Tuesday, December 15, 2009

What about the 'Fruit Bowl'?

I was randomly surfing the web, as I'm wont to do when working on a spreadsheet with lots of numbers. Eventually, all numbers turn to mush before my eyes and with my dyslexia, I can't trust myself not to transpose, remove or otherwise mangle them. So, I pop out of the spreadsheet and go poke around in some of the news readers I follow.

I stumbled across a listing of college football bowl games and what the bowls are giving the players of the participating teams. The NCAA allows up to $500 worth of gifting to EACH player and some of the bowls are lavish with their packages. Iowa and Georgia Tech players will receive from the Orange Bowl: Gift suite including iPods, iPod accessories, flat-screen TV, home theater system, mountain bike and luggage, Tourneau watch, OGIO backpack and a hat. So, if you are a member of a perennial college football powerhouse, you just have to survive four years of standing on the sidelines and you'll have a goodly chunk of your Christmas shopping done thanks to the bowl game.

Something about this smells, but that's not what I'm blogging about. There was a list of the various bowls and that's what really struck my eye.

New Mexico Bowl
St. Petersburg Bowl
New Orleans Bowl
MAACO Bowl Las Vegas
Poinsettia Bowl
Hawaii Bowl
Little Caesar's Bowl
Meineke Car Care Bowl
Emerald Bowl
Music City Bowl
Independence Bowl
Eagle Bank Bowl
Champs Sports Bowl
Humanitarian Bowl
Holiday Bowl
Armed Forces Bowl
Sun Bowl
Texas Bowl
Insight Bowl
Chick-Fil-A Bowl
Outback Bowl
Capital One Bowl
Gator Bowl
International Bowl
Papa John's Bowl
Liberty Bowl
Alamo Bowl
GMAC Bowl

and the ones those of us who have been around for "a few" New Year's Days remember; Rose, Cotton, Sugar, Fiesta and Orange Bowls. I'll also mention the BCS Championship Game although that's not a Bowl game. Two bowls have disappeared, the Motor City Bowl, which was held in Detroit and the Astrobluebonnet Bowl which was held in the Astrodome in Houston.

The sheer number means a lot of teams get a shot at some glamour. Beginning on Saturday, cable sports channels will have college football until your eyes bleed, ending on January 7th with the BCS Championship Game.

And yet, the "Chick-Fil-A" Bowl? The "Papa John's" Bowl? Sorry. I guess it's my age showing. New Mexico, New Orleans, Music City, Alamo Bowls highlight a specific area or city of the US and I don't have a problem with those. I just have a problem with a particular corporate entity creating a bowl for itself.

Oh well, no one asked me and I won't be glued to my TV or even have it on for any bowl other than the Orange. Hence, I won't get exposed to the advertising overkill that is bound to happen when you're watching the Captial One Bowl.

This does remind me that I need to get my Orange Bowl tee shirt when I travel to Iowa next week.

Beverage: Coke

Deb

No comments:

Post a Comment