Why Does ESPN.com Insist On Referring To Bowls By Their Full, Corporate Names?

Reader Reggie pointed something out to us the other day: ESPN.com writers have a habit of referring to the various bowl games by their full, awkward, sponsored names. This is not how normal people write (unless it's to mock), so we went looking for examples. They were not hard to find.

From Mark Schlabach's Top 25 preview (boldface ours):

It looked as though Kelly might be filling one of several NFL job openings after the Ducks' win over Kansas State in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

After playing in three consecutive BCS bowl games and winning the Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio this season, Stanford might be poised to join the ranks of the perennial BCS national championship contenders.

The Cardinals blasted Florida 33-23 in the Allstate Sugar Bowl to finish 11-2, a few weeks after locking up coach Charlie Strong to a long-term contract.

The Fighting Irish were probably a year ahead of schedule in reaching Monday night's Discover BCS National Championship.

[T]he Wildcats defeated Mississippi State 34-20 in the TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl for first postseason win since 1949.

From a Brett McMurphy story on the upcoming playoff system:

[T]he AT&T Cotton Bowl a "prohibitive favorite" to host the national title game on Jan. 12, 2015, sources said Monday.

Under the 12-year deal, which begins after the 2014 season, the Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio and Allstate Sugar Bowl will be played on Jan. 1 every season whether they are hosting the national semifinals or not.

From a Pac-12 blog post:

Up next is the Hyundai Sun Bowl pitting USC against Georgia Tech.

After Ted Miller correctly picked Texas to beat Oregon State in the Valero Alamo Bowl, he moved one-up on Kevin Gemmell with a 68-27 record.

UCLA faces Baylor in the Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl on Thursday.

From various bowl previews and recaps:

Defense has carried the Cougars throughout this 7-5 season, bringing the program to a Dec. 20 matchup with San Diego State in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl.

Three keys for today's matchup between San Jose State and Bowling Green in the Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman.

Hello and welcome to the 77th AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic at Cowboys Stadium.

The trip to face Louisiana-Lafayette in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl will be East Carolina's sixth bowl appearance in the past seven years.

Washington and Boise State are meeting in the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas, and it's also a preview of the season-opener next year.

Here's a look at three keys for Vanderbilt in Monday's matchup with North Carolina State in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl:

Louisiana Tech will not play in a bowl game this season after finishing 9-3 and turning down an invitation to play in the AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl, a source told ESPN.

Carter had two interceptions, a pass breakup and seven tackles in Minnesota's 34-31 loss to Texas Tech in the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas.

Really rolls off the tongue. An ESPNer tells us that it's house style during bowl season to refer to the games by their full title. We were curious if the directive comes down from corporate because ESPN has the broadcast rights to many of these games—and owns and operates seven actual bowls. But the practice appears to be universal, and includes games aired by competitors. ESPN profits as much as or more than anyone from the big-money bowl system, so it's never a bad idea to keep those corporate partners happy.