Independence Bowl Gets New Life–Just In Time

When the Independence Bowl and the Southeastern Conference reached agreement to send a SEC team to Shreveport on a regular basis back in the 1990's, it was was big deal.

A really big deal.

Monday's news that the Bowl and the SEC are apparently going to play nice once again may be a even bigger deal.

While the original arrangement did wonders to enhance the Bowl's image, their newest agreement-reportedly for the 2012 and 2013 seasons--may have saved the Bowl.

Or at the very least gone a long way toward keeping it off life support.

Since the SEC and the Bowl parted ways after the 2010 season (who left who depends on who you ask), the Bowl has had a agreement with the Mountain West Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference. Two years ago, Air Force and Georgia Tech took the field at Independence Stadium. Last year, thankfully, we were spared a Wyoming-North Carolina game when a deal was worked to have Missouri (new to the SEC in 2012) take the MWC's place.

Sorry, but give me a .500 SEC team near the bottom of the country's best conference over a winning Wyoming or Air Force any day.

And please don't start with "who cares about seeing a team closer to the bottom of a conference with a .500 record?

I do, and a lot of other football fans in our area.

The reason? Shreveport-Bossier is not a sports town. If anything, we are a football town, but that depends greatly on the teams playing. A few years ago Louisiana Tech (60 miles to the East) and the University of Miami--the nationally-known Hurricanes--played at Independence Stadium. There were plenty of empty seats.

However, we are a LSU town and a SEC town. Now, considering the Tigers' run of success in recent years, it's likely to be a long, long time before they have the type season which would have them representing the SEC in the Independence Bowl.

That means we will be happy to have a Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, or Kentucky (well, maybe a little less excitement for UK), regardless of  their record. You see, we hear/read news on these teams much more often than we hear news on teams in any other conference. This is SEC country. Not Big 12 country (sorry Texas and Texas A&M alums). And it's certainly not Mountain West country. The closest mountain in these parts is that big hill over near Ruston.

A couple of years ago, I overheard a very high-ranking Independence Bowl official telling his audience that we should fill Independence Stadium no matter which teams are playing.

Maybe we should.

Definitely we won't.

Perhaps that person momentairily forgot that he was talking about people in cities which have failed to support the likes of arena football, minor league baseball, minor league hockey and developmental basketball over the years.

A metropolitan area (Caddo, Bossier and Desoto Parishes) which, according to the 2010 census, is home to 557,000 people, and does not have one professional/minor league sports team.

How many people would keep going in the dead of winter to watch a MWC vs. ACC match-up, or any match-up which did not feature a SEC team? My guess--not many. Last year's game between Missouri (which replaced the MWC team) and North Carolina drew flies, but through no fault of the Bowl. The weather was ridiculously bad and the date--the day after Christmas--did nothing to bring visitors to our area. And the game certainly didn't grab the attention of locals.

I know for a fact that there has been significant unrest with some of the folks who own/manage area hotels. They haven't been getting the two and three night bowl visitors, yet they are asked to block off rooms. That means in many cases, they have to turn away their regular customers, and may end up with empty rooms. That will likely change with a SEC team coming to town. The SEC is known as one of the best traveling leagues in the country.

In recent years, the Bowl has tried hard to be more of a once-a-year football game. Officials want the Independence Bowl to be thought of as a year-round event. They have gone so far as to sponsor concerts and other events throughout the year. But with the exception of well-attended kickoff luncheons featuring Terry Bradshaw, Bobby Bowden and (coming in August) Lou Holtz, few people have bought in.

Truth be told, Shreveport-Bossier is very, very fortunate to host one of just 35 NCAA Division One college football bowl games. And, while we're telling the truth, Shreveport-Bossier probably no longer has any business hosting one. There was a time when the Bowl was a hit with college coaches, athletic directors, players and fans because of it's hospitality. I had one coach tell me he had been to the Cotton, Sugar and Orange Bowls, but he and his team had never been treated as well as they had at the Independence Bowl.

The Bowl folks haven't changed. They are still as nice, friendly and accommodating as ever. But times have changed. Those same coaches, athletic directors, players and fans now want to play in a big, modern city, and a big, modern stadium.

Well, there isn't much we can do about that. But chances are, when a SEC team runs onto the field in December, there will be a lot more excitement in town--and fewer empty seats in the stadium.