Michigan State Will Play In The Champs Sports Bowl
Whenever the subject of bowl games came up, players on Michigan State’s Spartans football team insisted that they did not care what bowl game they played in, so long as they got a chance to play. Regardless of those previous statements, players could not contain their excitement Sunday night when they received the official word that they will be facing off against Boston College in the Champs Sports Bowl later this month.
As the news spread through the Michigan State campus, Spartans were overjoyed at knowing they would be facing off against #14 Boston College in the bowl game. The Spartans closed out the regular season of college football with a 7-5 record, while Boston College faired slightly better with a record of 10-3.
The two teams will be paired up in the Champs Sports Bowl on December 28 in Orlando, Florida, in an event that will be televised on ESPN. The match up is already drawing similarities to the 2000 bowl game in which Michigan State played the Florida Gators. Michigan State packed more than 25,000 fans into the stands for that game, all of whom were thrilled to see the Spartans celebrate a 37-34 victory over the Gators.
It is the Spartan’s ability to pack fans into the stands that is most exciting to the Bowl Selection Committee. Michigan State has an average home attendance of more than 70,000 football fans. The team is also known to have more than 15,000 alumni residing in Florida, where the Champs Sports Bowl will be played. With these facts in mind, we can expect to see a lot of green in the stadium on the 28th.
As part of agreements struck with the Selection Committee, the Spartans are responsible for selling a minimum of 12,000 seats at $60 each. The Spartan Athletics Department does not view this as a challenge at all. With a team that was only 28 points away from an undefeated season, playing a Bowl game in a State where it has 10 Alumni Clubs, the Spartans feel that there will be a shortage of tickets, if anything.
Although most of the Spartan football team has never felt the pressure of playing in a bowl game, the team is at least looking forward to spending Christmas in a warm climate. The more seasoned Boston College has an all-together different attitude towards the game. Despite losing the Atlantic Coast Conference title in Saturday’s game against Virginia Tech, the trip to Orlando will make this the ninth consecutive year that Boston College has played in a bowl game.
