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by Paul Sykes
Maybe it’s the age factor. Maybe it’s standing in 30 m.p.h. winds and 40 degrees temperatures. Maybe it’s the fact that the Belk Bowl was essentially a home game for North Carolina State and backed up by the droves of Wolfpack football fans who just drove in for the day, spent the night and left the next morning.
Whatever it is, this University of Louisville fan is finished with bowls unless there’s a mention of Florida, Orange, Sun or tropics.
Hisses to the Belk Bowl organizers who let a “homer” handle the P.A. duties. More hisses to the event planner who wanted $40 to park in front of the south entrance of the stadium…a lot that was still two-thirds empty when we went in a hour before the game.
I’ve been to good bowls before. This wasn’t one of them. The memories of Jacksonville, Miami and yes, even St. Pete, will live a lot longer that the recollection of one cold, raw night in Charlotte. Atmosphere and game wise.
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Not to belabor a point, but the P.A. announcer didn’t start doing the UofL recognition until the second half. Probably because of compaints. And, UofL has never played in this bowl, so that covers that. It was obvious he got very excited when NC State did anything well and was rather jaded and matter of fact if the Cards did anything well.
Definitely a homer.
Can you explain how the Belk bowl announcer was a homer? Just because he said that’s another first down and our fans said “First Down!” The last time we played this bowl game the announcer did the same thing. Not a homer.
The Belk was better than I expected. The night before with the fan appreciation party was awesome. We paid ten dollars to park in a garage downtown. The tailgate Central was not bad and had some decent named bands. While I agree it was annoying to have to deal with all the NC state fans do close to home, we had the same advantage in Memphis against Boise, BYU and Colorado State. Our section did not sit the whole game so we stayed warm through movement and the wind seemed to be blocked by the stadium. The PA guy was a homer and I thought that was ridiculous, but I am only mad at the fact we lost. I am beyond proud of this team but losing is losing and it sucks. I went to the GMAC bowls and those were awful. This is a stepping stone to Miami or better. Go Cards! Stand Strong!