In the International Bowl program, page 5 is a full page color picture of Jazz Howard with a banner that says

In Memory of
Jasper T. Howard
6
January 28, 1989 - October 18, 2009
Forever an International Bowl Champion

Also, for all the grief I've seen about Toronto, the people were great. I've been to many bowls (all 5 of USF's bowls, plus the Orange, Champs, Blockbuster (when it was in Miami), Outback, Hall of Fame, Emerald and Rose Bowls. The only locals who were friendlier than Toronto were in El Paso. And the gameday experience was as good as any non-national championship game I've been to. I would happily go back if USF goes again, though I might examine flying into Buffalo next time. Then again, with all the snow in Buffalo today, I'd probably still be there...

USFFan

Toronto is a great city. Far better than places like Birmingham, AL. Since it was freezing at PapaJohn too, it is not a big deal to go to Toronto or the new Yankees Bowl. The only issue is the passport. Last year many UCONN fans drove down to INTL bowl in the last sec and helped set that attendance record of 44K. Many did not buy the tickets through school but they were there in force. I know the bowl is fully capable of better attendance than this year. The bowl has possibilities if BE can land a better opponent. MAC is nice but a BCS opponent would be far more attractive. Toronto is a 1st class city in the league of San Francisco. There aren't too many cities in North America that can match Toronto.

going forward its MAC vs ?, possibly no one.

(01-03-2010 11:01 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  Toronto is a great city. Far better than places like Birmingham, AL. Since it was freezing at PapaJohn too, it is not a big deal to go to Toronto or the new Yankees Bowl. The only issue is the passport. Last year many UCONN fans drove down to INTL bowl in the last sec and helped set that attendance record of 44K. Many did not buy the tickets through school but they were there in force. I know the bowl is fully capable of better attendance than this year. The bowl has possibilities if BE can land a better opponent. MAC is nice but a BCS opponent would be far more attractive. Toronto is a 1st class city in the league of San Francisco. There aren't too many cities in North America that can match Toronto.

Buffalo playing was the main reason they had 44k.

(01-04-2010 07:02 AM)TIGER-PAUL Wrote:  going forward its MAC vs ?, possibly no one.

I think its possible given that ND is part of the Big East's bowl package that the bowl certification committee will allow the Big East to carry 7 bowl games including the International with maybe a WAC backup since the MAC is planning to help the WAC out with the Boise game.

(01-04-2010 10:10 AM)TexanMark Wrote:  

(01-03-2010 11:01 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  Toronto is a great city. Far better than places like Birmingham, AL. Since it was freezing at PapaJohn too, it is not a big deal to go to Toronto or the new Yankees Bowl. The only issue is the passport. Last year many UCONN fans drove down to INTL bowl in the last sec and helped set that attendance record of 44K. Many did not buy the tickets through school but they were there in force. I know the bowl is fully capable of better attendance than this year. The bowl has possibilities if BE can land a better opponent. MAC is nice but a BCS opponent would be far more attractive. Toronto is a 1st class city in the league of San Francisco. There aren't too many cities in North America that can match Toronto.

Buffalo playing was the main reason they had 44k.

Buffalo is very close around 90 miles and it was their first bowl game in something like 50 years. I've been to both Birmingham and Toronto and I agree that Toronto is much better. There is just so much more to do in Toronto than in Birmingham. Besides going for a mini-vacation, part of the fun is to go to a nice place.

The International Bowl is terrific. They are very friendly and Toronto is a great place to visit. I wish the BE kept it as a lower-tier bowl, as it made sense for Rutgers, UConn, and Syracuse to be playing in it.

While the MAC competition isn't great, they usually have decent offenses (save NIU) which made way for some entertaining games. Not many South Carolina players could have started on Buffalo's 2008 team.

I'm afraid the passport issue is going to kill it. Way too much hassle for teams and fans. I have a passport...but lots of people don't to include most of the players.

(01-03-2010 11:01 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  Toronto is a great city. Far better than places like Birmingham, AL. Since it was freezing at PapaJohn too, it is not a big deal to go to Toronto or the new Yankees Bowl. The only issue is the passport. Last year many UCONN fans drove down to INTL bowl in the last sec and helped set that attendance record of 44K. Many did not buy the tickets through school but they were there in force. I know the bowl is fully capable of better attendance than this year. The bowl has possibilities if BE can land a better opponent. MAC is nice but a BCS opponent would be far more attractive. Toronto is a 1st class city in the league of San Francisco. There aren't too many cities in North America that can match Toronto.

This would be a better bowl if it were Big East vs. Big Ten, I think it could be a great bowl game then as the matchups would be much more attractive. The Yankee Bowl is off to a great start because of the Big 12/ND vs. the Big East. Although I think Citi Field would be a better venue in terms of sightlines and such. I'm sure that the Yankees have something figured out though to make it work as they don't half-ass anything like my Mets often do.