Allstate will replace Nokia as the sponsor of the Sugar Bowl. The new deal makes me wonder just how sweet the Sugar Bowl will remain. Will it cease being the Suger Bowl and become the You're in Good Hands with All-State Insurance Bowl?

It wouldn't be the first time that bowls have dumped their historical roots in pursuit of the almighty dollar. Starting this year, the Chick-fil-a Peach Bowl will no longer be Peachy. Chick-fil-a, who still won't open their restaurants on Sundays, decided that the 'Peach' moniker is not too sacred to remove from the 9th oldest bowl in the history of college football. From now on, I'll just call it the Fried Chicken Sammich Bowl.

I love capitalism, but I detest the overkill of corporate sponsorships. For one thing, other than raise brand identity it does nothing to make me want to buy their products. Furthermore they rotate the sponsorships so much, it makes it harder to keep track of the bowls. Should Nokia sponsor another bowl, would people confuse it with the Sugar Bowl? And what happens if Chick-fil-a loses the contract with the Peach Bowl? Will it just be 'Bowl'?

And some sponsorships are just embarassing. In 1993, Virginia Tech started their modern bowl run in the Poulan Weed-eater Independence Bowl. As a student there I was proud that we were going to a bowl, while at the same time ashamed to admit it was the "Weed-whacker Bowl". And where do we draw the line? Suppose Pfizer wants to sponsor a bowl and call it the Viagra Bowl.

The crooks that manage Atlanta's airport have spent years debating on whether or not to auction the names to the airport concourses. Imagine getting your plane ticket and being told to go to gate 35 on the "Home Depot Concourse". Where does it end?

UPDATE: Oh God. The Chicken Sammich Bowl has second pick in the ACC now.