Posts Tagged ‘Humanitarian Bowl’

tags: , , , ,
May 8th, 2009 | 05:24 pm

From Boise to Mobile

An interesting bit of information just crossed my e-mail inbox that Terp football fans hope they don’t have to worry a whole lot about in 2009.

The ACC has released its official bowl tie-ins for this year, and the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala. has replaced the Humanitarian Bowl as the conference’s 9th bowl option. It was previously announced that the Humanitarian Bowl would go with a Mountain West Conference vs. WAC match-up after seven years as an ACC affiliate. The Terps beat Nevada in Boise, Idaho, on December 30, 2008, in the conference’s final appearance on Bronco Stadium’s blue turf.

But conference officials have replaced it with the GMAC, which has been around since 1999 and currently pits a Conference USA team against a MAC foe. After an ACC-record 10 teams qualified for bowls in 2009, it’s a good bet that an ACC team will appear in this bowl, which Tulsa has won the last two seasons.

For more optimistic fans, here is the complete 2009 ACC Bowl lineup:
FedEx Orange Bowl – January 5, 8 p.m
Chick-fil-A Bowl – December 31, 7:30 pm
Konica Minolta Gator Bowl – January 1, 1 pm
Champs Sports Bowl – December 29, 8 pm
Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl – December 27, 8:15 pm
Meineke Car Care Bowl – December 26, 4:30 pm
Emerald Bowl – December 26, 8 pm
EagleBank Bowl – December 29, 4:30 pm
GMAC Bowl – January 6, 7 pm

edetweilerdbk@gmail.com

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

tags: , , ,
December 30th, 2008 | 02:28 am

Rarer than a Terp fan in Boise?

I really don’t know what to expect from the crowd at Bronco Stadium tomorrow.

I haven’t seen much Terp red in my travels around Boise the last few days, so it’s hard to imagine a huge contingent materializing for game day. And coach Ralph Friedgen acknowledged he hasn’t seen more than a handful of Terp fans here, and most of those were at the bowling event on Friday.

An official in the Terrapin Ticket Office told me today that the exact number of tickets sold for the game could not be released. This reluctance may be linked to the early report that only 16 tickets had been sold to Terp fans, which was later denied.

It is safe to say the final number is well north of that. Humanitarian Bowl Executive Director Kevin McDonald was optimistic when I talked to him yesterday. He assured me that he believes the Terps will deliver more fans than the last two ACC teams- Georgia Tech and Boston College- despite concerns about the long distance trip with the current economic recession.

In fact, McDonald, who came to Byrd Stadium when Florida State beat the Terps 37-3 on Nov. 22, applauded Terp fans in general, especially those who have taken time out of their holiday breaks to come to the great Northwest.

“It’s a little more difficult when you’re traveling to a place with snow on the ground versus a beach in Miami, but it’s been good,” McDonald said.

Either way, a majority of the fans in the stadium will be locals. McDonald said the local support is usually split between the two teams if Boise State is not involved, although they seemed to rally behind last season’s winner, Fresno State. He also said the economy could bring a slight drop in local fan attendance.

Friedgen said he assumes the locals will root for the Wolfpack in the same way that San Franciscans supported the Pac-10 team, Oregon State, in the Emerald Bowl last season. Naturally, he’s trying to prepare his team to play the same no matter who is in the stands.

Last year’s edition of the Humanitarian Bowl drew 27,062 fans to 32,000-capacity Bronco Stadium. With the recent warmer weather and a decent forecast for tomorrow, I don’t think matching those numbers will be a stretch. As for how much red will be represented in the stadium, that could be a different story.

edetweilerdbk@gmail.com

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

tags: , , , ,
December 29th, 2008 | 06:12 pm

Boise Travel Log #2

Boise really is a strange city.

There are mountains everywhere. All the buildings are either really old or really new. They seem to have an intense committment to culture and the arts-whether it be the Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial or the Boise Art Museum.

But after exploring it a little bit the last two days, I do rather like it. It has ample parking, a lot of bars, and it seems safe. It really hasn’t been that cold, but there’s still enough snow to make me happy. The media area at Bronco Stadium is located adjacent to the World Humanitarian Sports Hall of Fame. That has some cool stuff, including a ski suit of Picabo Street, who was voted Idaho’s Female Athlete of the Century back in 1999.

Most importantly, it has a pretty sweet zoo. Today I went to Zoo Boise, which is located in Julia Davis Park- along with most of the other cultural stuff- a short walk from my hotel. I had to go alone because photographer Adam Fried is sick, but I definitely had as much fun as you can have alone at the zoo.

It’s actually a really legit zoo with plenty of African, Asian and rain forest animals. One of only 3 red pandas born this year in captivity in North America was born at the zoo. The cages aren’t huge, so you get much closer to the animals than a lot of zoos I’ve been to. And on top of that, you get to see the animals react to the elements. Most of the cages were still covered with snow and ice when I went. That sent some of the animals inside or to the parts of the cage that had started to thaw. The giraffes weren’t allowed out of their “barn,” which had the two moderately-sized animals taking turns sticking their long necks out to survey the area. Only in Boise could you see a zebra sliding along on ice like a first-time skater. The Tigers seemed mad. The penguins loved it.

A certain columnist was pretty hard on Boise. I say give it a chance. I went to my first Carl’s Jr today. They even tell me there’s a bowl game to be played tomorrow. I haven’t really seen any Terp fans out here in travels. But something tells me you won’t get the full Boise Experience from catching tomorrow’s Humanitarian Bowl on TV.

detweilerdbk@gmail.com

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

tags: , , , ,
December 28th, 2008 | 12:38 pm

Boise Travel Log #1

For everyone wondering, The Diamondback is now represented out in Boise after approximately 10 hours worth of travel that included a rather lengthy layover in Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. It was pretty exciting to fly in around midnight local time and see a fresh covering of snow before being greeted in the airport by Christmas music and lots of decorations. Nice first impression, Boise.

And after checking into the Residence Inn about a mile from Bronco Stadium, it’s also clear that $85 goes a long way in this Northwestern outpost. The Terps have been here since Friday. Apparently, they already lost to the Wolfpack in bowling (while earning a bunch of beef for a local charity) and were chased inside by the snow for their first practice of the week. Today they have their “Winter Sports Day” at Bogus Basin about 16 miles outside of the city. Many of the players said this was what they were looking forward to most from this trip. Cornerback Jamari McCollough said recently that he was excited to try snow tubing for the first time. Watch out for tackle Dane Randolph who told me a few weeks ago that he is a “snow expert” after spending some time during his youth living in Canada.

There’s still plenty of time before Tuesday’s Humanitarian Bowl, and I have a lot of Boise to explore. I’ll check back after getting over to the media center and taking a look at Bronco Stadium’s famed blue turf.

edetweilerdbk@gmail.com

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »