I had never been to a bowl game before (and haven't been to one since), and because I was going to be in Las Vegas for my brother's 21st birthday I decided to buy a couple tickets to the Las Vegas Bowl at UNLV's Sam Boyd Stadium. Since I was living in Los Angeles at the time and UCLA was playing BYU, I decided to become a pseudo-Bruins fan for the evening. What better was to spend a December evening in Vegas, taking a break from the lights and sounds of the Strip to enjoy some college football, right?
Wrong - at least to start. First, Sam Boyd stadium was shockingly far from the Rio hotel where we were staying. We eventually made it to the stadium in time for kickoff, but not before a 30+ minute cab rade in bumper-to-bumper traffic and a ~$50 fare. When we finally made it inside the field and to our seats, I was surprised to see how low-budget the stadium was. Unlike the PAC-10 stadiums I had grown accustomed to in L.A. (the Rose Bowl and L.A. Coliseum), Sam Boyd Stadium looked like a larger version of a Texas high school field. Both sidelines were lined with bleacher seating, and with a capacity of under 37,000 the crowd was barely larger than a sellout at Princeton Stadium (28,000 capacity, but an average attendance of about 47 people). My plan to be a vocal UCLA fan was also thwarted by the fact that the tickets I bought through the online secondary market happened to be smack in the middle of the BYU fan section; we were surrounded by dozens of Mormon families averaging about 14.3 children per parent. So much for gratuitous cursing and throwing objects onto the field. Last, the Las Vegas bowl made be realize that, because Vegas is in the desert, it can get extremely cold when the sun goes down. While we were somewhat prepared for a chilly evening, the sweatshirts and jackets we brought were no match for a windy Nevada night. By halftime my brother and I were both frozen to the core, enjoying a competitive football game but silently rooting for the contest to end so we could grab a ride back to our hotel.
The end of the game, however, made the whole journey worthwhile. BYU's Eathyn Manumaleuna (awesome name) blocked UCLA's game-winning field goal attempt with no time remaining in the fourth quarter, securing the 17-16 victory. The BYU fans stormed the field and, while my brother and I (regrettably) didn't join them, it was a spectacular sight (see the photo below). It was the first time I had been at a football game where the fans stormed the field - definitely a memorable experience. While I don't feel the need to make it back to another Las Vegas Bowl at Sam Boyd Stadium (or to go to any lower-level college bowl game, really), I'm glad to say that, for once, I spent a Las Vegas night watching someone else get battered and bruised.
The thrilling end to the 2007 Las Vegas Bowl made the whole experience worthwhile.
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