Around the Horned With Brian Estridge
May 14, 2003
Just last week ESPN Regional announced the formation of the latest addition to the college football bowl parade. TCU's Amon Carter Stadium will be the site December 23 for a match up between teams from the Big 12 and Conference USA. I purposely let things shake out before speaking out on the Fort Worth Bowl, and I am rather surprised by the reaction it has received. Now let me be fair, most of the talk about the bowl, both in the media and among area college football fans has been positive. Lets face it, two days before Christmas what else do you have going on, why not spend a couple of hours watching good college football? And that's exactly what the founders of this bowl were thinking. In fact, this bowl game will be the only bowl game that day and will have a prime time spot on ESPN TV to promote the Metroplex to the nation. The economic boom to the Fort Worth area could be tremendous, especially if you have two teams like Louisville and Iowa State in the match-up, or an old Southwest Conference renewal of Texas Tech and TCU. So what's the downside, why would anyone have a negative reaction to this game?
Well, you've got me on that one. Heck, even some of my colleagues at ESPN 103.3 FM have complained about the addition of this game. And I say to them, gimme a break. If this bowl would not have been certified for Fort Worth, it would have been for another city. You can sit on your pedestal and complain that there are too many bowl games as it is, and adding one more just dilutes the product. There may be something to that, but the fact is, these bowls are successful and you know what, they ain't going away anytime soon. So don't begrudge Fort Worth for getting in on the action. All too often my city of residence plays second fiddle to big brother to the east. And yes I know that the Cotton Bowl is always going to be more prestigious than the Fort Worth Bowl ever will be, but not on December 23rd. On that day, Fort Worth gets to shine - not only for the fans in the stands or on television, but for the players and coaches that participate. If you have spent anytime in Fort Worth you know that the folks there will roll out the red carpet for these teams and they'll have a great time exploring Cowtown.
Bottom line, local media, complain all you want about too many bowl games in the postseason, but don't point your complaint at the Fort Worth Bowl. Get behind it and show it some love. Heck, maybe even show up for the game. I can give you directions if you've been too lazy to stop by TCU and see the local team that has been to five straight bowl games.
From the streets and avenues of North Texas to the information superhighway, I'm Brian Estridge and we'll see you on the radio.
