Thank you Birmingham!

[AndytheBull]

Jim and Nicks ran out of ribs Friday night too.

[eebullman]

Isn't the idea of hosting a bowl game supposed to be to bring in revenue and tourism to a city?  Seems like someone forgot to tell the people of Birmingham.  

So very true.  I was shocked by attitude of the police Friday night at 5 points.  As a large group of ECU fans and us USF fans gather on the corner chanting back and forthe ECU, USF, 4&0, and all sorts of other things for well over an hour without a single incident of violence, vanadalism or any other real problems when the Police showed up started tackling people, pulling out pepper spray and arresting people.  

Its a bowl game for crying out loud, whatever happened to "No harm, no foul." I've been to FSU bowl games in previous years when we didn't have a bowl game (in Miami and Jacksonville) when this type of behavior went on all night with thousands more fans and nobody got arrested.......  I guess we just gotta make the Gator bowl or BCS game next year.  ;D

[UABinBHM]

A few things... downtown Birmingham is struggling quite a bit, but in actuality, the downtown area has done nothing but IMPROVE in 2 years.  Believe me... this is my expertise.  Birmingham in 1996 had nearly 300 abandoned buildings in the city center.  Today, that number is down to around 80.  There are also thousands of new hotel units and condominiums under construction or planned over the next few years.  

The city leadership in Birmingham sucks... you've got no argument there.  They've allowed Legion Field and the area around it to become a total dump.  There are certainly very many nice areas around metro Birmingham.  The downtown core of MANY older cities is deteriorating, however.  Birmingham's metro area is just like Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville, and others.  In fact, America's 2nd wealthiest city lies in metro Birmingham... some of you may have heard of it-- Mountain Brook.  Again, if you want to judge a city based upon some of the downtown areas you visited, then be my guest, but it's an ignorant assumption.

The bowl was somewhat disorganized and the coordination with the city left a great deal to be desired, but what you don't maybe know is how quickly this bowl came from out of nowhere.  The bowl was announced less than a year ago (I think around June).  Then for months, there was no title sponsor.  Finally, about a month or so ago, Papa John's was announced as the title sponsor.  They need only average 25,000 per game over like 5 years or something to keep the bowl.  For this game, there were 32,000+.  The organizers were VERY pleased with the turnout.  Had this been UAB vs USF, Southern Miss vs. USF, or Memphis vs USF, the turnout could have even been greater.  ECU travels pretty well, but nowhere near Memphis or Southern Miss levels.  And this is UAB's hometown where we averaged 22,000+ this past year (and that's with a 3-9 record).   The bowl's future is bright.

I don't even want to go into that statement that UAB is crumbling, but clearly you need some educating... I mean really... what on earth are you talking about?  We're only about the 2nd most important research institution in the South.  We're building several multi-million dollar facilities EVERY year.  In fact, UAB creates an estimated $2 billion impact on the local economy each and every year.  Few institutions in the nation could boast such numbers.  So again, saying that about UAB really shows how much you actually know about the situation in Birmingham.

[JoeB]

I thought all of the UAB buildings in the downtown area were kept up pretty well.  In fact, I wish some of the buildings at USF looked that good.  I had little problems in Birmingham, but most of those centered around the bowl game atmosphere (lame pep rally, no other things to do in downtown bowl related, etc.).

[Knight_Light]

 In fact, UAB creates an estimated $2 billion impact on the local economy.  Few institutions in the nation could boast such numbers.  So again, saying that about UAB really shows how much you actually know about the situation in Birmingham.

USF alone brings in $3.2 BILLION annually into the Tampa Bay Area Economy.

UCF, and its Research Park bring in $3.3 Billion annually in the Central Florida Economy.

No need to even show what huge research institutions bring in.

Bottom line...UAB is a very good school...and a very important part to the Birmingham economy...as is any University in this country is to their areas as well.

[UABinBHM]

 In fact, UAB creates an estimated $2 billion impact on the local economy.  Few institutions in the nation could boast such numbers.  So again, saying that about UAB really shows how much you actually know about the situation in Birmingham.

USF alone brings in $3.2 BILLION annually into the Tampa Bay Area Economy.

UCF, and its Research Park bring in $3.3 Billion annually in the Central Florida Economy.

No need to even show what huge research institutions bring in.

Bottom line...UAB is a very good school...and a very important part to the Birmingham economy...as is any University in this country is to their areas as well.

No doubt... USF and UCF are both about 2-2.5 times larger than UAB in student population.

[Economics_Nerd82]

USF doesn't bring in a billion dollars let alone three.

[Apis Bull]

Here's an idea!  Since Birmingham doesn't want it, move it to Tampa, drop C-USA and add the ACC.

[CoolBull1]

[highlight]I don't even want to go into that statement that UAB is crumbling, but clearly you need some educating... I mean really... what on earth are you talking about?  We're only about the 2nd most important research institution in the South.  We're building several multi-million dollar facilities EVERY year.  In fact, UAB creates an estimated $2 billion impact on the local economy each and every year.  Few institutions in the nation could boast such numbers.  So again, saying that about UAB really shows how much you actually know about the situation in Birmingham. [/highlight]

Forgive me for making such a broad statement....I was speaking of UAB athletics (football) which appear to be in trouble with fan support, playing in a cavernous stadium when attendance has been so bad.  Also, the Board of Trustees at UAB has been a source of frustration for many associated with UAB and the University President has, according to many, lacked the leadership necessary to propel the university to the new heights desired.  Without a doubt, UAB is a reasonably nice, in town campus and has demonstrated good growth patterns....the university appears to need some commitment from the people of Alabama and to recognize it at a level somewhat close to Auburn and UA.  Thanks for the input and the info.

[BigShoop]

Granted, I was only in the city for about 10 hrs, but I will back up the "no buzz" statement. The people at the hotel were asking me things like "what time does the game start?" and "who's playing?" and other things that you should probably know if you're hosting 100s of guests attending the same event.

Oh, and the jubilation from those in our 2 car convoy was monumental when we found the Shoneys near our hotel. Chik-fil-a being open m-f, 7-2:30 was pretty ridiculous.