Leaving Christmas Morning For Independence Bowl, or Maybe Not

[..fanatic]

Unfortunately, these great plans have hit a major snag. Daughter-in-law had to get wisdom teeth extracted. Ouch!

The wife, my younger son and I are leaving east central Florida in the wee hours of Christmas morning to drive to Shreveport where we'll meet the oldest son and daughter-in-law who are driving up from Austin, Texas. After many bigger Virginia Tech bowl games, we decided we HAD to go to Frank Beamer's last game. As most people know, this makes 23 bowls in-a-row. The Independence Bowl started it all in 1993. I and my wife were there. It was a Christmas/Anniversary present from my wife. At the time, my oldest was 7 and it would be 2-1/2 more years before the youngest was even on this Earth. Now, the oldest is married, the youngest is in year 3 of college and I'm excited as heck that all 5 of us will be together at this game.

By the way, in 1993:
There were 19 bowl games vs. 40 now (41, counting national championship).
The Alamo Bowl was played for the first time.
There were 106 FBS teams vs. 128 now.
The Big 8, Southwest, WAC and Big West conferences were among the 10 conferences. Those 4 no longer exist.
16 teams were involved in at least 1 tie game. SMU and BGSU each had 2 ties.
The Bowl Coalition created a 1 vs. 2 matchup of Florida State vs. Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. FSU won 18-16.
FSU quarterback Charlie Ward was the Heisman winner.
The BCS was still 5 years away.
Bill Clinton was in his first term as president.
"Whoomp! There It Is" was the No. 2 song of the year and a new sports anthem.
ESPN-2 debuted as a network in October, calling itself "The Deuce".
Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, and Christina Aguilera joined the cast of The New Mickey Mouse Club.
TV ratings were dominated by comedies with 7 in the top 9- Home Improvement, Seinfeld, Roseanne, Grace Under Fire, Coach, Frasier and Murphy Brown.
Will Smith was The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air.

[billybud]

Enjoy his last game...it will be a memory.

We had to do the same for Bowden's last game at the Gator Bowl.

Being with family should top it off. Us board guys will watch the game with you and cheer Beamer on (except for anyone who took the other team with confidence points).

Safe travelling...Happy New Year!

[Spence]

Yes, have a great time. There is nothing like getting the whole family together for a trip. Especially since the older they get, the less time they have to spend time with you.

[donovan]

Best Wishes. Being with family is icing on the cake. I think I am envious.

[Eric]

Have fun!

I'm trying to talk my brother into going on a road trip to Nashville to watch Louisville/A&M. If not, we'll probably settle for the Quick Lane (read: Motor City) Bowl.

[..fanatic]

Son and daughter-in-law weren't able to make it from Austin, but me, my wife, younger son and a friend all went. Crazy trip and a crazy game. We were only gone from our house for 42 hours. Drove 15 straight hours out and 15 hours straight back. Spent about 10 hours in the stadium or in the parking lot tailgating and 2 hours shopping/messing around when we got in to town.

[donovan]

Sounds like an adventure. Glad you had a good time

[Spence]

Son and daughter-in-law weren't able to make it from Austin, but me, my wife, younger son and a friend all went. Crazy trip and a crazy game. We were only gone from our house for 42 hours. Drove 15 straight hours out and 15 hours straight back. Spent about 10 hours weather in the stadium or in the parking lot tailgating and 2 hours shopping/messing around when we got in to town.

And you would do it again in a second.

[..fanatic]

Son and daughter-in-law weren't able to make it from Austin, but me, my wife, younger son and a friend all went. Crazy trip and a crazy game. We were only gone from our house for 42 hours. Drove 15 straight hours out and 15 hours straight back. Spent about 10 hours in the stadium or in the parking lot tailgating and 2 hours shopping/messing around when we got in to town.

And you would do it again in a second.

A few years ago I'd have said "dang right". Now the more realistic answer is "maybe".

[Spence]