orange bowl history
orange bowl history
Joe Namath, Bernie Kosar, Rocket Ismail, Charlie Ward, Ahman Green and Carson Palmer are all great NFL players that have one thing in common on their resumes, being named the MVP of the FedEx Orange Bowl. Tickets for this prestigious postseason college football game that was first played in 1935 in Miami are always a hot item. The purpose of the game originally was for Miami to boost its tourism income during the winter months. After suffering a devastating hurricane in 1926 and the stock market crash of 1929, Miami was reduced to a small fishing village, a far cry from the current tourism magnet.
The Orange Bowl was played in the Miami, Florida Orange Bowl from 1937 till 1996. Originally named for one of Miami’s pioneers Roddy Burdine, the Burdine Stadium changed its name in 1959 for the Orange Bowl Classic that was played yearly in the stadium. The original stadium consisted of just two sideline lower decks, but after several renovations from the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s the stadium reached its peak capacity of over 80,000. The Miami Hurricanes football team has made the stadium home since December 10th, 1966. Due to the age of the stadium, the past 10 years the game has been moved to Dolphin Stadium, previously known as Pro Player Stadium, the home of NFL’s Miami Dolphins.
From 1968 to 1998, Orange Bowl ticket holders saw the champion of the Big Eight Conference take on a top tier at large opponent. The Big Eight Conference formed the base for what is known today as the Big XII. Since the Bowl Championship Series came into play, the Orange Bowl has hosted the National Championship twice and the off years they play host to either the Atlantic Coast Conference or Big East conference champion, unless they are involved in the National Championship game, in which case the FedEx Orange Bowl selection committee will have their choice of top tier teams. Starting in 2006 FedEx Orange Bowl tickets will use the brand “Home of the ACC Champion”, indicating their new arrangement to guarantee them the right to field the champion of the ACC unless they are involved in the BCS championship game.
The 2006 Orange Bowl ticket holders were treated with the first ever three-overtime game in a BCS bowl history. The game was an epic tug-a-war that lasted close to five hours and saw Penn State edge Florida State by a field goal in the third overtime. There have been numerous outstanding football games viewed by FedEx Orange Bowl ticket holders including the 2004 match-up of instate rivals Miami and Florida State, where Miami pulled out a 16-14 victory, with Florida State missing a chance at a long field goal in the closing minutes of the game. While nearly all Orange Bowl games are instant classics, some stand out more than others including the 1996 battle of Notre Dame and Florida State, Nebraska-Florida State in 1994 and many, many more. Orange Bowl tickets will be a hot item this year when two of the top teams in the country battle it out in this historical bowl game.
