Who's excited for the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl?!

A couple weeks ago Ohio punter Paul Hershey got blasted when he tweeted the following: 

"Idaho?? Who the (expletive) wants to play there in December??" 

Hershey had to close his Twiter account and took a lot of heat for a 'stupid' comment. But in all honesty, Hershey was speaking the truth. 

The Bobcats take on Utah State Saturday in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, in case you forgot. It really wouldn't be all that shocking.


It's one of the first bowl games of the season, it's WAC vs. MAC, and even though Tyler Tettleton has the same initials as a certain Denver quarterback,that's not making ESPN give the game any kind of promotion.

Frank Solich said it best today when he said "bowl games are kind of like the first game of the season." It's a game so absolutely useless that you can barely help but care. The Motor City Meltdown two Fridays ago doesn't help either. 


Hershey's comment may have been out of line for a student athlete representing a program but he's right. A bowl is supposed to be a reward for players. When you play for a MAC school, the locale certainly isn't. It's (most likely) Boise, Detroit or Mobile. 


So that leaves what probably amounts to the best part for the athletes involved: the gifts. SPJ recently published the gift list for this year's bowl games and it's pretty legit. 


Ohio and Utah State players and coaches will receive a North End winter coat, Kombi gloves, Nike beanie, Ogio Fugitive backpack, Big Game souvenir football along with a gift suite which is described by ESPN as:

...private events in which game participants, and often bowl VIPs, are given an order form and allowed to select a gift, or gifts, up to a value that is predetermined by each specific bowl, not to exceed the NCAA limit of $550 per person.

Forget the trip to Boise, that's a nice holiday haul- and it doesn't even compare to Toledo players getting a Kindle Fire  and iPod nano as Military Bowl participants. 


That's at least something exciting for players. For Ohio fans...too far to have a school-sponsored trip, non-appealing matchup, disappointment following the MAC Championship collapse. It's absurd for anyone to try to convince a Bobcat fan to be excited for Saturday's game. 

As I said about the MAC Championship game, I'll watch this bowl game and root for the Bobcats being a fan who has watched their journey but the fundamental shortcomings in college football's postseason make this an exhibition that will be forgettable a few years down the line. 


ESPN is broadcasting games like the New Mexico Bowl and Potato Bowl yet analyzing Tim Tebow's QBR for the fifth straight day takes precedence. 


Hershey may not have been tactful in his tweet but he was certainly onto something.


Count me as more excited for Ohio basketball's upcoming regular season matchup with Northern Iowa than this bowl game. That game means something in the bigger picture, can get Ohio mentioned in Bracketology and improve its RPI for a potential at-large tournament bid.


What can the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl provide?  


30 seconds on SportsCenter and a two paragraph AP story.


Woohoo.