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Orlando sports fans will be faced with a tough decision on November 17th as the Knights host Cincinnati at the same time LeBron James makes his lone trip to Orlando when his L.A. Lakers face the Magic at 7 p.m. Also on this day, The Florida Classic will be played at Camping World Stadium as Florida A&M will take on Bethune-Cookman at 2 p.m.
It is the only conflict between a Magic home game and a UCF Football home game.
Orlando Sports Conflict of note If Your #Magic and #UCF Fan. #UCF Football host Cincinnati on Nov 17 Time TBA#LeBronJames makes his 1 trip to Orlando Nov 17 as #Magic host #Lakers.
— Eric Lopez (@EricLopezELO) August 10, 2018
Could end up being DH Day if UCF game a 12 or 330pm kick.
We will not know what time the kickoff between the Knights and Bearcats will be likely until two weeks prior to the game. It is worth noting UCF hosted Cincinnati two years ago at noon. If Cincinnati struggles this season, it would not be a surprise if the UCF-Cincy game once again is a noon kick.
But what will the Orlando casual sports fan do on this day? UCF more than likely will be ranked in the top 25 and maybe even top 15 by the time the Bearcats are in town. The game could feature a possible Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback in McKenzie Milton.
But will UCF be hurt by the annual Florida Classic? Before you dismiss that game, last year's Classic drew 47,819 people in Orlando. There was no conflict as UCF was at Temple. In 2016, The Florida Classic drew 45,372 on the same day that UCF hosted Tulsa.
The bigger question is will UCF be hurt by the fact that this will be LeBron James' only game in Orlando? In past years, James normally would play in Orlando twice with the Cavaliers and Heat. Will UCF lose some fans who would have gone to the football game, instead choosing to see LeBron in person?
It's also packed day for Orlando sports media, who have three key local sporting events on the day. Who gets priority: LeBron in Orlando or UCF?
Of course, many things still need to be sorted out, like what time will UCF game against Cincinnati kick off. Night game draw better for UCF than day games. But the other determining factors include how the Magic are doing at that point, not to mention how UCF is doing.
Still, November 17th is set up to be one of biggest and busiest sports days ever in the City Beautiful.