Since we know BC will never be selected for the top bowls, the only options are playing our way into the Orange or getting sent down to the afterthought bowls. The ACC has some new bowl affiliations this year, so I thought we should take the time to learn about our likely destinations. This will be a series of posts over the summer. Part III is the EagleBank Bowl.
Bowl: EagleBank Bowl
Named Sponsor: EagleBank. Since the bowl is new and made for TV, it has never been without a sponsor name that I could reference. The actual bank is a regional D.C. based financial institution. Do the players get free checking as part of the gift bag?
History: Does two years count as history? Both games have been decent, but no real history has been made yet. Nothing historic or memorable took place in the 2008 or 2009 EagleBank Bowls.
Opposing Conference: The Naval Academy, the MAC, the Big Ten and Conference USA.
Date: December 29, 2010. The game will be on ESPN at 2:30 ET. This is actually a big improvement over their original slot prior to Christmas.
Location: Washington, D.C. Our nation's capital doesn't need a lot of background from me. There is plenty to do and see. The weather is cold (as anyone who went to Maryland last year can tell you), but not as bad as Boston. The cool thing about the game is that it is held at RFK. The Redskins' old home is certainly outdated, but the seats are close to the action and the stadium has seen a lot of great football.
Fun Fact: The bowl has a sponsorship program that allows fans to buy tickets for military families. This is a nice idea and does two good things -- adds atmosphere and provides a nice bonus for those serving our country.
Prediction: We are not going to D.C. this year. The EagleBank Bowl selects the eighth ACC team and I don't see a situation where we will be there. We will play in the game some year, but I don't expect it to be this season. If/when we go, it actually will be a good opportunity to finally sell tickets since we have so many alums and fans in the area.
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7 comments:
Let's leave this bowl for Maryland, Wake or Duke, or even TOB when clinging for his job after another lackluster season.
I note that game time is a Wednesday afternoon at 2:30 pm. Who is going to be watching it??
The ONLY "Bowl Game" that counts is the ACC Championship Game - this year in Charlotte.
I remember sitting next to Jeremy Trueblood's mother at the UNC game in 2005 - our first year in the ACC. She asked "I wonder what nice bowl game we'll be going to?" and I answered, if we don't win this one, we'll be going someplace awful - we went to the Blue Field. And even though we were the first team to beat Boise St. at their own field in something like 4 years - we got no (lasting) credit for it.
We need to keep our eyes on the prized during the season. If we don't get into the ACCCG - and win it, we're going to a bowl no one cares about - unless ikt's a great matchup.
Doc Saturday ran a funny bit today about sponsorship for college coaching positions. Among other gems: "Tom O'Brien, Melba Toast Head Coach, NCSU".
John is right. The only "bowl" game worth thinking about is the ACCCG, but when it comes right down to it, I believe MOST BC fans will save their money for the elusive Orange Bowl rather than shell out for Charlotte.
Concerning Charlotte - I'm sure there are many economical flights available - especially with pre-planning.
Secondly, the BC Club of NC should be able to identify low cost hotels for those who need them. They could also organize host and hostesses to shelter fellow BC fans. I'll do it myself - I'm 90 miles from the stadium.
If we can make this game - WE HAVE TO SHOW UP.
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