College Football: New York City's New Game?

Hey, did anyone catch the score of the Columbia-Fordham game?


New York Giants QB and Super Bowl XLI MVP Eli Manning is fronting a new effort by the National Football Foundation's Gridiron CLub to boost interest in college football in the New York City area.

Eli's dad Archie is a long-time active member of the NFF, and he said it best:

"We all know, the New York media market is heavily dominated by professional sports, and a concerted effort to promote college football in the area will be challenging at first. However, with the many leaders and CEOs in New York who had formative experiences on the college gridiron, we believe we'll rally significant support for our efforts. College football has provided so many opportunities for my family, and Eli and I are certainly happy to be a part of this unique initiative. "

I was very happy to read that Columbia athletic director Dianne Murphy was at the event last week kicking off the efforts, along with Rudy Guiliani; CBS The Early Show Anchor Harry Smith; Rutgers Head Football Coach Greg Schiano; Arena Football League Commissioner Dave Baker; executives from ESPN and CBS; 1992 College Football Hall of Famer and former NFF Chairman Ron Johnson; 2008 College Football Hall of Fame inductee from Syracuse Don McPherson; and athletics directors Bob Mulcahy of Rutgers and Francis McLaughlin of Fordham.

I have a lot of friends who are rabid sports fans who never lived anywhere other than New York City. I always have trouble convincing them that they haven't seen anything until they go to a key Big 10 football game, or an SEC rivalry game, etc. It's intense and New York City is missing out on creating its own traditions... or should I say "recreating them?"

Columbia and Fordham are responsible for a lot of early college football lore, and if the media gets behind these unique student athletes, we can do it again.