Days leading up to Fiesta Bowl a fiesta for Frogs fans

Let the countdown begin ...

By Tony Eierdam
Killerfrogs.com Staff Writer

While watching Fox news this Christmas Eve morning, enjoying coffee and watching a rare snowfall in Fort Worth, the cable news leader broke for a commercial break, and there it was - the first of 10 days of Fox network bowl commercials.

I have to admit I felt goose bumps while watching the Frogs highlight on the promo, and it struck me how being in a BCS bowl for a non-BCS team - in this case a BCS bowl with two- non-AQ teams for the first time in history - is not just about playing the game.

It is kind of like Christmas for adults. The anticipation of the game, much like when as a youngster the anticipation of Christmas day and all that it brings was an annual joy, might be as good as the game itself.

Coaches like our own Gary Patterson stand by the current bowl system for many reasons. First and foremost, it offers 5-6 weeks of extra, valuable practice time, and the top bosses say they feel a week in a different city is a nice reward for the ball players, who get red-carpet treatment and a lot of cool gifts.

But as fans, the days leading up to a BCS bowl - when your team is in the national spotlight each and every day - can be as satisfying as the game.

Personally, it is fun reading threads from the killerfrogs.com posters attending the game about where they are staying, what pep rallies are planned in the Phoenix area, when their flights are leaving (and how much they paid for the flights), what hotels they are staying at and what golfing excursions they are planning.

It is literally "The 12 Days Before Your Bowl Game" around here, and it seems like that is half the fun.

Kf.c's own TopFrog keeps us busy each morning as he posts different articles - locally and nationally - about the Frogs, the Fiesta Bowl and who deserves to be ranked where if this, that and the other occurs.

That is also part of the fun about having the Frogs in a top-flight (better words than BCS - a curse word in these parts) bowl with the national spotlight shining bright on the kids and their opponent.

And speaking of the opponent, I am on the fence about this matchup. Part of me is (hacked) that TCU is matched up with a non-AQ school, while another part of me looks at this as strictly a No. 4-versus-No. 6 matchup and can't believe Coach Gary Patterson has put the Frogs in this position, although I suspect this won't be the last BCS bowl rodeo for the Frogs.

Of course, I would have loved to have seen a Sugar Bowl matchup with Florida, and I believe it would have been a slam-dunk win for the Frogs. Why?

Because Florida will suffer from "We don't want to be here syndrome" - a syndrome that produces bowl upsets annually due to one team feeling it should being in a better bowl game playing another team who is happy as heck to be playing in that particular bowl.

That, and Florida would have been dazzled, flustered and frustrated over TCU's team speed. We have seen that before.

Yes, TCU was picked first by the Fiesta Bowl folks and Boise State was left when it came back to the Fiesta’s second choice, but a part of me can't help but thinking there was a colluded effort with the bowl bigs to keep TCU and Boise down.

No one can prove that - yet - but you have to believe the big cigars of college football are happy to be guaranteed not to have a repeat Utah this year. Way to promote competition, Big Wigs.

So, what we have is BCS No. 4 TCU facing off against No. 6 Boise, and frankly, I am good with that, and for these reasons:

• Shut up Boise posters and fans who feel - even though TCU dominated them statistically last year in the Poinsettia Bowl - they should have won in last year's matchup between the two teams.

• Facing a No. 6-ranked team in the national spotlight. A win will help the seemingly all-important early national rankings before the 2010 campaign.

• Playing in a BCS bowl with all the national publicity that goes with it. It can't hurt recruiting.

• TCU winning, Texas losing, Florida looking unimpressive in a close win over Cincinnati as Frogs pull a No. 2 ranking in the final poll, which would make TCU the highest-ranked Texas school. A No. 1 finish in the AP poll is a possibility.

I refuse to whine about playing Boise. They are tough and worthy, and a win would be a feather in TCU's cap.

So let us kick back, pour another cup of joe and count the days before another TCU beating of Boise State.