WindyCityBlue

April 24th, 2014 at 5:31 PM ^

Having been there for work, I can tell you that it's an extremely unsafe place to be. First, it took forever to get the approvals from work, then my team needed an escort to ensure our safety. We couldn't do anything that wasn't approved, so I didn't get to see much of the city, which looked somewhat run down.

I can't imagine the controls you would need to implement to ensure player safety. Seems like a waste of time to me.

BlueCE

April 24th, 2014 at 6:13 PM ^

Mexico City is not that unsafe, it is a large city and in Latam, but there are cities in the US which are more dangerous:

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/blog/2012/04/30/are-americans-safer-in-mexi…

http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2012/11/comparing-mexican-…

If you were talking about Caracas or El Salvador I would totally agree with you.  But I know a ton of people that travel there and it has been been a problem.

gotohail

April 24th, 2014 at 5:35 PM ^

Some parts are beautiful but c'mon, the shear cost and logistics of that would be astounding. Is there really much much money to be made?

MGoGrendel

April 24th, 2014 at 5:36 PM ^

float this idea when talking about taking the "Texas Brand" globally? Not sure how much push ESPN has in this, especially since they are launching the SEC channel in August.

LSAClassOf2000

April 24th, 2014 at 5:49 PM ^

Steve Patterson has made quite a point of trying to make the global expansion of the Longhorn Empire a priority for his department. Indeed, earlier this month, it came to our attention that they have already scheduled a basketball game with Washigton in 2015. That might not seem so impressive except for the fact that the game is to be played in China. He also floated the idea of a football game in Mexico as well as Dubai. 

Jobu

April 24th, 2014 at 5:50 PM ^

My mom goes to Mexico for work semi often. Juarez City, which is like cartel central. They tell her and her co workers to never take the same route to the warehouse. The cartels will catch on and kidnap them.

My ex once told me a story how her and her mom were at a resort in Cancun and her mom was drugged by a bartender, a couple people saw it though

goblue20111

April 24th, 2014 at 5:51 PM ^

Now these ungrteful punks are going to be griping about having to take a free trip to Mexico City? If I was them I'd gladly do it and then go do some work for the cartels if I had free time.  

iamtjeff

April 24th, 2014 at 6:23 PM ^

Or maybe they complain about the additional time away from their studies? Or missing out on a share of the profits? Or being able to play in front of their friends?

Some of them have families who are barely able to eat. Or are going without themselves.

Your way, nor anyone else's for that matter, is the only way to look at it. Try to think outside of your own experiences for a moment...

French West Indian

April 24th, 2014 at 6:09 PM ^

...it's a tempting idea.  Mexico City is the largest city in North America.  And despite the stereotypical assumptions of many, crime isn't all that bad there (certainly much safer than the border towns).

If American football is too expand geopgraphically, Mexico seems the most likely place.  Having said that, I'd rather see the NFL do it than universities.  The student athletes are already being forced to miss too much class because of travel and this wouldn't help the NCAA against "exploitation" arguments.

funkywolve

April 24th, 2014 at 6:26 PM ^

In terms of football, as long as your team is playing all their games on Saturday's, I don't think you're missing that much time.  At a school like UM, where you play 7-8 home games every year, you're probably only missing 4-5 Friday's.  If you're one of the schools that play a lot of games during the week days, then yeah, you probably are missing a good bit of class time.

College basketball players do miss a lot of time do to travel - especially when you start taking into account the pre and post season tourney's.

JTrain

April 24th, 2014 at 6:14 PM ^

Scooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooore!!!!!!!!!!

Wolverine Devotee

April 24th, 2014 at 6:39 PM ^

That's the name of the ticket/resort package for the Cancun game with "coeds" listed as an incentive.

Billy Ray Valentine

April 24th, 2014 at 6:32 PM ^

Whoa, Nellie!  It's a beautiful, clear day here in Mexico City.  Perfect conditions for footbaw!  

 

 

Yes, this is a picture of Mexico City.  I think.  This is the first time in my life that a picture made me cough.

Arizona Blue

April 24th, 2014 at 6:37 PM ^

I frequent Mexico City quite often for work and the place is a shit hole. Unlike many parts of Mexico, this has zero travel appeal for the respective fan bases of the teams involved...

Not sure if the talking heads think there is going to be local support but I would venture to say this falls flat on its face if its ever given the green light.

 

 

Black Socks

April 24th, 2014 at 7:04 PM ^

Don't give Big 10 AD's any ideas.  Next they'll be rotating the Big 10 championship game through Toronto.

alum96

April 24th, 2014 at 7:10 PM ^

TYPICAL NEGATIVE NELLIES - this opens up the critical recruiting pipeline to Puebla Glenville Cass Tech HS, which is swarming with talent. #PipelineSchool.  DO IT BRANDON!

GoBLUinTX

April 24th, 2014 at 7:51 PM ^

redeeming reasons for playing American football in a sulphuric pea soup at 7200 feet.  The Big 12 and Pac 12 should look into why the IOC said of Mexico City, "Never again, never again."  Hint, it wasn't because a couple of American athletes raised their arms in a Black Power Salute.

Besides, you couldn't pick a decent sized field of lettuce with the number of Mexicans that enjoy American Football.

BlueChicago

April 24th, 2014 at 8:32 PM ^

I travel to Saltillo a great deal and I am always surprised at the interest in American football.  A local college has a team, artificial turn, high school type stadium.  Lots of pee-wee league kids running around right now in helmets and shoulder pads.