Bowl game the real deal, great value
They’re coming.
They’re pulling into the Border City on buses, in motor homes, cars. Some will will bring their notebooks, cameras, video equipment and broadcast boards on airplanes.
Many are already here, filling the hotels and swelling the restaurants, but many more will arrive tonight. Some will even show up Saturday morning. That’s when you should, too.
A large slice of the world is beating a path to Texarkana’s door today because, three years ago, Allen Brown and Jeff Roberson had a dream: Create a third bowl game for the 146 NCAA Division II schools who play 11 football games before Thanksgiving and then pack up their pads until spring practice.
This is the third bowl game created for teams left out of the D-II playoffs and, if you listen closely to the coaches and athletic directors, the clear impression is that this is the best, the most organized, the best planned. The phrase “first class” rolls off their lips quickly, easily, frequently.
That’s not surprising when you consider that the inspiration and hard work behind all this came from two men who share a background officiating NCAA games—Brown was an SEC official—and who bring polished organizational skills and decades of business acumen to the task. The NCAA has strict protocols for everything that happens at a sanctioned event, and this game will have that level of precision on and around the field. Dozens of volunteers will be on hand to make sure, to guide, to direct, to help.
But it took more than great organization to attract the attention of ESPN, which will broadcast the game on its live streaming outlet, ESPN3, which reaches up to 80 million viewers, 21 million in the college-age demographic. There’s an app.
What TV wants is a great game, and a great show.
Brown and Roberson took care of the first part by selecting a pair of solid teams with a history. This will be the 88th meeting between the Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs and the University of Central Oklahoma Bronchos. The Bowl addressed the second part by rousting up enough money to help the schools bring their full entourage of bands and cheerleaders, not just the traveling squads.
Both schools should bring strong crowds, but not enough to fill Razorback Stadium’s 6,400 seats by themselves.
The image of Texarkana that the world will see will be bright, colorful, busy: Combined, the two bands have more than 250 members. The pompom lines will be there. The cheerleaders will be cheering their hearts out. A kids’ playground with a pair of inflatables will liven the area behind the east end zone.
Razorback Stadium has undergone a facelift, and a new playing surface will be in the middle of the shot. A new scoreboard will show video clips of last night’s community pep rally and other bowl-related community events.
And to think, you can be part of that for just $10, $4 for kids.
Starting at noon tomorrow, 11 a.m. on the East Coast, more attention could be focused on Texarkana, USA, than for any event that didn’t involve a phantom killer or ricin.
You really need to be there, but you shouldn’t go simply because nearly every penny of your ticket purchase will go to the United Way of Greater Texarkana, which has more needs than it can meet, and whose very presence enriches all our lives.
You shouldn’t go only because the excitement of a historic rivalry will be uplifting to witness, or because the energy of two collegiate bands, cheer squads and fans will brighten your whole week.
You shouldn’t go just to watch two well-conditioned and exquisitely coached teams have at it with more than a little pride and prestige on the line.
You shouldn’t go because you might someday say that you saw the next Tony Romo (Eastern Illinois), Adam Vinatieri (South Dakota State), Joe Flacco (Delaware), Patrick Crayton (Northwestern Oklahoma Sate), Domique Rodgers Cromatie (Tennessee State), Jeremiah Trotter (SFA), Deacon Jones (South Carolina State), Walter Payton (Jackson State), Phil Simms (Morehead State) or any other of the scores of NFL players who played at small colleges.
As an aside, I’d say at least a half-dozen players on the field Saturday have a shot at being that guy, including SWOSU’s Connor Bays, a nominee for the Cliff Harris Award, named after a frequent visitor to our town who went to Ouachita Baptist before playing in five Super Bowls and six consecutive Pro Bowls as a Dallas Cowboy.
Nor should you go because you’re the last piece of the puzzle. Roberson, Brown and Brown’s brilliant wife, Shelby, the brain trust behind one of the greatest things ever to happen to Texarkana, have poured their hearts, souls and passions into this, and the doggone thing actually is growing into everything they dreamed.
The only thing they can’t do single-handedly is to fill those stands. That’s our job, but that’s not why you should go.
You should get in your car and drive over to Arkansas High tomorrow because it’s going to be a hoot.