In recent years, college football has seen the emergence of “kickoff classic” games at neutral sites on the season’s first weekend. These games act as sort of a bowl game to open the season. Since college football opens on Labor Day weekend, it’s easy for fans to travel to something like this. The two marquee games that have emerged are the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game played in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta and the Cowboys Classic played in Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The Chick-fil-A Kickoff game has been around since 2008, while the Cowboys Classic started in 2009. Of those seven match-ups that we have seen so far, every one has featured a game between two ranked teams. LSU has played in both games in successive years, and I have had the privilege of attending each.
Here are my thoughts on each and how they compare:
Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game
The city of Atlanta is perfect for big football games like this.
The Georgia Dome is located right in the middle of downtown, which means its very close to hotels, restaurants, bars, etc. When you show up at your hotel, you park your car and don’t need it again the rest of the trip.
Before and after the game, fans from both schools are forced into the same area and have no choice but to mix it up. This is a big, big plus in my opinion. It creates the feel of a college football atmosphere.
It’s a familiar location for SEC fans, but is it too familiar? SEC schools already visit the Georgia Dome for the SEC championship game annually and the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Will playing there start to lose its luster for some of the better programs in the league?
For example, LSU has played there in 1996, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005 (twice), 2007, 2008 and 2010. We know Ole Miss does not have to worry about this, but can SEC fans get too much of Atlanta and eventually stop making the trip? It’s something to consider.
Just like the Chick-Fil-A bowl, which is routinely one of the most attended bowl games in the country, the Kickoff Game is a first-class event. The Georgia Dome is a great venue, and you’re thankfully able to get out of the early September Atlanta heat.
Cowboys Classic
The layout of Cowboys Stadium in relation to the city is not nearly as fan-friendly as Atlanta. The stadium is located in Arlington, and there’s not a whole lot out that way. Many fans stayed in downtown Dallas. Some more were in Fort Worth. And some stayed in Arlington. This led to a pre-game atmosphere, both the night before and the day of the game, that lacked what you find in Atlanta.
Very few sports bars existed within walking distance of the stadium. So that naturally led folks to tailgate; however, the expensive parking passes and strict rules did not lend itself to legitimate tailgating – at least not the way that LSU typically does it.
It’s not like the stadium is in the middle of nowhere. That’s not the case. But it’s just not as convenient as the Georgia Dome.
The “newness” to the game and the city definitely held some intrigue, at least for me. Granted, LSU just played in this stadium in the Cotton Bowl last year, but I was not in attendance. The Cotton Bowl represents the only other opportunity for SEC schools to play in Cowboys Stadium.
The stadium itself is just imposing. From the pure size of the building to the giant HD video screen, everything about the game itself impressed. It was well done and had a “big game” feel to it. Of course, the match up was between a pair of Top-5 teams. But it was more than that. The stadium and the atmosphere had a whole lot to do with it, too.
I felt like I was at a BCS bowl game or even a championship game, and I did not get that feeling the year before in Atlanta.
So, each game has its positives and negatives. Atlanta has the better set-up and pregame atmosphere. But the Cowboys Classic has the more impressive stadium and big-game feel. Both were great trips, and I believe these games are a good thing for college football.
It does not look like they’re going away anytime soon. In fact, the Chick-fil-A game is going to a double-header format. Having fans from four schools in Atlanta at once is going to be interesting.
Here are the future schedules for both games:
Chick-fil-A Kickoff
2012 – Auburn vs. Clemson AND Tennessee vs. NC State
2013 – Alabama vs. Virginia Tech
2014 – Ole Miss vs. Boise State
Cowboys Classic
2012 – Michigan vs. Alabama
2013 – Notre Dame vs. Arizona State
Kris Brauner runs LSU Tigers blog Saturday Night Slant. Follow him on Twitter at @snslant.
