For some this might be the most wonderful time of the year with the kids jingle-belling and everyone telling you be of good cheer. (Thanks Andy Williams). For others it is because college football bowl game season is around the corner. What’s a bowl game? Is it similar to spin the bottle?
Glad you asked,
The Last Night’s Game
Five Things You Need To Know About College Football Bowl Games
1. Background
- Bowl games are a one-game matchup where teams are paid to play after the regular season. The bowl games promise TV time and great national exposure for the teams.
- Not all teams are selected for a bowl game – you have to be good enough to be invited.
- The teams that play each other have likely not played during the regular season as they’re usually from different conferences.
2. Some bowl games have weird names like the Raisin Bowl or the Salad Bowl but others are corporate (i.e. boring) such as the Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl. Zzzz.
3. College football players are permitted to receive $550 in gifts from the various bowl game sponsors. Curious what the players won’t have to ask Santa for? We have the list of gifts for each bowl game. Hint – the big guy won’t need to pack an ugly sweater or a selfie stick on his sleigh.
4. The Final Four teams are chosen by their regular season rankings. Alabama Crimson Tide (#1) vs Washington Huskies (#4) and Clemson Tigers (#2) vs Ohio State Buckeyes (#3) will battle in two playoff games on December 31st. The winners of the semifinal games will play for the national championship on January 9th.
5. Of course these games aren’t for simply the exposure, there’s cold hard cash involved. (Santa’s best gift yet). Companies will pay around $100 million this year to sponsor the games. The conferences then make big money when one of their teams attends a game. How much? Find out.
- Join our Last Night’s Game’s ESPN Bowl Mania Group to win prizes or to simply have a good time. Think of it as a March Madness bracket for college football. (Once you click the link above, select "play now for free." Password: sports curious).
MLB (Major League Baseball)
- No more Disney Princesses. Rookie hazing is now a thing of the past. MLB has banned teams from forcing rookies to dress up in women’s clothing or costumes “that may be offensive to individuals based on their race, sex, nationality, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or other characteristic."
Overtime
- A photo of a six-year old Afghan boy wearing a plastic bag jersey of his favorite soccer player, Barcelona's Lionel Messi, went viral awhile back. His dream of meeting Messi finally came true. Yesterday Murtaza walked on the field with Messi and the team while wearing a new Messi jersey. This video of their meeting will make you smile.
Sideline stat
- There are 42 bowl games between December 17th and early January. Want the whole schedule? Here you go.
Coaches’ corner
- Los Angeles Rams head coach Jeff Fisher received his stocking full of coal early this year - he was fired on Monday. Fisher tied the undesirable record of the most losses for a head coach in NFL (National Football League) history.