How Important is GT's Bowl Streak?

Techster

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As it stands right now, GT is tied with that school up in the cow paddy corner of GA for the second longest active bowl streak (at 18). VT has the longest at 22.

Is that streak important, or is it just an answer to a random All State Afflack Question of the Week?

IMO, I think it's an important streak to maintain, even with the amount of bowls offered these days. In fact, if you look on the flip side of it, I think because of the proliferation of bowl games in todays game, it's kind of an albatross for any program if you don't at least make a bowl game.

More importantly, it's a selling point for our recruits. We literally market that to our recruits in the materials we send them. There are two things our recruits can usually count on in terms of playing football for GT and CPJ;

1. Chances are you will play for an ACC Championship during your eligibility. Every class that has played under CPJ played in at least 1 ACCCG before their eligibility was up.

2. You will play in a bowl game every year. CPJ has never missed a bowl game (and GT hasn't going all the way back to the O'Leary years).

I've read some posters say "I don't care about the bowl streak, I just want to see our players play well and the team do well." Well, to me that's short sighted. Sometimes a bowl game is more than a bowl game...and for a program like GT that doesn't have the pomp and resources of factory schools, going to a bowl game is a tool to attract recruits. If you lose that, that's one less quiver GT has to recruit with...and we're already playing with a short deck of cards.

There's also the ancillary benefits of going to bowl games. The biggest is it gives our staff more time to coach up and develop the younger guys on the roster. Typically, our staff gives the younger guys a bigger role during bowl season running our offense and defense as opposed to just running scout team. Every rep is another building block to getting our talent prepared for the next season. They can't do that during the season because time is more important prepping to win games.

Also, bowl games may be the only time in our player's lives that will get to travel and see places they will probably never get the chance to see again. On top of that, it's a reward for the hard work everyone puts in all year. Unlike regular road games, during bowl season, the entire team travels and everyone gets gifts. They will get spend time building chemistry for the future.

It feels like some want to dismiss the importance of bowls and our bowl streak, but if you analyze all of the benefits of going to a bowl, even if it's in Shreveport or El Paso, the benefits FAR outweigh any negatives.
 

GaTech4ever

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Doesn't FSU have the longest streak with 30+ straight or something? Think we are tied for 3rd, not that it makes much of a difference.
 

awbuzz

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The streak IS important for all the reasons mentioned plus the fact that we've won at least 6 games each year.
Yes, the steak is easier than it was 15 to 20 years ago due to the availability of more bowls, but it is still important.
 

DvilleJacket

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I would imagine to the players it's very important. Lot of these kids don't have a bunch of money and the free swag they get at the bowl game has to be cool.
 

ClydeBrick

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Doesn't FSU have the longest streak with 30+ straight or something? Think we are tied for 3rd, not that it makes much of a difference.

Nope - not according to the arbiter of all that is pure and holy; the NCAA:

On February 8, 2010, Florida State University agreed to accept NCAA sanctions against its athletic programs, and agreed to vacate 12 football victories, including the 2006 Emerald Bowl victory over UCLA. Florida State has stated their intention to return the championship trophy.

Because of the vacated win, the appearance is also vacated, according to NCAA bylaws: "In compliance with the intention of the Committee On Infractions penalties, all team and coaches’ streaks (such as wins, postseason appearances, team statistical streaks, and so on) are terminated by the vacancy of a contest."

Although FSU lost both their win and appearance as a result of the academic cheating scandal, UCLA is not permitted to count the game as a win; the record books are officially amended asif the game were never played.
 

gtg936g

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It probably helped in recruiting in the past. I think it helps young players if they have the mindset to get better. As a fan I just like to watch our team play and pull for them, so I hope it continues because there are more opportunities for me to cheer for them. I would not fall to pieces and want to fire CPJ if the bowl streak ended personally, but there are some that value the streak (not the opportunity to cheer for the team) more than myself.
 

AE 87

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As it stands right now, GT is tied with that school up in the cow paddy corner of GA for the second longest active bowl streak (at 18). VT has the longest at 22.

Is that streak important, or is it just an answer to a random All State Afflack Question of the Week?

IMO, I think it's an important streak to maintain, even with the amount of bowls offered these days. In fact, if you look on the flip side of it, I think because of the proliferation of bowl games in todays game, it's kind of an albatross for any program if you don't at least make a bowl game.

More importantly, it's a selling point for our recruits. We literally market that to our recruits in the materials we send them. There are two things our recruits can usually count on in terms of playing football for GT and CPJ;

1. Chances are you will play for an ACC Championship during your eligibility. Every class that has played under CPJ played in at least 1 ACCCG before their eligibility was up.

2. You will play in a bowl game every year. CPJ has never missed a bowl game (and GT hasn't going all the way back to the O'Leary years).

I've read some posters say "I don't care about the bowl streak, I just want to see our players play well and the team do well." Well, to me that's short sighted. Sometimes a bowl game is more than a bowl game...and for a program like GT that doesn't have the pomp and resources of factory schools, going to a bowl game is a tool to attract recruits. If you lose that, that's one less quiver GT has to recruit with...and we're already playing with a short deck of cards.

There's also the ancillary benefits of going to bowl games. The biggest is it gives our staff more time to coach up and develop the younger guys on the roster. Typically, our staff gives the younger guys a bigger role during bowl season running our offense and defense as opposed to just running scout team. Every rep is another building block to getting our talent prepared for the next season. They can't do that during the season because time is more important prepping to win games.

Also, bowl games may be the only time in our player's lives that will get to travel and see places they will probably never get the chance to see again. On top of that, it's a reward for the hard work everyone puts in all year. Unlike regular road games, during bowl season, the entire team travels and everyone gets gifts. They will get spend time building chemistry for the future.

It feels like some want to dismiss the importance of bowls and our bowl streak, but if you analyze all of the benefits of going to a bowl, even if it's in Shreveport or El Paso, the benefits FAR outweigh any negatives.

I agree that it's important for all the reasons that you mention. In addition, it's a TV ready stat for good publicity. There's no stat for 19 of the last 20 years.

I will also add another comparable metric: consecutive years with at least .500 in the conference.
 

bke1984

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Important for two reasons:

1. Money for the conference and program
2. It's one more game for the players to gain experience
3. It's one more game I get to watch...most important right here... :)
 

GTNavyNuke

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How important is GT's bowl streak? I think the answer depends on the audience (scale of 1-10):

  • Existing players: 9 -very important since they don't want to be the group that failed.
  • Current commits: 3- not so important since they should realize the injuries impact, they should be sold already.
  • Future prospects: 6- somewhat important but the difference between 5-7 or 6-6 would be minimal.
  • GTAA: 8- important to try and elicit alumni dollars. Football success and donations are correlated.
  • GT fans: 4 - We have a bipolar bunch so I'll let you speak for yourself. I think ticket sales will stink at 6-6 or 5-7.
  • Me: 2 - it's a nice talking point. But I'm a GT fan and will remain one. I should be in an addiction program.
 

WreckinGT

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Year to year bowl games are important to the players and for the ancillary benefits mentioned. Im not sure the actual streak means anything though.
 

chewybaka

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How important is GT's bowl streak? I think the answer depends on the audience (scale of 1-10):

  • Existing players: 9 -very important since they don't want to be the group that failed.
  • Current commits: 3- not so important since they should realize the injuries impact, they should be sold already.
  • Future prospects: 6- somewhat important but the difference between 5-7 or 6-6 would be minimal.
  • GTAA: 8- important to try and elicit alumni dollars. Football success and donations are correlated.
  • GT fans: 4 - We have a bipolar bunch so I'll let you speak for yourself. I think ticket sales will stink at 6-6 or 5-7.
  • Me: 2 - it's a nice talking point. But I'm a GT fan and will remain one. I should be in an addiction program.
Enables authorized additional practice sessions essential to a young bunch that is learning on every snap
 
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