Updates From Italy And Bristol

The Colosseum in Rome attracted 7.4 million visitors in 2018.

That's not too bad for a building that's closing in on 2,000 years old.

The Colosseum was built in 72-80 AD, with seating for up to 80,000. The gladiators were a big draw back then.

Anytime TigerBlog has seen pictures of Palmer Stadium from the pre-Ivy League era, it's always made him wonder if they had event meetings back then that might have been similar to the ones he's attended. When he considers 80,000 people who showed up to watch lions attack humans, did they have meetings? And what must they have been like?

At the very least, parking must not have been an issue.

The men's and women's track and field teams visited the Colosseum yesterday as part of their trip to Italy. TB knew this because he saw this on the team's Twitter feed:

Amazing experience at the Coliseum #TigersinItaly pic.twitter.com/akGsxv1IZO

— Princeton Track/XC (@PrincetonTrack) June 17, 2019

 
And this:

An unforgettable second day in Rome... #TigersinRome pic.twitter.com/zVvWgZpM7b

— Princeton Track/XC (@PrincetonTrack) June 17, 2019

 

And because his colleague Kim Meszaros, who is traveling with the teams, sent this:

It has to be a pretty awesome sight, to be at a building that's nearly 2,000 years old. Up next for the traveling Tigers will be the Vatican, which is a relative newcomer at slightly more than 800 years old. It's been 450 years since Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

You can read about Days 1 and 2 HERE.

There's a line in there about how the distance runners went out for runs early in the morning. Think about that. You're used to running as a group around Princeton, and now you're out in Rome.

Closer to home, there was news yesterday about Ivy League football media day, which will be Aug. 15 this year. TigerBlog has been to a lot of Ivy football media days in Connecticut, but this one will be a bit different.

This year, the Ivy League will be taking its media day to ESPN headquarters in Bristol. From the release:
The event will begin at 10 a.m. and will feature media availability from each of the League’s head coaches, as well as two student-athletes from each Ivy League program. Special topics will be discussed throughout the day, including ESPN and the Ivy League’s respective plans surrounding CFB150 and ESPN+, the subscription platform that is home to more than 1,100 Ivy League events annually. 

You can read the whole thing HERE. For the record, TigerBlog took the Ivy League release and added the part about how Princeton is the defending champion.

Even more than that, Princeton went 10-0 a year ago. This year isn't just the year after the first perfect season in 54 years; it's the 150th anniversary of the first college fooball game, the one between Princeton and Rutgers from back on Nov. 6, 1869.

Just like the 2019 Princeton season itself will, the media day at ESPN will highlight the 2019 season and the history of the sport, in which Princeton and the Ivy League have had such a huge role.

Having it at ESPN is a big step for the league.

For starters, the league and ESPN will be in Year 2 of their ESPN+ partnership, one that has been very beneficial to both. For another, Ivy League football is in a very good era right now, and it is worthy of the added attention.

It's a long way from the media days that TigerBlog used to attend in Connecticut, which were mostly at the Lyman Orchards golf club near Yale. It was always a nice day, with a morning press conference and then 18 holes of golf. And a box lunch, with great apples.

But it wasn't ESPN. When it comes to college football, it's pretty much the epicenter of the universe. And this summer, the Ivy League will get the VIP treatment.

After that?

It'll be time for to see what the 150th season has in store.