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Bruce Feldman is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine
I'm blogging this morning from an Uptown Coffee that, as luck would have it, has wireless access, which has made my day a lot easier. Today's list is Best Football States. The topic was suggested by blog contributor Dave, who seems to be full of good ideas for the dead of summer. Anyhow, my criteria for this week focused on production at the NFL, college and high school levels. I also considered how passionate the fan bases are.
1. Texas: The state has it all, starting with tradition. Everywhere in football history you turn, Texas' fingerprints are all over the place with the Sammy Baughs, Doak Walkers and Earl Campbells. Not to mention institutions like the 12th man and a bunch of the best nicknames around. The state Is crazed about its college teams. Hook 'em. Gig 'em. Guns up. Virtually every Division I-A Texas team has a persona. Even North Texas had its hands in a big football movie ("Necessary Roughness"). The pro teams, especially America's Team, are almost as big. Most of the good football movies that have even been made have been rooted in the Lone Star State ("North Dallas Forty" comes to mind first). Better still, the state's ridiculously rich recruiting soil not only feeds all the state programs' two-deep, but also that for a lot of the Big 12 too.
2. Florida: Considered "the speed state," Florida's recruiting status has boomed in the past 15 years with the rise of the University of Miami and FSU. These days, almost every college tries to make inroads into Florida. Heck, Rutgers has practically installed itself as University of Florida-Rutgers. There are five different high schools (Fort Lauderdale's St. Thomas Aquinas, Tallahassee-Lincoln, Palm Beach's Glades Central, and Miami's Killian and Northwestern) that have each produced at least 19 I-A players since 2001. The state has added four I-A programs in that time and two of them already are making a lot of noise (UCF and USF). The state's strongest point is that the Big Three schools have combined to win an astounding eight (UM 5; FSU 2; UF 1) of the past 23 national titles. That alone should enable Florida to make a run at Texas for the top spot. The Dolphins, thanks to Shula and Marino, have become part of the NFL's fabric and spawned the Bucs and the Jags. There is one big knock though: both the Canes and the Dolphins struggle to fill their stadiums.
3. California: Like Florida and Texas, the state is loaded with college programs that have rich histories. California is also stocked with talented, polished QB prospects annually. Credit that to both the style of offense that long has thrived in the Pac-10 and to the influx of personal QB groomers who often begin tutoring prospects when they're still in junior high school. The city of San Diego, home of Marcus Allen, Terrell Davis, Ricky Williams and Reggie Bush, among others, rivals the city of Miami in breeding talent. Boasting two of the NFL's glory franchises (the Raiders and the 49ers), California trumps Texas and its America's Team. But that leads to the big knock here: there is no NFL in the L.A. area and there hasn't been for a long time, and it doesn't seem like many of the folks here miss it all that much. Also, sellouts on the college level, even for the winning, big-time programs, are far from a slam dunk.
4. Ohio: I'd rank Buckeyes fans as passionate as any college support system around. Drawing 64,000 for a spring game is quite a statement. (Full Disclosure: I did grow up an OSU fan.) The Browns are also one of the NFL's storied franchises. The fact that the Pro Football Hall of Fame is in Canton also made me bump Ohio ahead of Pennsylvania. I also like the strong MAC presence and Miami of Ohio's role as the cradle of coaches and that there have been some superb small-college programs (Youngstown and Mount Union).
5. Pennsylvania: I feel like this is a pro-driven spot that takes its cue from the Pittsburgh Steelers' fan base. The pluses are there are two college programs with strong histories (Pitt and Penn State), the famed QB cradle that yielded Unitas, Montana, Marino and Co., and the state does produce a lot of linemen. Overall, the state simply doesn't produce the volume of Texas, Florida and Cali, which certainly have numbers and climate on their side.
6. Louisiana: This is very similar to Georgia, and even though the Saints are so awful historically, I leaned to Louisiana over Georgia. Why? Per capita it develops more NFL talent than any place else (only Mississippi is close). Like Texas, the state is also big on legendary characters (not including the Grey Ghost from "Everybody's All-American"). Louisiana also could give Pennsylvania a run for breeding star QBs (Terry Bradshaw, Joe Ferguson, Bert Jones, the Manning brothers and Jake Delhomme). Another big edge that propelled Louisiana over Georgia is the link to Grambling and Eddie Robinson and all the talent that was developed there for generations on the SWAC level.
7. Georgia: This is college football country and Athens is one of the nation's most charming college spots. The state has housed a few Heisman winners and helps fill the rosters in the ACC and the SEC. The Falcons, Mike Vick notwithstanding, also are a bit lacking historically. I toyed with the idea of dropping Georgia down to No. 8, but didn't because the Atlanta area produces so many great players and because Valdosta State and Georgia Southern have such strong histories.
8. Michigan: The home of arguably the most recognizable helmet in football. The state also houses one of the top six or seven cities that breeds NFL talent (Detroit). The top two in-state colleges are a big-time 1-2 punch in terms of Big Ten history. In 2005, the Wolverines averaged almost 111,000 fans per home game, besting No. 2 Tennessee by more than 3,000. How about this item: The last time Michigan did not have 100,000 in attendance was 31 years ago vs. Indiana, when a crowd of 95,857 saw the Wolverines beat IU, 55-7. The Lions, however, aren't holding up their end and rarely have.
9. Indiana: This may be basketball country, but when Notre Dame is within your borders, you deserve the tag "football state." Purdue's gridiron history isn't too shabby, either. The pro side has taken off since Peyton Manning showed up. The snag? The state simply doesn't produce that many I-A football players annually, and the state school, IU, has rarely been very good.
10. Wisconsin: This is big NFL country thanks to the connection to the Packers that has been shaped by Lombardi and Co., and to some extent, reshaped by Brett Favre. It's also been spruced up on the college level because of former Badgers coach Barry Alvarez, who turned a mediocre program into a perennial Big Ten title contender thriving off a charming, refurbished stadium that has as good a game-day atmosphere as you'll find anywhere. The state's talent pool also is pretty underrated, and this year shapes up to be one of the best in years.
This last spot was close with Illinois and Maryland also in the running, but I felt that neither of those state's college programs were as strong as what the Badgers have. Tennessee does, and the state has a deeper recruiting base, but doesn't match up well when it comes to the Titans vs. Cheeseheads.
I'm blogging this morning from an Uptown Coffee that, as luck would have it, has wireless access, which has made my day a lot easier. Today's list is Best Football States. The topic was suggested by blog contributor Dave, who seems to be full of good ideas for the dead of summer. Anyhow, my criteria for this week focused on production at the NFL, college and high school levels. I also considered how passionate the fan bases are.
1. Texas: The state has it all, starting with tradition. Everywhere in football history you turn, Texas' fingerprints are all over the place with the Sammy Baughs, Doak Walkers and Earl Campbells. Not to mention institutions like the 12th man and a bunch of the best nicknames around. The state Is crazed about its college teams. Hook 'em. Gig 'em. Guns up. Virtually every Division I-A Texas team has a persona. Even North Texas had its hands in a big football movie ("Necessary Roughness"). The pro teams, especially America's Team, are almost as big. Most of the good football movies that have even been made have been rooted in the Lone Star State ("North Dallas Forty" comes to mind first). Better still, the state's ridiculously rich recruiting soil not only feeds all the state programs' two-deep, but also that for a lot of the Big 12 too.
2. Florida: Considered "the speed state," Florida's recruiting status has boomed in the past 15 years with the rise of the University of Miami and FSU. These days, almost every college tries to make inroads into Florida. Heck, Rutgers has practically installed itself as University of Florida-Rutgers. There are five different high schools (Fort Lauderdale's St. Thomas Aquinas, Tallahassee-Lincoln, Palm Beach's Glades Central, and Miami's Killian and Northwestern) that have each produced at least 19 I-A players since 2001. The state has added four I-A programs in that time and two of them already are making a lot of noise (UCF and USF). The state's strongest point is that the Big Three schools have combined to win an astounding eight (UM 5; FSU 2; UF 1) of the past 23 national titles. That alone should enable Florida to make a run at Texas for the top spot. The Dolphins, thanks to Shula and Marino, have become part of the NFL's fabric and spawned the Bucs and the Jags. There is one big knock though: both the Canes and the Dolphins struggle to fill their stadiums.
3. California: Like Florida and Texas, the state is loaded with college programs that have rich histories. California is also stocked with talented, polished QB prospects annually. Credit that to both the style of offense that long has thrived in the Pac-10 and to the influx of personal QB groomers who often begin tutoring prospects when they're still in junior high school. The city of San Diego, home of Marcus Allen, Terrell Davis, Ricky Williams and Reggie Bush, among others, rivals the city of Miami in breeding talent. Boasting two of the NFL's glory franchises (the Raiders and the 49ers), California trumps Texas and its America's Team. But that leads to the big knock here: there is no NFL in the L.A. area and there hasn't been for a long time, and it doesn't seem like many of the folks here miss it all that much. Also, sellouts on the college level, even for the winning, big-time programs, are far from a slam dunk.
4. Ohio: I'd rank Buckeyes fans as passionate as any college support system around. Drawing 64,000 for a spring game is quite a statement. (Full Disclosure: I did grow up an OSU fan.) The Browns are also one of the NFL's storied franchises. The fact that the Pro Football Hall of Fame is in Canton also made me bump Ohio ahead of Pennsylvania. I also like the strong MAC presence and Miami of Ohio's role as the cradle of coaches and that there have been some superb small-college programs (Youngstown and Mount Union).
5. Pennsylvania: I feel like this is a pro-driven spot that takes its cue from the Pittsburgh Steelers' fan base. The pluses are there are two college programs with strong histories (Pitt and Penn State), the famed QB cradle that yielded Unitas, Montana, Marino and Co., and the state does produce a lot of linemen. Overall, the state simply doesn't produce the volume of Texas, Florida and Cali, which certainly have numbers and climate on their side.
6. Louisiana: This is very similar to Georgia, and even though the Saints are so awful historically, I leaned to Louisiana over Georgia. Why? Per capita it develops more NFL talent than any place else (only Mississippi is close). Like Texas, the state is also big on legendary characters (not including the Grey Ghost from "Everybody's All-American"). Louisiana also could give Pennsylvania a run for breeding star QBs (Terry Bradshaw, Joe Ferguson, Bert Jones, the Manning brothers and Jake Delhomme). Another big edge that propelled Louisiana over Georgia is the link to Grambling and Eddie Robinson and all the talent that was developed there for generations on the SWAC level.
7. Georgia: This is college football country and Athens is one of the nation's most charming college spots. The state has housed a few Heisman winners and helps fill the rosters in the ACC and the SEC. The Falcons, Mike Vick notwithstanding, also are a bit lacking historically. I toyed with the idea of dropping Georgia down to No. 8, but didn't because the Atlanta area produces so many great players and because Valdosta State and Georgia Southern have such strong histories.
8. Michigan: The home of arguably the most recognizable helmet in football. The state also houses one of the top six or seven cities that breeds NFL talent (Detroit). The top two in-state colleges are a big-time 1-2 punch in terms of Big Ten history. In 2005, the Wolverines averaged almost 111,000 fans per home game, besting No. 2 Tennessee by more than 3,000. How about this item: The last time Michigan did not have 100,000 in attendance was 31 years ago vs. Indiana, when a crowd of 95,857 saw the Wolverines beat IU, 55-7. The Lions, however, aren't holding up their end and rarely have.
9. Indiana: This may be basketball country, but when Notre Dame is within your borders, you deserve the tag "football state." Purdue's gridiron history isn't too shabby, either. The pro side has taken off since Peyton Manning showed up. The snag? The state simply doesn't produce that many I-A football players annually, and the state school, IU, has rarely been very good.
10. Wisconsin: This is big NFL country thanks to the connection to the Packers that has been shaped by Lombardi and Co., and to some extent, reshaped by Brett Favre. It's also been spruced up on the college level because of former Badgers coach Barry Alvarez, who turned a mediocre program into a perennial Big Ten title contender thriving off a charming, refurbished stadium that has as good a game-day atmosphere as you'll find anywhere. The state's talent pool also is pretty underrated, and this year shapes up to be one of the best in years.
This last spot was close with Illinois and Maryland also in the running, but I felt that neither of those state's college programs were as strong as what the Badgers have. Tennessee does, and the state has a deeper recruiting base, but doesn't match up well when it comes to the Titans vs. Cheeseheads.
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