According to today's St. Petersburg Times,Athletic Director Nelson Townsend said that FAMU is considering moving the Florida Classic football game back to Tampa after its current contract ends in Orlando after the 2006 season."This city has expressed a lot of interest in bringing the Classic back," said Townsend, speaking to alumni with coach Rubin Carter at the Tampa Urban League Hall. "I don't want to give the impression that we're out looking, as Orlando has been very good for the game, but certainly, Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M are interested in anything to make the game more beneficial to our institutions."
The late November game has consistently drawn more than 70,000 fans since moving to Orlando in 1997, but Townsend said his school will consider bids from across the state. The game started in Tampa and was played there from 1978-96.
"I think there would be great support for a game here, and I know it would generate a lot of revenue here in Tampa," Carter said.
First, the Rattler Nation has YET to see a public written apology from those involved and responsible, for the blantant display of outright economic racism that the powers-to-be and their constituency put on display in years past over in Hillsborough and surrounding counties. Being a financial supporter of FAMU both in academics and athletics, and having ties to those who have been cultivated to give financial support to our institution, we WILL NOT HESITATE to withdraw that support if this move becomes a reality. Enough is enough, and those at the helm better recognize!
ReplyDeleteMy first Classic experience was the first game in Orlando. Although the way traffic has been handled recently has been terrible I think that Orlando has a better infrastructure set up to support an event like the Classic. If traffic is bad in Orlando I shudder to think how bad Tampa traffic would be. Also there are more interesting social outlets before and after the Classic in orlando. Orlando is still by far the better choice.
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