I'm Going to Boise! WoooHooo!

Let's talk Boise, Idaho. For a mere $900 you can be a part of the undoubtedly huge contingent of BC faithful that will make the pilgrimage to the "City of Trees" (I kid you not) to watch the Eagles tangle with the local Boise St. Broncos on their home blue field (where they are 31-0) in the MPC Computers Bowl.

For your $900 the BC travel package certainly makes it worth your while. You get 2 nights in a hotel, a ticket to the game in the BC section, and a pre-game tailgate! Now why would you want to spend your money anywhere else, like on an week long all inclusive trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico ($750 per person) or on a 20" Aquos LCD TV ($799), or maybe 10 tickets to a Patriots home game ($89 each) when you can spend 3 days and 2 nights in style in beautiful Boise in December?

For those of you who consider flying to Idaho for the weak and uninclined you best start packing the car. After departing from Boston you will pull into Idaho after 39+ riveting hours on the road, each of which is more exciting than the last! Among the highlights, a 1175.6 mile jaunt on route 80 spanning the entirety of Iowa, Nebraska, and Wyoming. But fear not from there it's only another 350 miles until you hit paydirt.

Now aside from the obvious attractions in Boise, including the Prairie Dog Playhouse and their lovely staff (see right) PDPLAYHOUSE, the main reason you would journey to Idaho would be to see the game itself. Of course this is THE bowl that the BC team and its fans circled at the beginning of the season. Tom O'Brien was actually quoted as saying, "The Gator Bowl would be nice but to be honest I'd rather play essentially another road game against an unranked Boise St. team on their bright blue home field where they have never lost a game on December 28th in Boise." BC MVP Matthias Kiwanuka said, upon hearing of BC's invitation to play in Boise, "Coming from Africa you hear about New York, Boston, San Francisco, and Chicago but the name that really captures the hearts of the children is Boise, this is a dream come true."

Lee Corso ACTUALLY (hold the sarcasm for a second) picked this game as the best non-BCS bowl game of the season, and College Football News picked it as the 4th best bowl of the year. So theoretically the game itself should be interesting, and at the very least you know you are going to be one of the coolest people to ever set foot in Boise, Idaho.

In all seriousness we have Florida State and Virginia Tech to thank for our pending trip to Boise. Had the ACC Championship game gone as planned, i.e. a blowout by Virginia Tech then the BCS bid would have gone to the Hokies and the Eagles would have won the second bowl selection with their 3 losses compared to Florida State's 4 (in conference) which would have sent them the Gator Bowl against Louisville. The Seminoles would then be in the MPC Computers Bowl and their fans would be over-running Boise on the 28th, drinking on the street outside of their liquor stores and generally being rowdy and southern all over town. Those lunatics would travel to Boise, now on the 28th the crickets in the "City of Trees" will be heard coast to coast.

The one thing that should be driving us crazy (for 39 hours from Boston to Boise) is that if BC had beaten North Carolina (i.e. if Tom O'Brien could coach his way out of a paper bag) we'd all be planning New Years in Florida, for a lot less than $900.

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In other BC news the 6th ranked mens basketball team faces their first real test (since beating powerhouse Drake by 3...) in the Jimmy V. Classic against #14 Michigan State tonight at Madison Square Garden.

The Eagles are 6-0 but have struggled against some inferior competition to this point, while the Spartans have already dropped 2 games in the early part of their schedule. In a shocking beginning to their season Michigan State lost by 22 to Hawaii in what was supposed to be a warm-up for the Maui Invitational. Since then they have a quality win over #8 Arizona and were involved in the game of the year so far, a triple overtime thriller against #9 Gonzaga. The Eagles, while still undefeated lack a quality win and have had a real scare against Drake (3 points, Drake is I-AA) and were given a game by Sacred Heart (11 point margin). Both games were at home.

This one should be interesting as both teams are looking to prove something. BC is trying to make a statement that they deserve their #6 ranking and Michigan State wants to show the world that their early season struggles were just an aberration. It should be a good one. The game is on ESPN at 9:00.