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I don't take offense! We know our history. We beat Princeton in the first college football game ever,then we got about seven more wins over the next 140 years. It takes some time to turn that around. But things are picking up. Lots of little signs of upward momentum. Five straight bowl wins (little bowls, I know, but we won them.) We had two first-round NFL picks go out this year. That's a great sign.

The Big Ten network has no hope of getting on basic cable in the NYC market without a local team. Even if they can't sell it in NYC at first, just getting on basic cable in New Jersey is big money. There are almost 9 million people in New Jersey.

Maybe NYC will never "get" college football, like it never really got NASCAR, meth or Garth Brooks. But if it does, there are many many millions of dollars to be had. That's what lies in the calculations.

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"The Big Ten network has no hope of getting on basic cable in the NYC market without a local team. Even if they can't sell it in NYC at first, just getting on basic cable in New Jersey is big money. There are almost 9 million people in New Jersey."

I guess I'm looking long term here. I think they might be able to get on these cable company's channels initially in both the New Jersey and New York markets. However, I don't see the interest in Rutgers football increasing that much over time unless they are playing in major BCS bowl games. If they go to the Big 10 which is a huge upgrade in football I don't see them getting to another BCS bowl game in the forseeable future. In fact their program might take a step back. After a couple of years when the ratings come in and they are no good, these same cable companys will drop the Big 10 network to the second tier where they probably are currently. It took a big battle by the Big 10 to force it's way onto Comcast in my area. They didn't want them on the basic package. And there are plenty of Penn State fans in the Southwestern Pa area. Actually, I figured that through Penn State they would already be on Comcasts basic package in the New Jersey area.

If there were so many Big 10 alumni fans in the NY city markets now, those people would be forcing the Big 10 network on with or without Rutgers being in the Big 10. If cable subscribers heard from rabid Big 10 fans they would get it on their package. I think there's a reason that there is no Division I football played in and around New York city right now.