ACC Championship Should Move

I know that ACC's football expansion [and, don't kid yourselves - that's what it was] meant the league was kissing Florida's butt.  Newbies Florida State and Miami were meant to pep up the league's standing in the nation.  It has worked.  Florida State gave us two National Champions and Miami gives us, well, the did give us a good look at it.

Well, the ACC decided to give Florida some love by staging the new ACC Championship Game in Jacksonville every year.  More love was shown when they created divisions that would magically give us Florida State v Miami in those title tilts. 

Well, a bunch of crap that was!

We've not see a Florida State/Miami matchup yet.  In fact, Miami hasn't even made the game [FSU has once].  Instead, Jacksonville has played host to out of state teams mainly who get to travel to Florida TWICE in less than a month.

Yep, the winner of the ACC title game moves from Jacksonville to Miami to play in the Orange Bowl.  The loser of the game get to go from Jacksonville to .... uh .... Jacksonville.  Yeah.  Lose the ACC Championship game, and you play in the Gator Bowl.  So how great is it to ask fans to pay for two trips to J-ville in a matter of a month????

Move the freakin' game!  Move it to Charlotte.  Or Washington, DC.  Or Tampa. 

Atlanta is out of the question, because the SEC is pretty much keeping their title game there.  Miami isn't a viable option since, well, the the winner then stays in Miami for the Orange Bowl.  While Washington would be a nice gesture to Maryland and the two Virginia schools, would weather be an issue?  That leaves Charlotte as the only non-Florida site [Tampa and Orlando are also interested].

Charlotte has been the the defacto capital of the ACC.  Technically, it's Greensboro, NC ... but Charlotte acts as the ACC's "New York".  It's in the center of the ACC, geographically, and while it is close to the four North Carolina schools there is no hometown hero there.  The Meineke Bowl [which is played in Charlotte] does house an ACC team ... but that team wouldn't be competing in the ACC title game.

A smart move would be a rotation, with Jacksonville, Charlotte and Tampa in the mix. 

Below is a list of Pros and Cons from Charlotte.com about each possible ACC title site:

PROS AND CONS

Breaking down the cities that will be asked to bid to host the ACC football championship games beginning in 2008:

CHARLOTTE: Has great stadium and is located at geographical center of ACC, but has cooler weather than Florida sites.

JACKSONVILLE: Municipally owned stadium allows big financial bid. Attendance was good in 2005 but lousy on a rainy day in 2006.

ORLANDO: Anticipated Citrus Bowl renovations make tourist haven a darkhorse -- until 2010, when renovations might be finished.

TAMPA: Has beautiful weather and an excellent stadium, but some ACC fans grumbled about being far from home during the 2007 men's basketball tournament there.