Dan Steinberg at the Post’s DC Sports Bog is reporting that the Army-Navy Game will be played at Fedex Field in 2011. Initial reaction:
Now, I’m not privvy to the inner machinations of the bidding process, so I fully acknowledge that this could very well be the result of an offer that Army and Navy just couldn’t refuse. And if both sides want to continue getting competitive bids from other cities, it’s probably important to throw a bone to someone outside of New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore once in a while. On the surface, though, it kind of stinks. Nobody likes Fedex Field; it’s a soulless, hard-to-access behemoth in the middle of nowhere that looks not unlike the ship that took ET back home. The Navy-Air Force games played there couldn’t get back to Annapolis fast enough.
My biggest concern, though, is the prospect of 20,000 empty seats at the game. Can Army-Navy really fill 90,000 seats? I hope so. Demand for tickets is probably enough to surpass the 65-70,000 that are available for games in Philadelphia and Baltimore, but 90,000 is a lot. People say that there’s a concentration of alumni and fans in the Washington area, so we’ll see. It didn’t make a difference for the Air Force game. Then again, nobody cares about Air Force.
UPDATE
The Birddog 
I definitely don’t think you could sell 90,000 in Philly, and probably not Baltimore. Maybe DC has an outside shot since the game has never been played there and you might get some people from Norfolk or Richmond areas who make the trip. But unless you had awesome seats for Philly the last few years, the secondary ticket market was right around face value. Tickets were not hard to come by.
I don’t think playing the game in D.C. will attract any more people than Baltimore would … the shorter driving distance from Norfolk is trivial in my opinion. i’d imagine D.C. made a pretty good offer though.
Perhaps by 2011 Army will be “competative”.
Check ou this article about the $$$$
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=maisel_ivan&id=4245068&campaign=rss&source=NCFHeadlines
very good points
Best explanation I`ve seen on why (and how) Paul Johnson will keep winning – even in the fast lane.
Most races are won by either the best horse or the best jockey. You really need both to win consistently. I feel like we`ve had our share of good horses (personnel) but our jockey has been lacking for about forty years – when Bobby Dodd retired. Bobby Ross was a refreshing but brief respite. But alas, the greener grass of the NFL would not be denied.
So to switch metaphors slightly, Paul Johnson brought his Ferrari to Tech, and it`ll take a VERY long time for all those hot dog Chevy drivers to not only slow us down, but to beat us to the tape (another mixed metaphor).
Your excellent explanation of just a few of Maestro Johnson`s slick and sophisticated rhapsodies gives me even more appreciation for the man we hope we can retain for life.