Holiday Bowling
Despite loss, fans enjoy Big Fun and bright sun at the Gator Bowl
Photos by Howie Lindsey courtesy of the Louisville SportsReport
On the playing field, the University of Louisville football team's first trip to a New Year's holiday bowl in 15 years ended in disappointment when the Cardinals were overwhelmed by 10th-ranked Virginia Tech's mighty defense in the fourth quarter. U of L lost the 61st Toyota Gator Bowl 35-24.
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But disappointment is the last word you heard from U of L students, alumni and fans returning from Jacksonville, Fla., after a festive bowl weekend that featured perfect weather, great parties, a pep rally and a good old-fashioned parade.
The familiar chants of "Let's Go U of L" and "C-A-R-D-S" rang throughout the Florida city's lush riverfront as school officials estimated an impressive 26,000 Cardinal fans had made it in for the Gator Bowl on Jan. 2. Most of them arrived several days before the game and raved about the weather (in the 70s) and the many different things to do.
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The Jacksonville Landing--featuring restaurants, shops and other attractions--was popular with the visiting U of L fans. It was the site of a huge pep rally Dec. 31 followed by the annual Gator Bowl parade that snaked through the downtown streets.
On Friday night (Dec. 30) more than 3,000 Cardinal faithful showed up at the Marriot Sawgrass resort for a fan appreciation party thrown by U of L President James Ramsey and Athletic Director Tom Jurich. A tradition at Cardinal bowl venues, the event reached a new level in Jacksonville. The four-hour party featured a DJ, door prizes, a gator-eating contest and much, much more.
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But Cardinal fans were just getting started. The following day, more than 5,000 gathered in The Touchdown Club at Alltel Stadium--the site of the Gator Bowl--to watch the U of L vs. Miami basketball game on big screen TVs. That evening--New Year's Eve--U of L visitors joined the more than 40,000 people who rang in the New Year at the Landing.
When they weren't partying, fans could head 10 miles down the road to the beach or play golf at some of the beautiful local courses.
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Oh yeah, and there was this matter of a football game--the reason they were all there in the first place.
The Cardinals came to Jacksonville to play in a January bowl for the first time since they defeated Alabama 34-7 in the 1991 Fiesta Bowl. Their Gator Bowl matchup with Virginia Tech was the culmination of the Cards' first season in the Big East Conference, a game made possible because it is one of the four bowls tied into the Big East, which is part of the Bowl Championship Series.
The football team has been on a roll in recent years. Since 1998, U of L has not lost three consecutive games. The team entered the game having won 29 games over the past three seasons, and it was playing in its eighth consecutive bowl game. Only six NCAA Division I-A programs--including Virginia Tech--have longer streaks.
"Louisville is becoming as much a face of the Big East as Connecticut, Syracuse and West Virginia," wrote Courier-Journal sports columnist Rick Bozich on game day.
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But entry into the Big East this season did not end U of L football's fight for legitimacy. Going into the game, critics were keeping a close eye on how well the Cards would compete against a top-flight, perennial top-20 program like Virginia Tech and measuring U of L's fan turnout.
The critics were silenced by the end of the Gator Bowl. Not only did the Cards bring more than 20,000 fans to the game, the team--without first-string quarterback and Big East Offensive Player of the Year Brian Brohm--fought tenaciously against the Hokies. Behind a courageous performance by back-up quarterback Hunter Cantwell, whose nose was broken on one of the game's first plays (see photo of Cantwell and Brohm, left), the Cards led Virginia Tech for the first three quarters before finally succumbing to Tech's devastating defense.
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The Cards finished their first season in the Big East 9-3.
"In my opinion, Louisville has arrived," said Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer. "They're in the Big East. They're in a conference that will serve them well. They've got good players. To me, they're right in the thick of it as far as the better teams in the country."
