By: Anne Falcetano
Posted In: Sports
Photo credit: KRT Campus
Michigan’s Morgan Trent upends Ohio State’s Brian Robiskie after a long pass reception in Columbus, Ohio, Nov.18, 2006. The Buckeyes defeated the Wolverines 42-39.
The World Series is over, the basketball season is getting underway and football is approaching crunch time in anticipation for the Superbowl. College football is where the action is at right now. As Christmas break approaches so do the NCAA College Bowl games. Beginning Dec. 19, the 24-hour sports network, ESPN begins its coverage starting with the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl.
It all began in 1901 with the Tournament of Roses in Pasadena, California. A stadium change in 1923 changed the name to simply, the Rose Bowl. It is one of 32 bowl games which will take place between Dec. 19 and Jan. 8 ending with the Bowl Championship Series title game. At first all the games took place on New Years Day all over the country as a post season method for teams to generate fan support. Now, with the advent of ESPN and network coverage, games have been spread out so that people from all around the country can conveniently watch each one of them from their homes. As television coverage of the bowl games has increased, so has the sponsorship interest. The first Cotton Bowl was played on New Years Day in 1936 between two high school teams, since being replaced by college teams; its name has gone through a number of changes and is now the AT&T Cotton Bowl. This may be one of the shortest of the bowl titles, the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl being the longest title. Companies from all over the country participate in sponsoring the games as an opportunity for extreme exposure. This year’s bowls hardly lack creativity in their titles. College students across the country will be spending their winter breaks watching the Papajohns.com Bowl, the FedEx Orange Bowl, Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and the Chik-fil-A Bowl.
