Road trip options

Bowls are great for road trips. In past years, the Fish Head has been to the Orange Bowl, the Rose Bowl, the Alamo Bowl, and the Motor City Bowl. My alma mater choked away its season and bowl chances, but the great thing about college football is you can always come up with an excuse for a road trip. Purdue? I drove past there on I-65 a few times. Michigan State? I went to a game there once. Indiana? I was born in Hammond. Wisconsin? I eat cheese sometimes. Ohio State? I think I ate a buckeye one Christmas.

So let's walk thru these games in order and rate them on their potential for a road trip.

As discussed in other entries in this blog, the Motor City is a nice road trip. While Detroit gets a bad rap for its general miserable economic condition, there is an approximately 4-square block section of downtown that's nice. Jacoby's, Greektown, the casino, and a profusion of bars make for a great time. Throw in a mini-bar and you are sure to have a blast.

The Champs Bowl is a mystery to me. What or who sponsors this one? And who in their right mind would go to Orlando for a bowl game? Take a pass on the Champs.

The Alamo Bowl is likely the best party time of any bowl. Get a hotel right on the riverwalk, and the odds of leaving San Antonio with a live liver are slim. Visit the martini bar, the cigar bar, the Hooters, and keep right on going down the list of bars. The Fish Head likes bars, and for a short break you can visit the actual Alamo which is smack dab in downtown San Antonio. And hey the Alamo Dome is nice too.

The Fish Head doesn't know anything about the Insight Bowl, but its a safe prediction that a college town loaded with hot coeds and bars can't be all bad. But Oklahoma against Indiana? Who dreamed up this match?

The Outback Bowl is named after a steak joint and is played in a town whose only claims to fame are stripper joints and cigars. Which is pretty close to perfect for a road trip - Mons Venus anyone? I vaguely recall an excellent party area in Tampa, in an old warehouse district; but apparently I was so drunk at the time that I can't remember the name of the district. And there's a great steak joint in town with a nifty dessert and smoking room upstairs, whose name I also can't remember. Maybe they have amnesia in the water.

Capital One. Deja vu in Orlando. Skip it. Altho the opportunity to see Tim Tebow destroy the Wolverines sounds good.

The Rose Bowl is in Pasadena. Which is in California. Which is full of weirdos and Democrats. No attraction here, except the possibility of seeing USC get pummelled. Which in retrospect, makes the weirdos and Democrats tolerable. But can you trust the Illini to pull it off?

The BCS title game is played in New Orleans. I've never been, but its a legendary party city and this is the biggest game of them all. A little jazz, a little spicy food, some booze, and a great football game. Oh, and Ohio State getting slaughtered. Perfect!