College Football Hall of Fame moving to Atlanta

Today, it was officially announced that the College Football Hall of Fame will be moving to Atlanta from South Bend Indiana, where it has been since 1995, after their lease expires on December 31, 2010.  There is talk that the Atlanta facility may not be open until 2012, and also that the Hall of Fame Enshrinement ceremonies until then may not even take place at the South Bend facility.


I can see why they want to move out of South Bend.  South Bend is a small town which explodes during Notre Dame home game weekends, but that's only about 8 weeks out of the year.  Projections were that the facility would see 150,000 visitors a year, but the norm has been closer to 60,000.

But why Atlanta?

To me, Hall of Fames need to be located somewhere that means something to the origins of the game.  Cooperstown NY is where baseball was thought to be invented.  Toronto is where hockey was popularized, Springfield MA is where Basketball was invented, and even Volleyball's hall of fame, in Holyoke, MA, is where that sport was invented.  So what does Atlanta have to do with College Football's History?

Answer:  Not very much

It is a little harder to find a place have football HOFs because there really is no founding story to football in this country.  But there is for College Football.  The Ivy league schools of the 1850s-1860s started the game, at least at a primitive level.  And the first recognized game was played in 1869 at Rutgers vs. Princeton.  Of course this game resembles next to nothing like the football of today, but nonetheless its where it was really started.  Of course all of these places have the same problem as South Bend:  small towns, not much walk in traffic.

So where put it?


Now, I am biased towards the south here.  Football is more popular in the South than it is anywhere else.   Well, at least college football anyways.  So it does make sense to put it in Atlanta in that regard.  But that is the home to GEORGIA TECH.  The two school in the "deep south" that have the most tradition are Alabama and Tennessee.  Alabama was the first Rose Bowl by a southern squad back in 1926, and Tennessee has been the second most successful program in the south during their history.   So, why not say Birmingham or Nashville?  Nashville already has the lockdown on music, so it would seem to me Birmingham would make more sense.

If you look at the Midwest, you have to look at Texas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska.  So, why not Dallas?  Dallas is pretty much in between Austin and Norman (sorry Lincoln) and its a big southern city.  Problem with Dallas is that it is too Pro oriented and less college, at least compared to the rest of the south.


Lets take a look out west to say, oh I don't know, Pasadena?  The Rose Bowl?  The Rose Bowl it could be said is really what put college football on the map.  The first Rose Bowl was played in 1902, and then it became a yearly event in 1916.  It is still called the "Granddaddy of them All."  As for foot traffic walking in.......some large city called L.A. is pretty close by.

Bottom line is the decision was about money.  The South has the most passionate college football fans, Atlanta is probably the biggest southern city.  They have a college football team (Georgia Tech) they have a bowl game (Chick Fil A Bowl) they have a Pro Team (Falcons) and they are a big central city for Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, and Alabama fans just to name a few.  But I hate for tradition to be broken in the name of the all mighty dollar.

But even still, rest assured I will be walking through those doors as soon as possible in 2012 when they open to the public for the first time.