of is that a team cannot play in a BCS Bowl came and then compete in the BCS National Championship. <a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/bcs-logo.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-6477" title="bcs logo" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/bcs-logo-300x200.jpg" alt="bcs logo" width="300" height="200" /></a></p>
<p>Take last year for example. Oklahoma was the No. 1 team for the Big 12, meaning they had an automatic spot in the Fiesta Bowl. And Florida was the No. 1 team for the SEC, meaning they should play in the Sugar Bowl. But the BCS committee determined that Florida and Oklahoma were the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country and wanted them to be in the Championship. So they were. And Texas played in the Fiesta Bowl in Oklahoma&#8217;s spot and Alabama was selected to play in the Sugar Bowl. The newly selected teams do not have to be a part of the host&#8217;s original conference (Big 12, SEC in this case).</p>
<p>Yes, my head hurts too from all of this. But apparently it has really helped college football because it was all chaotic before they installed this system. Hmm.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/girls-guide-to-college-football-fbs-bcs/">Girl&#8217;s Guide to College Football: The FBS, FCS, BCS&#8230;OMG! WTF?</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com">Stiletto Sports</a></p>
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		<title>A Girl&#8217;s Guide to the Bowls: Fiesta Recap</title>
		<link>http://www.stilettosetsports.com/a-girls-guide-to-the-bowls-fiesta-recap/</link>
		<comments>http://www.stilettosetsports.com/a-girls-guide-to-the-bowls-fiesta-recap/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:57:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Stiletto Jen</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[A Girl's Guide to the college Bowls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[college football]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fiesta bowl 2009]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stilettosetsports.com/?p=1142</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There really wasn't a lot going on in (my) sporting world last night. The big story was the Fiesta Bowl and I'm going to admit right now, I didn't watch it. I mean hello, it was the season premiere of The Bachelor, day two of Superstars of Dance plus Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill returned! It was a big night in my world and my DVR was quite busy! However, I was texted with two minutes left in the game and told to tune in because interesting things were happening.

Here's last night's recap:<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/a-girls-guide-to-the-bowls-fiesta-recap/">A Girl&#8217;s Guide to the Bowls: Fiesta Recap</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com">Stiletto Sports</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;"><a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stilettosetsports.com%2Fa-girls-guide-to-the-bowls-fiesta-recap%2F"><img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stilettosetsports.com%2Fa-girls-guide-to-the-bowls-fiesta-recap%2F" height="61" width="51" /></a></div><p>There really wasn&#8217;t a lot going on in (my) sporting world last night. The big story was the Fiesta Bowl and I&#8217;m going to admit right now, I didn&#8217;t watch it. I mean hello, it was the season premiere of The Bachelor, day two of Superstars of Dance <strong>plus </strong>Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill returned! It was a big night in my world and my DVR was quite busy! However, I was texted with two minutes left in the game and told to tune in because interesting things were happening.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s last night&#8217;s recap:</p>
<p><em>One Tree Hill:</em> Peyton is pregnant! Nate got the point guard position with Charleston. And they got Q&#8217;s killer</p>
<p><em>The Bachelor</em>: OH MY GOD! So in love with Jason, the single dad star of this season. He is like, the perfect dream guy.</p>
<div id="attachment_1144" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 295px"><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/jason-mesnik.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1144" title="jason-mesnik" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/jason-mesnik.jpg" alt="yum! The new McDreamy..." width="285" height="285" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">yum! The new McDreamy...</p></div>
<p>Oh&#8230;wait&#8230;you wanted:</p>
<p><em>The Fiesta Bowl Recap</em></p>
<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/texas-fiesta-bowl.jpeg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1143" title="texas-fiesta-bowl" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/texas-fiesta-bowl-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p>
<p>You can read this 6 line game summary in 1 minute or head to <a href="http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=290050251">ESPN.com t</a>o find the really long, drawn out non girl-friendly version that took me 15 minutes to decipher. The last 5 minutes of the game were all you really needed to know.</p>
<ul>
<li>With about 8:00 remaining in the game, the Texas Longhorns were leading 17-9</li>
<li>Then the Ohio State Buckeyes went buck-crazy (always wanted to try to say that in conversation&#8230;)</li>
<li>First, Terrelle Pryor ran in a 5-yard touchdown to bring the score to 17-15</li>
<li>Then, right before the 2 minute warning, Dan Herron scored to give the Buckeyes a 21-17 lead.</li>
<li>But&#8230;the play of the game came from the Longhorns:</li>
</ul>
<p>With 0:16 left to play, Cort McCoy passed to Quan Cosby who ran 26-yards and dove into the game winning touchdown.</p>
<p><em>Final</em>: <strong>Texas </strong>23 <strong>Ohio State </strong>21<br />
<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="425" height="344" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/EfwSrYT-gu0&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/EfwSrYT-gu0&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></p>
<p>up next: My Pick for the BCS on Jan 8th.</p>
<p>**One Tree Hill involved basketball and they talked about Seattle Seahawks on the Bachelor, therefore those are sports recaps also, ha!</p>
<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/a-girls-guide-to-the-bowls-fiesta-recap/">A Girl&#8217;s Guide to the Bowls: Fiesta Recap</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com">Stiletto Sports</a></p>
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		<title>A Girl&#8217;s Guide to College Football Bowls Part III: The BCS Breakdown</title>
		<link>http://www.stilettosetsports.com/a-girls-guide-to-bowls-part-iii-the-bcs/</link>
		<comments>http://www.stilettosetsports.com/a-girls-guide-to-bowls-part-iii-the-bcs/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 02 Jan 2009 05:02:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Stiletto Jen</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[A Girl's Guide to the college Bowls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[college football]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[2010 bowl games]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[girl's guide to college football]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[I'm going to try to give you some stuff about the Bowl Championship Series. These are the one's people get really into (think of them as the Limoges of football bowls.)<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/a-girls-guide-to-bowls-part-iii-the-bcs/">A Girl&#8217;s Guide to College Football Bowls Part III: The BCS Breakdown</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com">Stiletto Sports</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;"><a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stilettosetsports.com%2Fa-girls-guide-to-bowls-part-iii-the-bcs%2F"><img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stilettosetsports.com%2Fa-girls-guide-to-bowls-part-iii-the-bcs%2F" height="61" width="51" /></a></div><p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/bcs.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1010" title="bcs" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/bcs-300x106.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="106" /></a></p>
<p><em>*revised 12/06/09 for the 2009-10 Bowl Season</em></p>
<p>Currently there are 34 college football bowls, some bigger than others. What&#8217;s a bowl? Clearly you missed A Girl&#8217;s Guide to the Bowls Part I, so go back and read it!</p>
<p>I was going to break it all down for you but, well, I don&#8217;t want to! Because shock of all shocks, they had to go and make it all complicated to figure out with all sorts of crazy rules. Think I&#8217;m kidding? Check out the <a href="http://www.bcsfootball.org/bcsfb/eligibility" target="_blank">BCS Football Selection Procedures</a> if you don&#8217;t believe me.</p>
<p>I&#8217;m going to try to give you some stuff about the<a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/girls-guide-to-college-football-fbs-bcs/"> Bowl Championship Series</a>. These are the one&#8217;s people get really into (think of them as the Limoges of football bowls.) At the bottom is a list of all the others and a link to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCAA_football_bowl_games,_2008-09">wikipedia</a> for the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCAA_football_bowl_games,_2008-09">2008-2009 Bowl breakdown</a> including who won!</p>
<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/bowl-championship.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1002" title="bowl-championship" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/bowl-championship-300x268.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="268" /></a></p>
<p>In the beginning there was only one bowl: the Rose. By the 40s it grew to 5 and in the 70s swelled to 11. Now, three of the original five college football bowls are part of the BSC. Only now they are brought to us by very rich sponsors!</p>
<p><em>How it works: </em></p>
<p>The BCS uses rankings to determine the top two teams in the country. The top two then head to the National Championship Game.</p>
<p>The rest of the bowls have their own selection process too. Each bowl features a conference and the top ranked team of the Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and Southeastern conferences have an automatic berths in their host&#8217;s bowl. Then the bowl picks the oppponent based on that whole selection process mentioned earlier. Oh and Notre Dame automatically gets to go if they are ranked in the top 8. Cause their athletics director helps with BCS standings and decisions. Huh. That seems fair and not at all like bribery.</p>
<p>There are a lot of other rules too like what happens if the team picked for the National Championship Game was supposed to be in the Rose Bowl? It&#8217;s very complicated. But basically, they fight about it a bit, the team goes to the big game and then the Bowl gets to pick another team from the <a href="http://www.bcsfootball.org/bcsfb/definition">pool of eligible teams. </a></p>
<p>This whole thing made my head hurt. But apparently it has really helped college football because it was all chaotic before they installed this system. Hmm.</p>
<p>But here is what you need to know about the BCS. I welcome any input on this because it&#8217;s way over my head still. Not for beginners! Maybe by next football season I&#8217;ll be able to understand it all!</p>
<p><strong>Rose Bowl</strong> see my blog about the <a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/a-girls-guide-to-the-bowls-part-ii-the-pretty-rose-bowl/">pretty Rose Bowl</a> for additional information.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/logo-rose-bowl.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1003" title="logo-rose-bowl" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/logo-rose-bowl-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a></p>
<ul>
<li>Features the Big 10 and the Pac 10.</li>
<li>Played in Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California.</li>
<li>2009 is the 95th anniversary of the Rose Bowl (in it&#8217;s current stadium. It has been around since 1902 in other forms)</li>
<li>Brought to us by citi.</li>
<li>January 1:<em> Ohio State vs. </em><em>Oregon 4:30 p.m.<br />
</em></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Orange</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/orange-bowl.png"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1008" title="orange-bowl" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/orange-bowl.png" alt="" width="150" height="174" /></a></p>
<ul>
<li>Features the champion of the Atlantic Coast Conference.</li>
<li>2009 is the 75th anniversary of the Orange Bowl.</li>
<li>Played in Dolphin Stadium in Miami, Florida</li>
<li>Brought to us by FedEx</li>
<li>January 5: <em>Iowa vs. Georgia Tech 8 p.m.<br />
</em></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Sugar</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/small-sugar.gif"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1007" title="small-sugar" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/small-sugar.gif" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a></p>
<ul>
<li>Features the champion of Southeastern Conference</li>
<li>2009 is the 75th anniversary of the Sugar Bowl</li>
<li>Played in the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana</li>
<li>Brought to us by Allstate</li>
<li>Because Florida, champ of the SEC, was chosen for the Championship game this year the Sugar Bowl features 2 randoms instead of 1:</li>
<li>January 1: <em>Florida vs. Cincinnati 8:30 p.m.<br />
</em></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Fiesta</strong>:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/fiesta.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1005" title="fiesta" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/fiesta.jpg" alt="" width="104" height="93" /></a></p>
<ul>
<li>Features the champion of the Big 12 Conference</li>
<li>Played at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona</li>
<li>2009 is the 38th anniversary of the Fiesta Bowl</li>
<li>Brought to us by Tostitos</li>
<li>January 4: <em>TCU vs. Boise State 8:00 p.m. Both teams were undefeated this season. </em></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>BCS National Championship</strong>:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/bcs-2010-national-championship1.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-7374" title="bcs 2010 national championship" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/bcs-2010-national-championship1-150x150.jpg" alt="bcs 2010 national championship" width="150" height="150" /></a></p>
<ul>
<li>Features the #1 and #2 Ranked teams in the BCS standings</li>
<li>Is held every year at one of the BCS Bowl sites</li>
<li>This year it is held in the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California</li>
<li>January 8: <em>Alabama vs. Texas 8:00 p.m.  Both teams have had more bowl appearances than any other team. Alabama 57 bowls, Texas 49. The game pitts Heisman Trophy nominees Mark Ingram (Crimson Tide) and Colt McCoy (Longhorns) against each other.</em></li>
</ul>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-</p>
<p><strong>The Non BCS Bowls are as follows:</strong></p>
<p>EagleBank, New Mexico, St. Petersburg, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Poinsettia, Hawaii, Motor City, Meinieke Car Care Bowl, Champs Sports, Emerald, Independence, Papajohns, Valero Energy, Roady&#8217;s, Humanitarian, Pacific Life Holiday, Texas, Bell Helicopters Armed Forces, Gaylord Hotels Music City, Insight, Chick-fil-A, Outback, Gator, Captiol One, Liberty, International, GMAC, Sun, Cotton</p>
<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009-10_NCAA_football_bowl_games">The NCAA College Football Bowls and their 2009-2010 Breakdowns</a> or check out last years:</p>
<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCAA_football_bowl_games,_2008-09">The NCAA College Football Bowls and their 2008-2009 Breakdowns</a></p>
<p><strong><em>go back to</em></strong> <a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/a-girls-guide-to-the-bowls-part-ii-the-pretty-rose-bowl/">A Girl&#8217;s Guide to the Bowls Part II: The Pretty Rose Bowl</a></p>
<p><em><strong>or back to</strong></em> <a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/a-girls-guide-to-the-bowls-super-rose-orangecereal/">A Girl&#8217;s Guide to the Bowls Part I</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/a-girls-guide-to-bowls-part-iii-the-bcs/">A Girl&#8217;s Guide to College Football Bowls Part III: The BCS Breakdown</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com">Stiletto Sports</a></p>
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		<title>A Girl&#8217;s Guide to the Bowls Part II: The Pretty Rose Bowl</title>
		<link>http://www.stilettosetsports.com/a-girls-guide-to-the-bowls-part-ii-the-pretty-rose-bowl/</link>
		<comments>http://www.stilettosetsports.com/a-girls-guide-to-the-bowls-part-ii-the-pretty-rose-bowl/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2008 22:34:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Stiletto Jen</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[A Girl's Guide to the college Bowls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[college football]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[history of rose bowl]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[rose parade]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tournament of roses]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Before I break all the bowls down for you, I have to give you more about the biggest and best college bowl of them all, and my personal favorite: The Rose Bowl!

I read the origins but I am not entirely convinced that this still isn't a big ploy to get women to watch football. It's roses! We are suckers for flowers!<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/a-girls-guide-to-the-bowls-part-ii-the-pretty-rose-bowl/">A Girl&#8217;s Guide to the Bowls Part II: The Pretty Rose Bowl</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com">Stiletto Sports</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;"><a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stilettosetsports.com%2Fa-girls-guide-to-the-bowls-part-ii-the-pretty-rose-bowl%2F"><img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stilettosetsports.com%2Fa-girls-guide-to-the-bowls-part-ii-the-pretty-rose-bowl%2F" height="61" width="51" /></a></div><p>Before I break all the bowls down for you, I have to give you more about the biggest and best college bowl of them all, and my personal favorite: The Rose Bowl!</p>
<p>I read the origins but I am not entirely convinced that this still isn&#8217;t a big ploy to get women to watch football. It&#8217;s roses! We are suckers for flowers!</p>
<div id="attachment_901" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/roses.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-901" title="roses" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/roses-300x199.jpg" alt="look how pretty football can be!" width="300" height="199" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">look how pretty football can be!</p></div>
<p>To understand the Rose Bowl you have to first understand it&#8217;s humble beginnings:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.tournamentofroses.com/roseparade/"><strong><em>The Parade</em></strong></a></p>
<div id="attachment_975" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 249px"><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/historic-float.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-975" title="historic-float" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/historic-float.jpg" alt="Then: Historic floats from the Parade of Roses" width="239" height="182" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Then: Historic floats from the Parade of Roses</p></div>
<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/1890-rose-parade.jpg"> </a></p>
<ul>
<li>On January 1, 1890 in Pasasdena, California, the Tournament of Roses Parade began</li>
<li>The Parade was started as a way for the Valley Hunt Club to show off their nice sunny California homes to folks back East that were cold and buried in snow (how exactly, I do not know. It&#8217;s not like it was televised or put on Youtube&#8230;.)</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/1924.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-977" title="1924" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/1924-300x218.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="218" /></a></p>
<p>According to Wikipedia, Professor Charles F. Holder had announced:</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;In New York, people are buried in the snow. Here our flowers are blooming and our oranges are about to bear. Let&#8217;s hold a festival to tell the world about our paradise.&#8221; And so the Club organized Horse-drawn carriages covered in flowers, followed by foot races, polo matches, and a game of tug-of-war on the town lot attracted a crowd of 2000 to the event. Upon seeing the scores of flowers on display, the Professor decided to suggest the name &#8220;Tournament of Roses.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<ul>
<li>The Parade began adding marching bands and motorized floats. After about 11 years, the East finally took notice. Maybe because they added ostrich races and a race between a camel and elephant. Seriously? (Wiki said the elephant one. Probably stepped on the damn camel!)</li>
<li>The first Rose Bowl football game was actually the Tournament East-West Football Game and held in 1902 and was used to generate more money and attention for the parade.</li>
<li>The Rose Bowl and Stadium were created for the celebration in 1923. At that time the stadium could hold over 43,000 people! Now, it is upward of 90,000!</li>
<li> Over the last 100+ years, the Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl have become America&#8217;s New Year&#8217;s Celebration with more than a million people flocking to it every year and millions more watching it on television.</li>
</ul>
<div id="attachment_978" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/roseparadenow2.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-978" title="roseparadenow2" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/roseparadenow2-300x228.jpg" alt="Now: Floats in recent Rose Parades" width="300" height="228" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Now: Floats in recent Rose Parades</p></div>
<p><em><a href="http://www.tournamentofroses.com/rosebowlgame/"><strong>The History of the Rose Bowl &amp; the Stadium</strong></a><br />
</em></p>
<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/first-rose-bowl-game.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-971" title="first-rose-bowl-game" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/first-rose-bowl-game.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
<ul>
<li>The games is always played on New Year&#8217;s Day, unless January 1 falls on a Sunday. Then the parade and festivities are moved to January 2.</li>
<li>There are three major early events: The first ever East-West Game, The first annual Tournament of Roses football game (Rose Bowl) and the first Rose Bowl played in the Rose Bowl Stadium.</li>
<li>The first Tournament East-West Football Game pitted Michigan against Stanford  on January 1, 1902</li>
<li>Michigan destroyed Stanford 49-0 and because it was so lopsided, the Tournament of Roses Association decided not to bring football back to the festivities until 1916.</li>
<li>The first <em>annual </em>Tournament of Roses Football Game was in 1916 with Washington State University and Brown University. Washington won 14-0.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/rose-bowl-1916.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-974" title="rose-bowl-1916" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/rose-bowl-1916-216x300.jpg" alt="" width="216" height="300" /></a></p>
<ul>
<li>The first official Rose Bowl played in the Rose Bowl Stadium was in 1923 with the USC Trojans and the Penn State Nittany Lions</li>
<li>The Rose Bowl Stadium was originally in the shape of a horseshoe. It was not expanded until 1928. It is modeled after the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Conn.</li>
<li>The Stadium was host to 5 Super Bowls. It is also the current home of NCAA&#8217;s UCLA Bruins.</li>
<li>The Rose Bowl is considered to be &#8220;the Grandaddy of Them All&#8221; and even has it&#8217;s own Hall of Fame. The Tournament of Roses website says:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;the game has showcased 18 Heisman Trophy Winners, produced 28 national champions, featured 189 consensus All-Americans and honored 89 college football legends by inducting them into the <a href="http://www.tournamentofroses.com/history/halloffame.asp">Rose Bowl Hall of Fame</a>.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<ul>
<li>The 2009 Rose Bowl features Penn State and USC and airs at 2:10 p.m (Pacific Time.) January 1st! Happy New Year!</li>
</ul>
<p><em><strong>up next: Girl&#8217;s Guide to the Bowls Part III</strong></em></p>
<p><em><strong>go back to <a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/a-girls-guide-to-the-bowls-super-rose-orangecereal/">A Girl&#8217;s Guide to the Bowls Part I</a></strong></em></p>
<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/a-girls-guide-to-the-bowls-part-ii-the-pretty-rose-bowl/">A Girl&#8217;s Guide to the Bowls Part II: The Pretty Rose Bowl</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com">Stiletto Sports</a></p>
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		<title>A Girl&#8217;s Guide to the Bowls: Super, Rose, Orange&#8230;Cereal</title>
		<link>http://www.stilettosetsports.com/a-girls-guide-to-the-bowls-super-rose-orangecereal/</link>
		<comments>http://www.stilettosetsports.com/a-girls-guide-to-the-bowls-super-rose-orangecereal/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2008 22:29:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Stiletto Jen</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[A Girl's Guide to the college Bowls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[college football]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[a girl's guide to football]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[college football bowls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rose bowl]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[super bowl]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[what is a "bowl"]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stilettosetsports.com/?p=964</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[First of all, what the heck is a bowl? Could football players not say "football playoffs" so it got grunted out "bowl?" I've often wondered but never really thought to question it, it is what it is. The Super Bowl. And my favorite: the Rose Bowl. That one just sounds pretty.

Turns out "bowl" came about because the first post-season college football games took place in the Rose Bowl Stadium. (Aha! Finally we know which came first the chicken or the egg! I mean the stadium or the playoff name.  The Rose Bowl Stadium was named for its bowl-shape design NOT because it is the host of the Rose Bowl. The tourney is named for the stadium)<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/a-girls-guide-to-the-bowls-super-rose-orangecereal/">A Girl&#8217;s Guide to the Bowls: Super, Rose, Orange&#8230;Cereal</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com">Stiletto Sports</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;"><a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stilettosetsports.com%2Fa-girls-guide-to-the-bowls-super-rose-orangecereal%2F"><img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stilettosetsports.com%2Fa-girls-guide-to-the-bowls-super-rose-orangecereal%2F" height="61" width="51" /></a></div><p>First of all, what the heck is a bowl? Could football players not say &#8220;foot<strong>ball </strong>playoffs&#8221; so it got grunted out &#8220;<em>bowl</em>?&#8221; I&#8217;ve often wondered but never really thought to question it, it is what it is. The Super Bowl. And my favorite: the Rose Bowl. That one just sounds pretty.</p>
<p>Now, if you are looking for in depth info about College Football&#8217;s BCS, or Bowl Championship Series, check out our post <a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/girls-guide-to-college-football-fbs-bcs/">A Girl&#8217;s Guide to college Football: The FBS, FCS, BCS&#8230;..OMG! WTF?</a></p>
<p>Turns out &#8220;bowl&#8221; came about because the first post-season college football games took place in the Rose Bowl Stadium. (Aha! Finally we know which came first the chicken or the egg! I mean the stadium or the playoff name.  The Rose Bowl Stadium was named for its bowl-shape design NOT because it is the host of the Rose Bowl. The tourney is named for the stadium)</p>
<div id="attachment_965" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/rose-bowl-stadium.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-965" title="rose-bowl-stadium" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/rose-bowl-stadium.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="235" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">aw Rose Bowl Stadium does look like a big bowl! </p></div>
<p><em>Great. So why did it catch on?</em></p>
<p>The Rose Bowl drew in so much revenue and tourism traffic that other towns began seeing the potential in having their own festivities, regardless if their stadiums looked like bowls. The number of bowls grew from 1 in 1930, 5 in the 40s, to 11 in the 70s and now, there is a total of 34 across the country. Originally, all the games took place on New Year&#8217;s Day as part of the town&#8217;s celebration. Also, back in the day without Southwest, JetBlue, Expedia and Priceline or even SUVs to help with the traveling, the bowls were held after the regular season to give fans the opportunity to travel to the site.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/bowl-championship.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-968" title="bowl-championship" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/bowl-championship-300x268.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="268" /></a></p>
<p><em>NFL Copycats</em></p>
<p>Yeah the NFL totally jumped on that bandwagon! They saw the revenue the bowls were driving in and began calling their all-star game the Pro Bowl in 1951. Apparently &#8220;all-star game&#8221; isn&#8217;t elite enough (though it works well for the MLB and NBA).  And you are going to totally love where the name Super Bowl came from! I know you are thinking it&#8217;s just because it&#8217;s the superest bowl of them all but nope, it&#8217;s even better than that! It could be the best piece of trivia I give you until next year (gosh I really hope I post this on the 31st and not the 1st or that joke just won&#8217;t be funny at all will it?)</p>
<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/first-pro-bowl2.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-966" title="first-pro-bowl2" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/first-pro-bowl2-300x175.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="175" /></a></p>
<p>So from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowl_game">Wikipedia</a>, my favorite sports reference place, I give you the origin of the term Super Bowl:</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;According to NFL Films President Steve Sabol, the NFL Comissioner Pete Rozelle wanted to call the [NFL-AFL Wold Championship Game] &#8220;The Big One.&#8221;  During the discussions to iron out the details, AFL founder Lamar Hunt had jokingly referred to the proposed interleague championship as the &#8220;Super Bowl.&#8221; Hunt thought of the name after seeing his children playing with a toy called a <a class="mw-redirect" title="Super Ball" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Ball">Super Ball</a>; the small, round ball is now on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio&#8221;</p>
<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/the-super-ball.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-967" title="the-super-ball" src="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/the-super-ball.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="261" /></a></p></blockquote>
<p>Oddly enough, I think I knew that beforehand and blocked it out.</p>
<p><em><strong>up next: <a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/a-girls-guide-to-the-bowls-part-ii-the-pretty-rose-bowl/">A Girl&#8217;s Guide to the Bowls Part II</a></strong></em></p>
<p><a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com/a-girls-guide-to-the-bowls-super-rose-orangecereal/">A Girl&#8217;s Guide to the Bowls: Super, Rose, Orange&#8230;Cereal</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.stilettosetsports.com">Stiletto Sports</a></p>
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