Gator Bowl dropping "Gator" completely, moves to Jan 2nd

www.wokv.com ^ | Posted: 10:54 a.m. Thursday, April 3, 2014 | Staff

[Red Badger]

Jacksonville, FL —

After 70 years the Gator Bowl - as we've known it - is no more.

The new name of the game removes "gator" entirely, and it will no longer be played on New Years Day, two big changes that we learned Thursday morning from the President of Gator Bowl Sports. The game will now be known as the TaxSlayer Bowl and played on Jan. 2nd.

Dropping "gator" from the name is part of a six-year agreement reached between TaxSlayer.com and the Gator Bowl.

"TaxSlayer.com recognizes the history of the Bowl's rich 70 year tradition. It is a legacy in college football and we...are extremely proud to be a part of such a dedicated and professional Bowl family and look forward to building on its historic foundation", said TaxSlayer.com President and CEO, Jimmy Rhodes.

Beginning in 2015 the TaxSlayer Bowl will be televised on ESPN January 2nd, which is one day later than years past. It will feature a team from the SEC that will serve as the anchor team. That team will face an opponent from the Big Ten Conference or the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Rick Catlett, Bowl President and CEO, described this as a great partnership that will enable the Bowl game to maintain its stature on the national level as one of the top tier bowl games in the country.

[wku man]

Yet another reason I couldn't give a rat's a** about college football. Stadium naming rights, bowl game naming rights, no playoff system...it can all go to hell as far as I care.

Meanwhile, I'm getting ready for my Kentucky Wildcats to go Badger hunting this weekend in the Final Four! Wooooohooooooo! Gator, could Cats-Gators Part IV be the National Championship?

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!

[Red Badger]

I am not a Wisconsin ‘Badger’..................

[QT3.14]

Would they call it the Toilet Bowl?.......

Why not have the Toilet Bowl for two worst teams?

[QT3.14]

I think this bowl will be shut down by Obama and the IRS.

Imagine: The IRS TAXSLAYER Bowl

[dmz]

70 years from now, will anyone even kow what TaxSlayer.com was?

<><><><

Funny.

The Ravens stadium was first named after some internet company that no longer exists and the name of which I cannot recall.

And that was a lot more recent than 70 years.

[re_nortex]

It’s capitalism at work.

Totally agreed, FRiend. Corporate branding is one of the things that characteristic of NASCAR and gives it its flavor. Likewise, little leagues all across the country have played with advertising on the outfield fences for decades. President Calvin Coolidge was absolutely right:

After all, the chief business of the American people is business. They are profoundly concerned with producing, buying, selling, investing and prospering in the world. I am strongly of the opinion that the great majority of people will always find these the moving impulses of our life.

[Straight Vermonter]

I was just about to make a similar comment.

Now it’s just another AdvoCare V100 Bowl or a BBVA Compass Bowl.

They went from being a 2nd tier to a 4th tier bowl.

[Straight Vermonter]

1. It’s capitalism at work.

Yes but it's like buying a designer item and then covering up all of the logos. Just because it's capitalism doesn't mean it's a good decision.

[wku man]

I am so slow today...I never even made the connection. Sorry 'bout that.

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!

[4yearlurker]

I was living in Georgia when Burt Reynolds filmed "Gator" Met him on Savannah Beach. (Tybee Island I think) I watched the house burn in the end of the movie. Local fire departments were ready and on site to hose it down.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

no playoff system...

There's one now starting this season.

[Bender2]

Re: I was living in Georgia when Burt Reynolds filmed "Gator" Met him on Savannah Beach.

One of my fantasies would be to go drinking and skirt chasing with Errol Flynn, Burt Reynolds and George Clooney... Yet I know I would be 4th in line when the first choosing was done!

But 3rd in line... when the gals realize Errol is dead--

You do realize, Bendy, old sport, that the reports of my death... are greatly exaggerated.

Errol, you scamp, you may be the bee's knee with women... but you are still a low down plagiarist.

http://www.empireonline.com/images/uploaded/errol-flynn-documentary-secret-lives-6c08.jpg

http://media.npr.org/assets/artslife/arts/2010/11/mark-twain/mark-twain-6fa45e42400eea8cac3953cb267d66a33825a370-s6-c30.jpg

[MinuteGal]

Reading the article I truthfully thought it was a satire piece...and I scrolled up to the top to see which "satire" blog was the source.

Changing over to this unwieldy, robotic, actually-repugnant name for a football Bowl game has to be one of the most stupid "sports" decisions since the Boston Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for a hundred grand.

Leni

[dfwgator]

Bring back the “Poulan Weed-Eater Bowl”.

[ken5050]

They could easily have called it the TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl..in fact..I suspect TaxSlayer wanted that..”Gator Bowl” is a well recognized name..however, since the SEC now will provide the host team..sand since the big 5 conferences have taken total control of the bowls.. you couldn’t have “Gator” in the name because of UF..

[ken5050]

Just heard that a major household products company wants to take over the "Fight Hunder Bowl"...they want to sign a deal with the SEC to have them provide one of the teams each year.. There's one small problem: there are TWO names under consideration:

'TIDE BOWL

'TIDY BOWL' BOWL

[Lazamataz]

[wku man]

Oh yeah...four teams. Whoopy-doo.

Until there's a tournament like in basketball, it's still the same ol' BS BCS. Okay, 64 teams is unrealistic...so why not make it 16 or 32? Have a five-week playoff system, and give more teams the chance to compete for the national title than just Alabama, LSU, Ohio State, Notre Dame, etc.? If you absolutely must continue the bowl system, sell naming rights to each of those eight or 16 games, and have the national championship be the Rose, Orange, Sugar or some other legacy Bowl name. But the Outback Bowl? The Car Quest Bowl? The "Famous Idaho Potato" Bowl...well, at least that's some kind of agricultural product, not a damn corporation or city that just wants its name attached. The Mobile, Alabama Bowl? Sheesh...

Until that happens, I'll continue devoting fall to hunting.

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!