[NU Sports] sec bowl foes

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

> From your comment, I suspect that you haven't actually gone to a
>football game at Ford Field.  I went to the Motor City Bowl last year.
>Other than the traffic jam to get into the place, Ford Field was a great

I'll second that. I was shocked at how beautiful Ford Field is -- it really
doesn't feel like a dome. You're not in an enclosed bubble, but more like a
giant airport terminal with the way the one side opens into the concourse.

And I didn't even think the traffic was bad -- it was right off the
Interstate and easy to find. Maybe not having it on a weekday afternoon
would help, but that's about it. The weather may be chilly (I, for one,
would LOVE some outdoor cold-weather bowl games - make those Florida teams
play in snow -- there's enough to do in Chicago or NYC to fill bowl week
with cool events and justify watching a football game outdoors!:) ) ... but
I was pleasantly surprised at Detroit.

Still, the game itself is a no-win for the Big Ten (if we beat a MAC team,
it's "so what - you should" and if we lose it's a big embarassment, even
though the MAC has had some good teams lately).

I haven't been to Tampa, El Paso or Nashville (at least for bowl week), but
have enjoyed the four destinations NU has traveled recently. Pasadena is
absolutely perfect. Orlando was probably my least favorite, but there's
certainly a lot to do there that week with Disney, Universal, SeaWorld,
etc. San Antonio has such a great downtown with everything centered within
walking distance and Ford Field is a great place to watch a game.

I've been to Nashville outside of bowl week and imagine that would be a
good place for a bowl game with the attractions and such. Tampa is at least
within driving distance of Orlando (and has good early bird specials from
what I hear). :) The only one I know nothing of is ElPaso and like others
on the list, I haven't heard good things. I just think being stuck midway
between Houston and LA in the middle of the desert has to hurt (though the
city itself HAS to be more interesting than Houston:) ).

I still like that idea of tying in with the Pac 10 at the Vegas Bowl.
That'd certainly be a fun place to visit during bowl season.

GO CATS!!!
-SjT

PS - Did you notice Saturday how the quasi-Rose Bowl trophy was all
different and there's confetti and all that stuff now? Along with the rain
clouds hovering, it didn't even seem much like the place we were at nine
years ago.


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