USC Game -- Mind the Time
1 comment so far
May 9, 2006 by
ABC announced a 7:00 p.m. Central, 5:00 p.m. Pacific kick-off time for the NU/USC game in Los Angeles. Is this a seemingly trivial piece of information, or something fans should take note of? I put it in the latter of the two categories for a few reasons. It's great news for Husker fans and others across the country. And, it is a reasonable time for the Husker team to manage, physiologically.
First and foremost, it puts NU on in prime time. People on both coasts will be able to watch the whole football game if they want. Great for my east-coast friends (Steve), left-coast Huskers like Jason, and for fans in general. Next, it is fantastic exposure for the program. NU/USC could be the only game in prime time that night. That means all of the media pundits and potential recruits can get a big dose of Big Red. If NU can show well that night, they can get the "east coast media bias" working in their favor. Writers from the NY Times or Washington Post really only see teams like NU once or twice in a season.
Next, playing in a game at 7:00 local time is good for NU because its not an odd hour for their internal clocks. 7:00 is a normal night-game kick time for NU's players. The physiological and psychological effects of time change should not be underestimated. Lots of studies show how time changes affect performance. Don't like studies? Fine, just remember how your last cross-country flight affected you. Or you can recall the horrible outcomes Midwestern teams have had playing in time-change night games out west. The 19-0 loss to Arizona State is a pretty good example. Now, was a time change the only factor? No, not by a long shot. But, it is a safe bet that playing late at night local time didn't exactly help the Husker players' performances that night.
There is also evidence that shows preparing with a time in mind can improve performance. You can condition your mind and body to be ready at a certain time. Athletic teams do it, music directors use it for performances, and so do business people. Basically, you perform the most intense preparation (scrimmages, dress rehersals, presentations, etc) at the particular time. It could be called "performance memory." And knowing how regimented Coach Callahan is when it comes to practice time, you can fully expect him to gear the week of practice toward being at maximum performance and execution at 7:00 Central/5:00 Pacific.
Too much minutia to think about? Maybe. But, to beat a team like USC, every detail matters.
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Steve May 09 06
Night games are usually a big advantage for the home team. The crowd gets all liquored up and loud (remember Penn State?). I won't even go to a night game at FedEx field with my wife or kids anymore because a fight breaks out in my section every damn time (and shockingly, I'm not even involved). Raider fans were famous for their horrible behavior at the Colliseum. This game is being played in the same building with I'll bet a lot of the same fans.
Also, to burst your bubble on the East coast watching the game, they might watch the first half, but many will turn in before the conclusion. In addition, the game is likely to end too late to be included in the Sunday paper and often times they don't even bother to write a story for the Monday edition for Pac 10 games. I was steaming mad that Nebraska's big Alamo Bowl win never even appeared in the Washington Post at all. I suspect the same is true for the New York Times and most every other paper read on the East Coast.
Still, USC is a marquee program right now and if Nebraska wins the game, it will get some notice even out East. But there will be no such thing as a "good loss" in terms of Nebraska gaining respect out here. In the East, they'll only see the score.