With all due respect to the pundits, once you get past the first 15-20 bowls, it's ALL pretty meaningless other than for fans of the individual schools.

As a fan of Rice, while I understand that far fewer of us can travel to Hawaii than Dallas, this is an EXEPTIONAL experience for the players, many of whom probably have never been to Hawaii... and some of their families have never been... and Sheraton puts on a first-class event.

Congratulations to the team.

As far as the game goes, on the plus-side, though a down year for them, this is a team that was recently 'in the conversation' for a BCS Bowl. Beating them would resonate somewhat 'in passing'... at least more than beating CMU. On the downside, they are (imo) somewhat similar to LaTech on offense and throw down field.

Fresno -1 is the opening line.

(12-07-2014 05:37 PM)dragon2owl Wrote:  Tickets....
https://oss.ticketmaster.com/aps/rice/EN...ls/14fbhaw

Ticket sales are a huge part of bowl selection; even if I was unable to attend, I still purchased tickets through Rice. Is that still necessary for the Hawaii bowl?

If Rice buys a huge block, will this give us a leg up for a future bowl?

Hawai'i Bowl Breakdown-ESPN

Hawaii Bowl matchup: Fresno State Bulldogs to take on Rice Owls

Quote:Matchup: Fresno State vs. Rice

There was no Mountain West title for Fresno State, but a trip to Hawaii for the holidays is a nice consolation prize. The Bulldogs defense is statistically awful, giving up almost 33 points per game, but Rice isn't exactly an offensive juggernaut.

The Owls are a middle-of-the-road Conference USA team that scores 29 points a game and is so-so efficiency wise (5.52 yards per play). The Fresno St. quarterback-wide receiver combo of Brian Burrell and Josh Harper should be able to keep pace.



Matchup Type: Never in doubt

Predicted Winner: Fresno State

Bleacher Report-Hawaii Bowl

Any word on what the Swag grab for the players in the Hawaii Bowl will be? That's one thing players also look forward to are the goodies that go with playing in the bowl game. Heard one bowl is giving away hair dryers of all things!

If there is going to be a charter, hoping we hear something soon before we purchase airline tix. Will be a lot easier to fill a plane if we know sooner than later.

#LouieLuau
We gotta go now.

(12-08-2014 03:14 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  Any word on what the Swag grab for the players in the Hawaii Bowl will be? That's one thing players also look forward to are the goodies that go with playing in the bowl game. Heard one bowl is giving away hair dryers of all things!

A "Gift Suite" is set up where players can go and choose from many options of stuff.

Oakley Holbrook sunglasses; Oakley Works backpack; Tori Richard aloha shirt; Pro Athletics t-shirt/shorts/swim trunks; beach towel
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily...gifts.aspx

(12-07-2014 09:17 PM)NYNightOwl Wrote:  Anyone know if Athletics or alumni assoc. is even considering a charter for fans?

(12-08-2014 07:37 AM)Da.Owl Wrote:  Is Rice putting together a travel / room / event package for the game ???

Yes, $1000, $5000, and $10,000 (for those investing in this week's lottery).

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/rice...ackage.pdf

edit: nevermind... that doesn't include airline tickets or hotel, only event-related tickets.

(12-08-2014 04:28 PM)I45owl Wrote:  

(12-07-2014 09:17 PM)NYNightOwl Wrote:  Anyone know if Athletics or alumni assoc. is even considering a charter for fans?

(12-08-2014 07:37 AM)Da.Owl Wrote:  Is Rice putting together a travel / room / event package for the game ???

Yes, $1000, $5000, and $10,000 (for those investing in this week's lottery).

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/rice...ackage.pdf

edit: nevermind... that doesn't include airline tickets or hotel, only event-related tickets.

Wow, that's steep.

Being that the game is in Hawaii, will Rice still be responsible for selling 10,000 tickets? I certainly hope not.

(12-08-2014 10:17 AM)Antarius Wrote:  

(12-07-2014 09:18 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  

(12-07-2014 06:49 PM)Antarius Wrote:  [
IAH-HNL on United is on a 777-200 which is not international configuration typically, 3-3-3 or 2-5-2 in the back and 2-3-2 in business (recliner seats, not beds)

Nope. It's 2-2-2 in Business First and 2-5-2 (mostly) in Economy. You are correct that the BF seats are not lay flat, but they beat the heck out of Economy!

Good to know - they have 6 (or 7) versions of the 772 and its very very confusing as to what metal is going where.

I haven't flown UA in 5+ years. American has me by the place where the sun don't shine.

I'm joined at the hip with United (ugh!) after years of loyalty to Continental. It all comes down to whether the plane is heritage United (crappy) or heritage Continental (much better). The Continental 777s were all 2 class with the 2-2-2 arrangement in Business First. United had mostly 3 class planes with the 2-4-2 business class which were not nearly as nice as the Business First space. The only positive United brought to the merger was Economy Plus. Actually the Economy Plus seats to Hawaii aren't bad. They're not BF, but the little extra room helps. I always try to get a heritage Continental route when I travel to Asia or Europe to avoid the heritage United configurations.

Like Tomball, I am here in Houston. Since the merger, we have gotten a full dose of awful United planes, some of which had to flown bombing missions over Germany, others of which still have CRT's in the aisles. Our wonderful (well at least decent) airline has gone to shame.......

(12-08-2014 05:43 PM)texowl2 Wrote:  Like Tomball, I am here in Houston. Since the merger, we have gotten a full dose of awful United planes, some of which had to flown bombing missions over Germany, others of which still have CRT's in the aisles. Our wonderful (well at least decent) airline has gone to shame.......

I flew on Aeroflot a few years back from Seoul to Moscow. The plane still had the gun turrets from its pre-commercial days. I really thought it might be my last flight.

(12-08-2014 05:11 PM)Afflicted Wrote:  Being that the game is in Hawaii, will Rice still be responsible for selling 10,000 tickets? I certainly hope not.

This USA Today Article from just after last year's bowl season suggests that the allotment may be considerably less...

Quote:Boise State was required to buy at least 660 tickets to the Hawaii Bowl at $45 each — a near $30,000 commitment for its game against Oregon State. Meanwhile, the Hawaii Bowl was selling half-price tickets on Groupon and LivingSocial this year and last year, some for as low as $5. Last year, Fresno State played in the Hawaii Bowl; it sold 55 of its 600 tickets priced at $50 and absorbed $27,250 for the unsold tickets, according to bowl documents.

(12-08-2014 05:47 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  

(12-08-2014 05:43 PM)texowl2 Wrote:  Like Tomball, I am here in Houston. Since the merger, we have gotten a full dose of awful United planes, some of which had to flown bombing missions over Germany, others of which still have CRT's in the aisles. Our wonderful (well at least decent) airline has gone to shame.......

I flew on Aeroflot a few years back from Seoul to Moscow. The plane still had the gun turrets from its pre-commercial days. I really thought it might be my last flight.

Did Aeroflot internal (!!!!) from Moscow to Western Siberia (further east from Moscow than Amsterdam) in late 1991. Seats were like the east coast cloth beach chairs. Internal luggage "storage" was like in a bus or train (no bins just racks). Someone carried a TV on his lap. Never complained about any US travel ever again. Oh yeah and at 2am, the Moscow airport was like IAH the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

(12-08-2014 04:03 PM)NYNightOwl Wrote:  If there is going to be a charter, hoping we hear something soon before we purchase airline tix. Will be a lot easier to fill a plane if we know sooner than later.

#LouieLuau
We gotta go now.

Would be nice if they could provide an option from Houston that might be cheaper than commercial flights. Maybe just not possible.

(12-08-2014 07:56 PM)DFW Owl Wrote:  

(12-08-2014 04:03 PM)NYNightOwl Wrote:  If there is going to be a charter, hoping we hear something soon before we purchase airline tix. Will be a lot easier to fill a plane if we know sooner than later.

#LouieLuau
We gotta go now.

Would be nice if they could provide an option from Houston that might be cheaper than commercial flights. Maybe just not possible.

It would be nice if the conference would buy plane tickets months in advance, leaving from LAX or somewhere. Sell them to the team that's going at the price they paid in the summer, and allow the team (Rice, in this case) to bundle them with their ticket allotment.

For those who do go and visit the Pearl Harbor memorial over the USS Arizona, please be aware of Greta Van Susteren's report tonight that the memorial is in a state of disrepair, full of rust and bird droppings. I wonder if the agency managing the memorial will be fixing it up between now and Dec. 24.