I can’t believe we skipped right to January’s Rose Bowl and almost missed two eagerly-anticipated bowl games that’ll be tearing up the turf even sooner. Both the Poinsettia Bowl and Holiday Bowl headed for San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium in the next few weeks, and tickets are still available.
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
Despite the least catchiest name in sports, the relatively young SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl continues to draw more and more college football fans every year. The timing couldn’t be better. Hosted yearly in the days just before the Christmas holiday, attending the Poinsettia Bowl is the perfect way to kick start a lot of people’s vacations.
The Poinsettia Bowl is a NCAA Division I-A bowl game matching the Mountain West Conference against the PAC-10, depending of eligibility. Especially cool, both the Army and Navy have secured berths in the bowl game whenever they are eligible. We’ve seen the Navy twice … still waiting on the Army.
This year pits the MWC Utah Utes against the PAC-10 California Golden Bears. A tight game anyway you look at it, but the Utes in particular have glory on the line, having found victory in their last eight bowl appearances. No doubt the Golden Bears are looking to stop that record to be.
The San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl will be played on December 23, 2009 at Qualcomm Stadium at 5:00 p.m. Tickets are still available through Ticketmaster.
Pacific Life Holiday Bowl
The longer-running Pacific Life Holiday Bowl is altogether a larger event. Bigger teams, bigger crowds, bigger stories. The who’s and why’s have changed over the years, but through 2013 the Holiday Bowl will be played by 3rd choice from the PAC-10 and 5th choice from Big 12. In more localized terms, that means the Arizona Wildcats versus the Nebraska Cornhuskers in 2009.
Coming in with strong records on both sides and no heavy weighting either way, this year isn’t likely to add to the Holiday Bowl’s reputation for stunning upsets. Nothing like when Texas Tech decimated the nearly-undefeated California back in ‘04. Our best to both teams.
The Pacific Life Holiday Bowl will be played on December 30, 2009 at Qualcomm Stadium at 5:00 p.m. Tickets are still available through Ticketmaster.
Qualcomm Stadium Hotels
San Diego is an easy drive, so proximity usually isn’t the first thing on our list. At least, not proximity to the stadium. In San Diego we like to stay downtown or along the coast near the airport. The views are gorgeous, there are fine restaurants everywhere, and we dig the vibe of the area. Here are a couple options for San Diego hotels near Qualcomm Stadium and the airport:
Have a great time at either the Poinsettia Bowl or Holiday Bowl (or both)!
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