 Sam Eifling is a Medill senior. He can be reached at [email protected]. |
By now Northwestern football fans have had time to drink away the sorrows of a perceived snub by the Citrus Bowl, which some say put the screw in screwdriver. Following the hallowed Rose Bowl formula, NU would be second behind only Purdue for top bowls. The Wildcats officially shared the Big Ten title with Purdue (which beat NU) and Michigan (which lost to NU). Everything being equal, NU was in line for the Citrus. Failing that, the Outback Bowl. Right?
No, behemoths Michigan and Ohio State get to ring in New Year’s in Florida, tough tacos for the Cats. And by the fan reaction, you’d think NU was the first team not to get its first choice come bowl season. These whiners must be the same fans whom Yale wait-listed.
But to lift a phrase from Beantown bean-baller Pedro Martinez, there is no crying in football. Imagine the groundswell of whining when the Wildcats have more at stake than a few bucks and some of their new-found pride — an actual championship, say. If the Bowl Fairy had offered NU an Alamo Bowl bid to play Nebraska before the season, fans would have handed over their consulting-firm signing bonuses. Win eight times in one year, though, and suddenly beggars become choosy.
Not to be insulting here, but this tired point bears repeating: Bowls are in business to make money (duh). They make money when people attend the game and watch it on TV (do tell). And they want to seem as prestigious as possible — reputation does count for something, and NU’s doesn’t quite stack up to Michigan’s, if the 20th century is taken into account.
To decide whom to invite to the Citrus Bowl, a 100-member bowl committee considered fan support, national rankings, national television ratings history, overall record and intangibles before voting on which teams to invite. In NU’s favor: an excellent fan showing at the 1997 Citrus Bowl, an exciting-as-Jackie Chan spread offense and its Nov. 4 win over the Wolverines. In Michigan’s favor: an incomparable football tradition, 400,000 living alumni, higher ranking in both national polls and three losses by a total of seven points (NU lost its three games by 50).
“I feel bad for the Northwestern fans who did not get what they wanted, but in the end, I believe the Citrus Bowl committee made a tough but the best decision,” Citrus Bowl senior director Dylan Thomas said. “It was very close. A lot of us are sad that Northwestern’s not coming.”
Thomas mentioned another factor — an intangible — that might have soured NU to the Citrus committee: how close it came to making the Rose Bowl. Call it the pouting factor. Were it not for the Iowa snafu, the most inexplicable NU loss in three years, the Cats would be bound for Pasadena. Thomas explained that the Citrus — the richest, proudest bowl not aligned with the Bowl Championship Series — doesn’t want its teams to see it as a consolation game.
He aptly summarized NU’s bowl situation as, “Iowa: a four-letter word to Northwestern fans.”
Surely the announcement that preseason No. 1 Nebraska will face the Cats alleviated some of the left-at-the-altar sting that had fans forgetting what a Dec. 30 bowl game in San Antonio has to offer the program. Behind Illinois, California and Ohio, no state has more of its babies on NU’s roster. It’s a lock that hanging 40 points on the Cornhuskers can only fortify Texas recruiting, unless of course the Huskers reply with 90.
A year of running its Offense of Hyperbole has surely put the Cats on the wishlist of every prep who loves to score touchdowns. Beating Michigan 54-51 on national television was a start. Let’s see if the Cats national reputation is enhanced by playing in the only bowl on Dec. 30 (there are six played on Jan. 1), perennially ESPN’s highest-rated bowl game.
Nebraska coach Frank Solich didn’t exactly sound overwhelmed when the Alamo extended an invite — the Huskers no doubt were eyeing an at-large bid to the Fiesta Bowl. Think the $2.8 million payout difference between the Citrus and Alamo bowls hurts? The Fiesta pays $13.5 million to the Alamo’s $1.2 million, a substantial chunk even with conferences’ revenue sharing. If the No. 9 Huskers decide the Alamo isn’t worth their effort, expect the Cats to take on their familiar role as giant-killers.
Ultimately, the Citrus snub and subsequent Outback ostracism may best serve the Cats by putting a Texas-sized chip on their shoulders. Players said after the season that any bowl lower than the Citrus would be at least a little insulting. Look for the Cats to play more inspired football than the Huskers, for whatever that’s worth.
Looking back now, really, would the Cats rather be in Orlando, playing solid but nondescript Auburn? Or would they rather have a shot at the Big Red Machine? A win would salvage some of the magic NU lost after midseason. Beating Nebraska, my friends, is so big-time that only five teams have done it since 1993. It would also be NU’s first bowl victory in 52 years.
The Citrus Bowl did NU a favor. Getting jobbed by a bowl is practically a rite of passage in major college football. It is no longer enough for NU to emerge from nowhere, win a Big Ten title, receive an invite to a New Year’s Day bowl and slide back into mediocrity. The Cats’ novelty has finally worn off. The Alamo Bowl may be remembered as a sign that NU doesn’t have to spike to the national top 10 to consider a season successful. Welcome to the middle of the top, where the Cats have joined prominent company. Finally, it appears, they could be here a while.
