Wanna Bet the People’s Bowl Game Won’t Be Back?
I can't predict much about our nation's financial future from watching President Obama's press conference last night. But I will guess this: There won't be another EagleBank Bowl this year.
I've got no insider information. But there just ain't no way.
Financial institutions and the general public were no longer Facebook friends by the time the inaugural EagleBank Bowl drew about 28,000 to RFK to watch Navy and Wake Forest in December.
Oh, there was some whining about EagleBank spending at least $1 million to sponsor the first and leastest of the season's 32 NCAA-sanctioned bowl games. This after the Bethesda-based chain accepted $38.2 million in TARP money from the Bush administration's first round of bank handouts.
And after the bowl, MSNBC reported that the company doled out $2 million worth of bonuses, including stock options, to its top officials, right around the time Eaglebank announced its pre-bailout profits were down significantly.
But in the months since the game, there's been a big uptick in the level of hate common folks have for that sorta bank behavior, coinciding with the big uptick in federal money being given to the fiscal big boys.
According to a source involved with the bowl's formation, the NCAA will decide next month whether to re-sanction the DC bowl.
And then it'll be up to EagleBank to decide if it's going to pay to put its name on the game again.
EagleBank isn't AIG. It's got only 14 branches, all in this area. And the EagleBank Bowl isn't CITI Field.
But, still. There ain't no way.
12:55 pm
Interesting, considering my friend works for the bowl game and is still going to work every day. It is absolutely occurring next year.
10:18 pm
This is completely untrue and the supposed "source" is clearly misinformed. The EagleBank Bowl will be even better in its second year and bring much deserved attention and financial growth to Washington, D.C. Next time I suggest getting two sources before posting such misguided claims.
9:33 am
I didn't know EagleBank existed until the EagleBank Bowl and I think a lot of people would agree. I'd say the million dollars they dished out to sponsor the bowl was money well spent- they could have spent a lot more for much less effective "advertising". I attended the game last year and hope to attend again, even if Navy won't be playing in it.
and by the way- the NCAA will decide whether to re-sanction EVERY bowl game next month.
5:33 pm
DC Sports Fan has it right. This blog post is, without question, completely untrue and does not have any relevant argument to make the assertion that the EagleBank Bowl won't be around for a second year. The EagleBank Bowl performed quite well in its inaugural year, and this year will do even better. Nearly 30,000 people attended the game, far better than many bowls have done in the past during their first year in existence. People may have "whined" about the money spent by EagleBank to serve as title sponsor, but there's no proof that this sponsorship cost $1 million or more. Maybe it cost a lot less. Who's to say it was the "leastest" of the bowl games? Just because it was the inaugural year, and the first game of the bowl season, doesn't mean it was the "leastest." The game actually had really strong TV ratings. It's true that banks in general are facing challenges these days, however, EagleBank is in strong financial shape. In fact, it's probably the strongest community bank in the Washington region. Moreover, just because the bank took TARP money and doled out bonuses doesn't mean that it shouldn't sponsor a bowl game. One thing has nothing to do with the other. Many banks have taken TARP money to further strengthen their already healthy financial position, increase lending and make acquisitions. Not every bank that took TARP money was struggling like Citigroup. Sponsorships bring great visibility to corporations, and clearly EagleBank stepped up to the plate when D.C.'s first bowl game needed a title sponsor. Who is this "source" noted in the blog? What is his or her relationship to the EagleBank Bowl, both in the past and now? A "source" isn't credible, especially when he or she is afraid to use his or her name. Perhaps this source has an agenda, but we'll never know cause we don't know who this "source" is. Multiple sources would certainly lend more credibility. And as Go Navy! says, the NCAA will soon decide whether to re-sanction EVERY bowl game. So the "source" provides no important information. Definitely not worth remaining anonymous. The ending to this blog post is laughable. "EagleBank isn't AIG. The EagleBank Bowl isn't CITI Field." Thank gosh. AIG is on the verge of collapse, some might say, having received billions of dollars in federal aid, while Citigroup doled out millions upon millions of dollars for its title sponsorship even as the financial giant mightily struggles to make ends meet. I'm proud that D.C. has its very own college football bowl game, and I'm even more proud that EagleBank -- a fine institution that caters to the local business community and individuals throughout the Washington region -- has its name on display for all to see.
6:14 pm
All you people: Is Congress dreaming up all sorts of dumbass steps to control spending of TARP money or not? It wouldn't surprise me if a NO BOWL GAME SPONSORSHIP FOR TARP MONEY RECIPIENTS ACT OF 2009 gets proposed. That's because people hate banks. Banks that took taxpayers money are going to be watched like never before. If All You People believe that EagleBank is going to spend another million bucks on this game this year -- yes, ANOTHER million bucks -- well, we'll have to disagree. After watching the presidential press conference this week, I woulda bet the RFK game has a better chance of being called the Weedeater Bowl.
7:03 pm
The EagleBank Bowl will be even better in its second year and bring much deserved attention and financial growth to Washington, D.C.
The EagleBank Bowl brought "much deserved attention" to Washington DC?
"Hey, Bob, where you going for vacation this summer?"
"Washington DC."
"Never heard of it."
"Sure you have. It's where they play the EagleBank Bowl."
"Oh, yeah, the EagleBank Bowl! I loved seeing it rebroadcast on ESPN-U during off-peak hours! You're so lucky, getting to see the actual stadium the bowl will be played in six months from now."
"Yeah, that's really while we're going. But while we're there, we'll see what else they have. Apparently Washington DC and its suburbs are also home to the White House, Congress, the Pentagon, the FBI, sports franchises in every major sport, the National Air and Space Museum, the National Gallery of Art, the Museum of American History, the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial, the Washington Monument, and monkeyrotica."
"Yeah, some of those do sound pretty cool. But they're no EagleBank Bowl."
4:16 pm
I think it was a good concept. I am split on if they should move the game to Nats park. Can a football field fit in there and football at RFK is a DC pride thing. I would make the following changes. Make it an at large game open to all the independent teams Big East and ACC teams, maybe CUSA and MAC. But the defaulting to Navy thing to me ruined a bit of the interest to me.