Jay Bir: Mobile and GoDaddy Bowl Keep Season, Fun Going

 

mobile and the godaddy bowl

Been a while for me hasn’t it?  I figured that the Red Wolves kept winning after not reading my commentary so why mess with a good thing?  But the November winning streak is over and so is the regular season for Arkansas State.  But not the season as a whole.

Monday the Red Wolves accepted their third invite to the beautiful shores of Southern Alabama in The Little Easy of Mobile, Ala.  Great city.  The downtown area is legendary; the food is top notch, and why not spend it with about 20,000 of your good friends?

It’s been funny, though, how the rhetoric has swayed for this team.  Right before the ULM game many fans were wondering if ASU could even get to 6 wins, after that game, the bowl debate heated up.  Many folks didn’t want to go back to Mobile, which is understandable right now.  Third year of the same sites, the same events, the same town.  No disrespect at all to Mobile (which, by the way, I was always OK with going back personally) but most just wanted something different this go around.

But then, after that WKU loss, oh man! Where could ASU land if WKU gets the GoDaddy Bowl, and why does the New Orleans Bowl have to ALWAYS take ULL and invite them before things play out? They screwed ASU again.

Then 24 hours later I see how people have already booked hotels and are already plotting out their trips to Wintzell’s Oyster House (HIGHLY RECOMMEND), the USS Alabama, and looking around for maybe some new things that they haven’t seen already.

The point is, the ASU fan is relieved to be in this position.  Not just the fact that they get some national exposure from a bowl game, but football season doesn’t have to end quite yet.

But it’s also sad too in a way, at least here in Central Arkansas that this news doesn’t seem to be gaining a lot of the airwaves either.  Maybe it has and I’ve just missed it, but there’s not a lot of media fanfare.  It’s a bowl game, folks. This is a big deal, whether you think it is or not.  I’m sure the media hype machine will kick into high gear once the game gets closer, but again, it just seems people are thumbing their nose to the school in northeast Arkansas that is going for its 28th win over three seasons. Not a lot of other schools can boast that.

But Red Wolves fans are ecstatic about another January trip to Mobile.  Part of the reason they got this game was because of you.  ASU athletic director Terry Mohajir even sent pictures of last year’s events to GoDaddy Bowl folks to show them what A-State brings to the table.  The first year the Red Wolves went, they weren’t ready; the second year, they were better prepared. Who knows what they’ll need to do for a third year.  If the initial excitement from what I’ve seen is any indication – get ready Mobile!

And Red Wolves fans, you don’t want to be “That Guy” when it comes to this.  You’re going to see the pictures and status updates and tweets about the atmosphere and you’ll be saying, “Man, I SHOULD have gone again.”  So don’t be that guy who’s tired of Mobile; who’s tired of the late Sunday start; who’s tired of post-season play.

Experience the #MobileTakeover and it sets you up for other games in the future, especially since the Sun Belt added the Camelia Bowl, the Bahama Bowl and Miami Beach Bowl as part of their lineup in the future, the latter two are part of a rotation between the non-automatic-qualifying conferences.

But with a playoff plus all the bowl contracts that will likely NOT be filled by the AQ conferences, there will be future opportunities to go elsewhere, and if Mobile is packed out for a third year, then it bodes well for A-State in the future, and the fans will further cement the reputation as one of the best travelling fans for a non-AQ team.

So I’ll keep a spot open for you at Pat’s; scoop some gumbo from Wintzell’s; and see you on the battleship… The Red Wolves are going to Mobile.

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