The AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl is entering its second year in the ACC's bowl lineup. The Shreveport, Louisiana-based bowl game has seventh pick of the litter of ACC programs. Last season, Georgia Tech was selected to play Air Force in front of an announced crowd of ... 39,362. The Yellow Jackets lost 14-7.
On Friday, the I-Bowl folks announced the date for the thirty-sixth edition of the bowl game. The Independence Bowl will kickoff at 4 PM on December 26.
There's just one problem. December 26 is a holiday this year, as Christmas Day falls on a Sunday. The Shreveport Times asks, isn't the purpose of bowl games to bring people to Shreveport?
"And if that's the case, how many families in Provo, Utah, or Charlottesville, Va., are going to load up the car, pump it full of $4 a gallon gas and then drive all day Christmas Day to get here?
Oh that's right, many could fly here - which would likely take a loan or hitting the Lotto considering the cost of flying in and out of Shreveport Regional Airport."
Christmas Day in beautiful Shreveport, Louisiana ... who's with me?!
Because short of BC playing in the Orange Bowl (prolly not happening), the I-Bowl might be stuck with choosing the Eagles with the seventh pick. And with Boston College being a, you know, Catholic school, I doubt many fans will be making a Christmas Day trip to Shreveport to see a 6-6 or 7-5 football team play the third best team from the Mountain West. Which will perpetuate the "BC fans don't travel" rep that we've acquired over the years, which will result in more Christmas Day trips to Shreveport. And the vicious cycle continues.
Then again, it's not like the ACC's other bowl dates are much better. Along with the I-Bowl, it's been announced that the Music City Bowl will be played on December 30. I would imagine that ESPN will also place the Peach (Dec. 31?), Champs Sports, Sun, Belk and Military Bowls on a pre-Jan 1 date, too, leaving the Orange Bowl as the ACC's lone post-Jan bowl game.
Gotta free up all those post-January 1 college football bowl schedule for all those SEC and B1G Ten teams, you know.
HT: The Big Lead