05-24-2012, 10:23 PM
1) Game Time
The Pac-12 has a new conference network, and a commitment to put all of the football games played in Pac-12 venues on live TV. The TV selection process will be complicated. The big networks will get to pick two or three choice games, one, two or more of the games will get MOVED to a different day, and the rest will air on the Pac-12 network on Saturday.
Duke v. Stanford is unlikely to appear in the major network slots. So the bad news is that the game time probably will not be known until days before the game. Maybe earlier, maybe later. The Pac-12 may need the conference to announce a schedule to get on DirecTV and/or DishNet.
However, it is not out of the question at all that this game gets a 9PM type Saturday slot on the Pac-12 network. Or, it could get an 11AM time slot. Really, the whole conference is in unchartered waters this year.
Those that claim they know either work for the Pac-12 Network and should not comment. Or they are referencing the older Pac-10 scheduling rules which will no longer apply.
2) Travel to Airport. I will assume you have a rental car.
Your big challenge will be parking in a location that will enable you to escape the parking lot area post game. A good spot for you is probably going to be a little walk from the stadium. The walk would enable you to get out of the areas near the stadium with the worst post-game logistics.
10 minutes to walk to your car. 15 minutes to get to 101 or 280. 30 minutes to the airport. 20 minutes to get from the rental car area to security. 15-45 minutes to push through security. If the game starts before 6PM, your redeye idea should be OK. It depends on your travel skill and risk tolerance. SFO has several frequent flyer lines, so if you travel a lot you will get through faster.
That floating kickoff time thing is going to be your big challenge though. FWIW - It is not impossible that the conference even moves the DATE of the game. Every Pac-12 team must be willing to accept a move away from Saturday for at least some of their home games. Not sure how teams will protect key dates, or how often they can demand no move Saturdays, but Duke v. Stanford might not be protected. Stanford students are not on campus that week and the game is not a tradition filled game. So if the Pac-12 network decides to demand at least one move from Stanford, this game could be the one the school decides to not protect. Duke might beg for mercy given the travel costs. My guess is that Stanford v. San Jose State might be sacrificed if Stanford must move a game for the greater good of the conference because San Jose State fans would not need to travel and routinely plays on Fridays in their conference.
FWIW - The Pac-12 wants teams to entertain hosting games on Friday and Sunday in the early non-conference schedule. At the moment no teams have Sunday games, so somebody is moving a game or two that will flat out stun their fans.
3)Â Stanford Sightseeing -
Stanford's campus is rather large. And yet, if you wanted to walk around without too much concern about missing a venue or two I would imagine you could cover the big highlight areas in two hours.
My guess is you will discover that you will have a ton of time to explore while waiting for your TV kickoff slot and/or waiting post game for your redeye flight.
The Pac-12 has a new conference network, and a commitment to put all of the football games played in Pac-12 venues on live TV. The TV selection process will be complicated. The big networks will get to pick two or three choice games, one, two or more of the games will get MOVED to a different day, and the rest will air on the Pac-12 network on Saturday.
Duke v. Stanford is unlikely to appear in the major network slots. So the bad news is that the game time probably will not be known until days before the game. Maybe earlier, maybe later. The Pac-12 may need the conference to announce a schedule to get on DirecTV and/or DishNet.
However, it is not out of the question at all that this game gets a 9PM type Saturday slot on the Pac-12 network. Or, it could get an 11AM time slot. Really, the whole conference is in unchartered waters this year.
Those that claim they know either work for the Pac-12 Network and should not comment. Or they are referencing the older Pac-10 scheduling rules which will no longer apply.
2) Travel to Airport. I will assume you have a rental car.
Your big challenge will be parking in a location that will enable you to escape the parking lot area post game. A good spot for you is probably going to be a little walk from the stadium. The walk would enable you to get out of the areas near the stadium with the worst post-game logistics.
10 minutes to walk to your car. 15 minutes to get to 101 or 280. 30 minutes to the airport. 20 minutes to get from the rental car area to security. 15-45 minutes to push through security. If the game starts before 6PM, your redeye idea should be OK. It depends on your travel skill and risk tolerance. SFO has several frequent flyer lines, so if you travel a lot you will get through faster.
That floating kickoff time thing is going to be your big challenge though. FWIW - It is not impossible that the conference even moves the DATE of the game. Every Pac-12 team must be willing to accept a move away from Saturday for at least some of their home games. Not sure how teams will protect key dates, or how often they can demand no move Saturdays, but Duke v. Stanford might not be protected. Stanford students are not on campus that week and the game is not a tradition filled game. So if the Pac-12 network decides to demand at least one move from Stanford, this game could be the one the school decides to not protect. Duke might beg for mercy given the travel costs. My guess is that Stanford v. San Jose State might be sacrificed if Stanford must move a game for the greater good of the conference because San Jose State fans would not need to travel and routinely plays on Fridays in their conference.
FWIW - The Pac-12 wants teams to entertain hosting games on Friday and Sunday in the early non-conference schedule. At the moment no teams have Sunday games, so somebody is moving a game or two that will flat out stun their fans.
3)Â Stanford Sightseeing -
Stanford's campus is rather large. And yet, if you wanted to walk around without too much concern about missing a venue or two I would imagine you could cover the big highlight areas in two hours.
My guess is you will discover that you will have a ton of time to explore while waiting for your TV kickoff slot and/or waiting post game for your redeye flight.